It was enjoyable working on this art studio facility. We used some materials that we don’t use often, such as the heavy horizontal steel siding. I think the building looks very nice and should serve the faculty well.

Our work on this project involves a total remodeling of Elwell House. Elwell is a 3,600 square foot residential building. We will be removing all interior walls, floors, doors, etc. and essentially ‘starting over’ with new construction. The exterior walls are all masonry and are remaining in place. There is a lot of demolition work to do right away.

The new entry area is framed, the new roof installed and has had the aluminum windows and doors installed. We are finishing insulation and drywall work in this area.

The interior ceiling of the upper room has a lowered area around the perimeter. This allows us to install recessed light fixtures without having to penetrate the insulated ceiling plane. It also lines up with the exterior soffits creating a very pleasing relationship between interior and exterior surfaces. The architect used sloped surfaces for the interior soffit which looks very nice.

While interior work is being done our carpenters have moved outside to the deck. The deck is constructed using red cedar. The support beams underneath the deck have some decorative features. We will cap the top of the beam ends with metal flashings.

To prepare for this we contracted with a crane service to lift materials up to the roof, and to lower the old mechanical equipment. Because the building is so tall we had to get a large crane on site. The crane made quick work of the lifts for us.

The first unit we started work on is on the upper floor . It has tremendous views to the east and north, overlooking the Cannon River and Carleton College. The outdoor patio on the unit looks like a great place to enjoy a morning cup of coffee.

We created a closet in one of the rooms, installed some pocket doors, removed an interior wall, etc. We also have applied the first coat of finish paint to the walls and ceilings. The ceramic tile work has been mostly completed in the bathrooms and laundry room.

The second unit we are working on is one floor down on the third floor. It also has magnificent views to the east and north. All the rooms in these units are very generous in size and the high ceilings create a nice spacious feeling.

I had a great time visiting with people from the area. This is always a nice opportunity to catch up with area business owners that I don’t run into on a regular basis. There were also some political candidates there visiting with people. An event like this is a nice, informal way for candidates to learn about concerns that business owners have.

The DJJD royalty was there, and this year’s royalty candidates were busy serving the food. The young candidates are always fun to see.

If you are in the area on the weekend of September 8-12 come to Northfield and experience a great small town festival.

In many areas of the building we are installing plywood backer panels. These will be used for attachment of shelving and miscellaneous fixtures by the art professors using the building. It is easier to attach to this plywood backer than try to anchor to the steel framing.

Drywall is now being installed over the backer. On this building we are using Marvin Integrity windows. We ordered them with channels to receive the drywall which will create a nice, smooth looking return to the window.

The workers are concentrating on completing the roof soffit work. The soffits on this home have a nice detail that includes painted wood trim strips on the sides of the ventilation louver. The electricians installed recessed lights earlier. The large windows give excellent views of the wildlife pond and nearby lake.