Hal Collums Construction performed the installation of custom casework at a new cafe called Merchant located in The Maritime building in the Central Business District of New Orleans.

The custom millwork and casework was fabricated by Central City Millworks.

All work has been completed, and Merchant is now open for business as a cafe, coffee shop, and wine bar.

According to the Central City Millworks website:

When Ammar Eloueini of AEDS (Ammar Eloueini Digit-all Studio) and Edifice Builders came to Central City Millworks for help implementing a design concept for the Merchant cafe that focused on “dirty” top pine flooring and casework cladding, we knew that we were the perfect company for the job.

See the full story at Central City Millworks online.

_______ 504.267.1919 _______

Don is an independent contractor who has served as the Internet Marketing consultant for Hal Collums Construction since August 2008.

He coordinated the design and launch of this web site, and promoted it to show up on page one on Google, Yahoo, and Bing search engines for numerous construction industry search terms.

Hal Collums Construction has provided New Orleans residents and business owners–who might not be household names–with premium construction and renovation services for decades. However, due to the company’s long-standing reputation for integrity as well as expertise, a number of HCC’s clients have included well-known VIPs and movie stars. The brief video on this page highlights just a few examples.

Hal Collums Construction recently completed a renovation of historic Saint Anna’s Church at 1313 Esplanade in New Orleans. We were asked by architect Jim Farr of Farr Plus Huson Architects to work with St. Anna’s Church to restore the building.

Built in 1846 by the famous architect, Henry Howard, the incredibly elegant structure had fallen on hard times. Victimized by lack of maintenance and past renovations that did not respect the historic character of the building, it needed a lot of work to be salvaged and secured for future generations.

Initially we had to shore the building and level it before it could be repaired. The structure had settled unevenly over the years and was over 12 inches out of level from front to back. To get the building to its original leveled condition, we had to repair damaged masonry piers, replace rotten and damaged structural members, and then strategically jack up sections of the building. Once the building was level we were able to rework and refit the original exterior features.

The front façade had a lot of damage to the historic millwork, and both balconies had to be completely rebuilt since they were almost falling off. They had been constructed as closed cornice balconies and showed signs of chronic moisture intrusion. This is a common occurrence due to the fact a closed cornice balcony detail requires careful maintenance of the deck surface to prevent moisture intrusion that quickly rots the decorative closed soffit below.

We had to carefully deconstruct both balconies and salvage all the intact millwork to reuse or to match for replacement. We had Central City Millworks re-mill Spanish cedar to match the damaged original millwork. Both balconies had to have new structural members installed, then all the sleepers, deck, fascia, decorative soffit, newel posts, railings and balustrades were restored or replaced by CCM. The replacement railings were installed by our carpenters.

With the building leveled, we then could address the doors and windows. Any damaged wood was matched and re-milled by CCM to restore the doors and windows to their original condition. We removed one door that had been added in a previous re-muddling and replaced it with new window sashes, sill, and jamb to match the window that had originally been installed in that location.

Our stone setters came in and carefully deconstructed the front entry alcove. The original checkerboard black and white marble landing and Italian marble threads and risers were puzzle-pieced back together using epoxy and matching grout to help make the repairs look like natural fissures. The stone setters then reassembled the repaired pieces of threads and the landing and replaced some of the missing black landing marble with new black stone.

After the entire exterior was restored, we repainted all exterior doors, windows, the façade, balconies, fascia and siding to protect the building as the final step in resurrecting St. Anna’s for another century of service.

This historic building renovation required 'artist' Byron Veal to restore much of the ornate plaster work

Hal Collums Construction recently completed the renovation of a historic French Quarter property on Royal Street. The building, which at one time had been home to a sugar plantation owner and his family, had seen many occupants within its rooms over the years, but it had not been used as a residence for quite some time.

This building is called the Devéze-Henderson House, and was once the Louisiana French Consulate. In the 1950s-1960s, a law firm operated out of the 2nd floor of the building. And an inspection of the property prior to this renovation revealed much evidence that being used as a commercial property had taken its toll on what had once been an elegant residential interior.

The restoration of the building included new plaster on the walls and ceilings to repair cracks as well as new plaster moldings to match the originals. This specialty craft, and the craftsman, Byron Veal, received recognition in a July 2010 NOLA.com article entitled, New Orleans plasterer at the top of his game.

Additionally, the renovation included a new HVAC system and recessed lighting. The Master Bath was fully renovated and a new Powder Room was added.

Central City Millworks remilled some of the existing cypress flooring and provided additional cypress flooring to match the existing. In the rooms that had no wood flooring, reclaimed heart pine was installed. All flooring was then stained to a uniform color and finish.

The existing doors, which were cypress, were stripped and painted or stained, and Central City Millworks built new custom doors that were stained to match. All of the existing cypress millwork was refurbished and reused.

With the completion of the restoration of this history property, it is once again an elegant French Quarter residence.

The property at 5200 Dauphine St. was once a store and popular place for 9th Ward neighbors to meet and catch up with each other. But time and hurricane Katrina took its toll on the historic New Orleans building. To honor its history, the Preservation Resource Center purchased the property after the storm, and with funding formed the plans to remake the space into a community center.

Part of the project’s mandate to receive the funding was to renovate to the LEED Platinum Rating, the most efficient rating in the LEED Rating system. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally recognized green building certification system. It provides third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance in all of the most important metrics: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.

Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED provides building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.

Hal Collums Construction was hired to deconstruct the building (demolish it to salvage the materials for reuse). As the photo to the left shows, the building was in an advanced state of disrepair. The structure was so unstable that it was a severe safety hazard. We actually had to reinforce and brace the building to safely begin our deconstruction.

The deconstruction process for LEED required a comprehensive accounting of all materials including their eventual re-usage or land field destination. Even a count of all dumpsters taken to land fields with a description of the materials and the condition that resulted in their disposal was included in the accounting.

Cleaning and sorting materials down to the foundation

Attached photos show scenes during the deconstruction from the initial condition, bracing the structure, removal with boom extension forklift, boom man-lift, separation of all different types of materials, sorting of all different salvaged materials, and a thorough recording of materials removed.

This project is featured as a case study article in Design for Reuse Primer, published as a free downloadable document by the public advocacy organization PublicArchitecture.org. Below is a quote from the case study:

Deconstruction complete; site ready for reconstruction

A MODEL FOR DISASTER RECOVERY:

The new home of the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association in New Orleans will be a model for how communities devastated by natural disasters can rebuild sustainably.

Central City Millworks is the mill shop currently involved in this historic preservation project by reusing the salvaged materials. Read their article about the fabrication of new energy efficient custom windows on their web site.

Project Sponsor: Preservation Resource Center

Project Sponsor: Historic Green New Orleans

Click on a thumbnail photo to launch our slideshow…

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.