Hal Collums Construction-New Orleans Renovation Contractor

Renovation of a New Orleans Condo Kitchen

halrc — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:52:02 +0000

One-piece stone countertop on its way to the 2nd story

Hal Collums Construction implemented designer John Chrestia’s vision for the renovation of a New Orleans warehouse district condo. A kitchen renovation was included in the project, and HCC performed the installation of kitchen cabinets that were designed and fabricated by Central City Millworks. The detailed design of the cabinets was created as a CAD (computer-aided design) drawing and that was then used by a CNC (computer numerical control) router to cut out the design, resulting in highly crafted and sturdy kitchen cabinets. The CNC cutting produces extremely accurately cut cabinets that are very durable because the CNC allows for precision fits and allows us to use hidden mortise and tenon wood joinery.

Since the kitchen cabinets fit exactly in the space available (with no soffit, trim molding, nor fillers) the rough framing and drywall had to be square, level and plumb.

The island cabinet was rather large and the stone counter-top installer insisted that the island stone could not be installed in one piece. However, the client and the designer wanted the stone in one piece without seams. We ended up removing a window sash, renting a boom forklift and delivering the one piece stone through the second floor.

New Orleans Plantation Shutters Go Modern

halrc — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 20:11:22 +0000

Hal Collums Construction was selected for a New Orleans project that included custom fabrication and installation of interior 3 1/2″ louvered plantation shutters, and Central City Millworks was called on to handle that portion of the job.

The owner of the downtown loft frequently hosted guests who wanted to sleep late after a long night of exploring the Crescent City’s diverse nightlife. He requested that the shutters be designed to block out daylight when needed, be easy to operate, and have a modern look to match the design of his condo.

CCM’s design met all of the owner’s criteria, including having a hidden operator mechanism that allowed the shutters to open and close in unison without having a prominent operating rod that is common to most operable louver shutters. And the shutter design had concealed pivot hinges to maintain the clean, modern look that the owner desired.

The shutters were fabricated and installed in less than 3 weeks to have them available for a party the customer was throwing.

A New Orleans French Quarter Construction Project

halrc — Fri, 28 May 2010 22:13:11 +0000

In the fall of 2006 we were asked by a client and a friend of ours to help with a phased New Orleans renovation of an incredible French Quarter townhouse on Royal Street. The friend had been a repeat customer of Hal Collums Construction over the years. The owner, born and raised in New Orleans, was a successful oil industry business owner now living in Houston. He and his wife had purchased their French quarter dream home and were ready to begin renovating it to match their tastes.

The phases included:

1. Structural Repair
a) Inspection and water testing
b) Window remediation plan/execution
c) Flat roof remediation plan/execution
d) Close cornice remediation plan/execution
e) Re-pointing exterior walls where water is indicated
f) Removal and replacement of rotten fascia, railing, newel posts at both balconies
g) Emergency remediation of water intrusion at masonry walls

2. Renovation/Redecoration
a) Elimination of rustic exposed beams on 2nd floor service quarter
b) New shutters
c) New kitchen
d) Redesigned laundry room
e) New wood floor on 1st floor
f) Re-finish wood stair steps
g) Re-painting of interior
h) Repainting of exterior front and courtyard walls and millwork
i) Master Bath vanity design challenge/solution

This first blog post in a series will address phases 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d:

Initially we needed to investigate suspect areas of water intrusion. The building inspection indicated several suspect areas where water was entering the structure. Infrared inspection had identified moisture around several windows, around a flat roof where HVAC equipment was installed, an interior common wall on both floors of the service quarter, and a rear service quarter balcony.

This project gave us an opportunity to enhance old world building details with modern materials

Visual inspection confirmed deteriorated leaking windows, suspect flat roof details, suspect rear balcony flashing, water intrusion in the rear service quarter balcony structure and rotten railing, fascia and columns on both balconies. Follow up physical inspection including destructive testing explained most of the problems and guided our repair and restoration plan.

The wood bucks embedded in the windows were completely obliterated by chronic water intrusion from brick borne moisture entering through washed out mortar and wicking up from the spread footings. Reliable moisture invited in termites and the destruction of the wood bucks was complete long before being revealed by our inspections. Our solution involved removal and replacement of the wood bucks with matching pressure treated wood, replacement of all needed window components, re-pointing of surrounding masonry, back-priming all new and existing wood, re-fitting and reinstallation of restored windows, and properly detailed caulked expansion joints. Replacement of the wood buck gave us an opportunity to enhance an old world building detail with modern materials by using vinyl shower liner to provide a tough permanent moisture barrier.

The flat roof was an infill roof added during an later remodel, probably in the early 1900’s. Initially a metal flat seam roof, it had been reroofed with a torch-down roof in the last 30 years. Our solution was to reroof with redesigned flashing details and a modified bitumen single ply roof. Being a small area prone to frequent service traffic, It was worth reroofing the whole area with a modern roofing material more suited for the demands on it. Modern glue seam materials are easy to use and economical. Most important they are a durable, reliable low slope roof surface when properly installed.

The New Orleans French Quarter Courtyard Balcony

The courtyard balcony moisture intrusion problem was not clearly apparent. We suspected the flashing at the brick wall to balcony deck was leaking. Moisture meter readings on the interior sheetrock indicating a horizontal line of moisture corresponding to the exterior balcony flashing seemed to confirm our suspicion.

Before we planned a remediation strategy based on solving the most apparent problem, we needed to be sure we repaired all the problems. Oftentimes good technicians make mistakes by repairing the most obvious problems. The flashing leak was probably the major leak but other water intrusion possibilities existed. The window sills and door thresholds were weathered and could be leaking into the wall. The exterior masonry wall was soft red brick with original mortar, having a high probability of moisture intrusion through the masonry wall. Another possibility was moisture wicking up from the spread footings.

Most French Quarter masonry buildings are built on a footing that spreads out as it descends into the soil. Spreading the load out helps support the weight of the wall and building. The original builder would dig a trench to go below the surface a sufficient
distance to reach a sandy soil strata, usually no more than 3 to 5 foot. The first course of brick could be 3 to 6 times wider than the thickness of the desired wall.

Early builders used a course of slate as a “wick stop” with some success, but rising dampness must always be considered when renovating a spread footing building.

Each subsequent course would step in slightly until the wall reached ground level where it would only be as wide as the finished brick wall. This allowed early builders to build impressive structures on our soft soils but it also allowed ground moisture to wick up into the structure through the masonry foundations. Early builders used a course of slate as a “wick stop” with some success, but rising dampness must always be considered when renovating a spread footing building.

With several possible reasons for elevated interior moisture we decided a controlled testing protocol would be appropriate before we could formulate a comprehensive remediation plan. This involves strategic placement of water tests with controlled timing and scientific recording of data to prove (or disprove) our hypothesis of moisture entry. Testing always needs to start at a low point and control the moisture delivery. We began by recording a grid of moisture readings on the interior sheetrock wall on squares of blue painter tape. The moisture reading is our baseline and we look for increases in the moisture content as it is tested to help us graph and see the moisture intrusion occurring during our test. We open some areas in the interior sheetrock and the balcony closed cornice structure for visual observation during our testing. By beginning low and moving our testing up in levels at predetermined time intervals, we can easily see and record leaks and moisture wicking as it occurs. The moisture content is a clear indicator of water intrusion easily mapped across a wall to visualize the mechanics of the water intrusion.

We decided a controlled testing protocol would be appropriate before we could formulate a comprehensive remediation plan. This involves strategic placement of water tests with controlled timing and scientific recording of data.

By beginning at the lowest possible water entry level and moving up in timed stages, gravity will not contaminate our results allowing us to do comprehensive, conclusive testing usually the same day. Our testing on the rear balcony service quarter wall showed us that the balcony flashing was indeed leaking, but we were also receiving moisture from the masonry wall and from around the windows.

The water testing did show rising damp wicking up from the footings was not a problem on this wall. Our final remediation plan included new porch flashing, re-pointing the exterior masonry wall, replacement of damaged window sill, and new caulking with backer rod around window.

The closed cornice balcony structure of the rear service quarter had signs of chronic moisture intrusion, a common occurrence due to a flaw in a closed cornice detail. The closed cornice balcony has an enclosed soffit on the underside of the deck to hide the structure. It is usually highly decorative millwork with a painted finish.

New Orleans Construction French Quarter Courtyard

Historically the deck surface was air dried tongue and groove heart pine. The tongue and groove board edges were liberally primed with high lead content deck paint. It was hand nailed by craftsmen with the final blow delivered to both set the nail in the tongue, but also drive the still tacky painted tongue tighter into the receiving groove.

Several coats of leaded deck paint, combined with a correctly detailed and installed flashing provided a fairly reliable watertight deck. This barrier was dependent on good maintenance in the form of regular repainting and re-caulking because the integrity of the wood deck barrier is dependent on the seal between the multiple linear tongue and groove joints.

As the wood deck moves with the changing New Orleans climate the barrier is dependent on the paint seal on the deck and between the wood. With age the oils breakdown, the paint looses its bond, and once the seal is broken, the moisture begins damaging the structure.

Even the original builder of a historic closed cornice using more stable old-growth wood and durable lead based paint still needed apply regular maintenance to prevent decay. Advanced maintenance requirements mean that few original closed cornice balcony structures survive intact today. Rebuilding authentic detailed closed cornice balcony soffits with modern materials is still a challenge and still requires careful paint and caulk maintenance.

Modern replacement decking that satisfies historic material requirements (such as the Vieux Carre and HDLC districts) require a replacement wood deck.

Tongue and groove decking should never be installed if it has more than 12% moisture content

Modern commercially available exterior wood is usually pressure treated wood. Cut from new growth southern yellow pine, it is kiln dried, then pressure injected with a waterborne preservative chemical, and either air dried or kiln dried again. The resulting decking is often job delivered wet and needs to be further dried before installation (you should never install tongue and groove decking with more than 12% moisture content).

The next concern with modern material is that lead free paint does not have the body or the bonding of some historic paints. The recommended paint is porch and deck enamel. Pressure treated decking must be edge-primed with the selected color P&D enamel thinned 50% with mineral spirits before it is installed. Once properly nailed and top-coat painted and correctly flashed, (with an adequate fall away from the building built in) the deck is adequately water tight to keep moisture out of the assembly.

All finish porch material should be fabricated from weather resistant materials (pressure treated wood, hardi-board, or preferably Spanish cedar if being milled). All wood components in the closed cornice assembly should be liberally back-primed before assembly to further protect against wood rot. With proper details, good execution and proper paint and caulk maintenance a closed cornice soffit can last a lifetime.

New Orleans flooring sale: Heart Pine 10% Off!

halrc — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 11:34:13 +0000

Central City Millworks is offering 22,000+ sq.ft. of over-stocked heart pine flooring in New Orleans at 10% off already low prices.

The photos below document the three primary steps that transforms heart pine beams into flooring boards and then into beautiful New Orleans floors.

Click on the links above to find out more.

The heart pine beams prior to shipment down to New Orleans

100+ yr old beams milled into flooring

...and finally installed

Bi Part Sliding Pocket Doors with Simultaneous Opening & Closing

Nairne — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:47:24 +0000

Recently, estimating a kitchen in an old Uptown New Orleans home, a client asked me to look for hardware for pocket doors. It was not just any pocket door hardware, it was pretty specific and it took me a couple of hours to find it. Needless to say, there were blog posts but none listed the hardware information. I hope this information will help slice a couple of hours of searching for the next person.

The hardware was for bi-part sliding pocket doors to simultaneously open and close if one door was pushed or pulled. The idea was to make it so you do not have to close or open one then the other. After several calls around town, Angelo at Ricca Architectural Salvage http://www.riccasarchitecturalsales.com and Jay Seastrunk at Eskew Dumez + Ripple http://studioedr.com (coincidently found the desired hardware at the same time), handed me over to the HÄfele Hardware tomb. http://www.hafele.com/us/

Here are the HÄfele specifications:

Top Hung System HAWA – Symmetric 80/Z

for bi-parting sliding wood doors
smooth quiet operation
rattle free bottom glide
simultaneous opening and closing of bi-parting sliding doors
special two way suspension
vertically and laterally adjustable
door stop with adjustable retention spring
maximum door weight per leaf 176lbs or 80kg
minimum door thickness 1” or 26mm

Our Office Space Expansion

Grace — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:35:08 +0000

It is time for another office expansion here at Hal Collums Construction and Central City Millworks! It is our goal to create a more efficient workplace in order to best promote communication and increase productivity and staff morale. Our craftsman are working very quickly to finish the job so we can move in immediately.

Expansion in progress

Once the project is completed, our drafting and estimating department will have their own private office. Their job is very detailed oriented and they certainly need a quiet workspace. Central City Millworks will gain more space to better service walk-in customers. The additional space for Central City Millworks is really important because we seem to have walk-in customers for wood flooring, doors, windows, etc. on a daily basis. Our stockroom will also benefit from the expansion. Our inventory manager, Isaias Lopez, will be better able to optimize his stockroom inventory, thus creating an efficient method of inventory reporting.

We are very excited about the expansion of our New Orleans construction and millwork offices. Please feel free to stop by and take a look!

New stockroom in our New Orleans construction offices

Uptown New Orleans Cottage Renovation

Leah — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:45:38 +0000

In 2008, Hal Collums Construction completed a full renovation of a beautiful uptown cottage. The house, which was originally built in 1887, had been remodeled previously and had lost some of its original character. But thanks to a beautiful design, developed by Daniel Zangara at Peter Trapolin Architects, and innovative decoration by the owners, it turned out to be one of the most gorgeous homes we have ever worked on.

This house was featured in The Times Picayune’s Inside Out section last week. Check it out and you will be amazed by the transformation:

Hal Collums renovation in the Times Picayune

Thank you to Central City Millworks who completed all of the new millwork in the house.

Before...

...After!

Renovation of a New Orleans cottage.

Bathroom renovation

Greek Revival Renovation

Leah — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:37:22 +0000

Hal Collums Construction has recently completed a restoration of a beautiful historic home on St Charles Ave. The house which was built in 1861 is a great example of the Greek Revival style. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and even has a name – The Walker House.

Leah Glade - Project Manager

Working on a property of historic significance is always exciting for us, but it does present its own set of unique challenges. We must work closely with the architect and the Historic District Landmarks Commission (HDLC) to ensure that any changes made and any details added are true to the history of the house. Every detail, both interior and exterior, is important. For example, on this job we went through an extensive design process to ensure that the newly milled interior doors matched the original doors. The panels, casings, mullions, stiles and rails all were examined to make sure to be completely true to the originals.

We are very proud of this job and plan on posting additional blogs about it in the near future. In the meantime, please enjoy the following photos of a great New Orleans renovation.

Renovation of a grand New Orleans house

All marble bathroom

Completed double parlor

New Orleans stairwell

Open kitchen area

New Orleans Renovation – Art Gallery Expansion

TNevitt — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:16:19 +0000

In 2008, Hal Collums Construction began a project to expand an existing Julia Street gallery. The gallery project had an accelerated construction schedule due to its grand opening coordinating with the Prospect 1 city wide art exhibit in 2008. So from the start, there was no room in the schedule for any kind of delays. The project was also very labor intensive due to the amount of artistic materials used. The renovation included custom cabinetry (built in our New Orleans millworks shop), specialty art lighting, white stone counter tops, reclaimed heart pine beams for the entry, and one of a kind white resin flooring. Every portion of this New Orleans renovation had a color scheme of white to better accent the art being displayed.

The rear of the gallery has custom work spaces, art storage racks, as well as overhead storage for larger pieces of art. Even the doors are not a typical wood or metal. The two doors in the gallery were made of a custom resin material called 3-Form. We ended up using the left over 3-Form material from the doors to create a custom inset lighting in the opening connecting the two galleries.

Entrance to the gallery expansion

Since the project was being finished right before before the grand opening, the gallery owner had no choice but to start hanging some of the art during the remodel. The owners collection included a Dale Chihuly, which is a very large, hanging art sculpture made up of hundreds of pieces of hand blown glass. This a very heavy sculpture, and a special 1” threaded rod was used in the ceiling to install it. The artist himself had to send one of his assistants down from up north to assemble the sculpture. Working around this Chihuly sculpture during the finish of the renovation brought on a sense of real intensity that was just plain visible.

All in all this was a fabulous project. The finish was strong, and the deadline was met. Not one single install on this gallery was run of the mill. Every single piece took a decent amount of research to execute, especially the resin flooring. Several professional flooring consultants were hand selected to ensure the proper research, and procedure was in the hands of our project manager Thomas Nevitt III. With this information, Mr. Nevitt took all steps necessary to complete the project on time. Eight weeks of long, labor intensive days and countless hours of research helped Hal Collums Construction complete a great New Orleans renovation. We are so proud of the end result that we are posting large images below:

The view in from the front door

Looking towards the front door

Additional space/office

Combination of brick and sheetrock

Storage for prints

Custom cabinets from Central City Millworks

When the appliance is bigger than the door opening!

Bryon — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:03:21 +0000

An event this week reminded me of a crazy problem some friends of mine had several years ago when they relocated from New Orleans to a townhouse in Washington DC. Perry Bird, who was the Director of Christmas In October and his partner Richard Martin relocated to Washington DC, Perry had accepted a job with the National Christmas In July non-profit. I went to visit and see their cool Washington townhouse. “What a great place!” I said, “but why is the refrigerator in the Dining Room?” ” We can’t get the damn thing through any door! Our neighbors came over and we moved it around the block and tried to come through the back and through this door It won’t go in!” I thought that must have been comical since townhouse share their side wall, so to get to the back yard you literally have to go around the block! As I laughed Perry stated that the day they were doing it, there wasn’t much humor involved.

This week a similar situation happened to myself and a client while working on a renovation project here in New Orleans, but before we started moving the large Sub-Zero, Max Mendoza came up with a simple solution, we had some tight corners to clear, so after measuring and everything still looked too tight, Max replicated the large Sub-Zero using the cardboard from the box it came in, guiding the cardboard through the door openings and around the corners, we easily determined that one frame needed to be removed. This saved us so much back breaking moving of the refrigerator twice. I still picture Perry and friends circling the block with their side by side!