New Orleans kitchen cabinets in color

Another look in kitchen cabinets

Clean and bright, kitchen cabinets in white

Typical Working Class St. Ann Street Shotgun

The house at 2404 St. Ann is a marvelous New Orleans “shotgun.” I am totally amazed at how well preserved it is and how it has dutifully carried the soul and story of the original builder into the 21st century. The magic is in how well defined the original details are and how these details have lived through hard, neglected times to tell an important story today. Hal Collums Construction felt lucky and honored to have been the New Orleans construction company chosen to prepare this special shotgun for its second century.

Rarely preserved original rear porch

The impact of how standard the lean-to addition is as the rear facade of the “typical” shotgun double was really driven home when I saw the almost perfectly preserved rear porch and rear lean-to of this cottage. The front façade of this St. Ann Shotgun is the typical working class shotgun, built with the front right on the sidewalk, no porch and a shallow roof overhang. Decorative brackets, carved quoins, cornices, and shiplap front siding identify this structure as a working-class shotgun with an “upgraded” exterior trim package.

Clearly the original wood frame and deck of the back porch had rotted off and had been replaced with a well-designed and skillfully executed concrete deck and concrete stairs during a previous modification. The house has been fortunate over the years as its original builder was a craftsman familiar with the New Orleans building environment and a subsequent porch rebuild was skillfully constructed by a master artisan.

Large Pocket Doors are typical New Orleans Millwork

The Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans working with the Prince of Wales Building Crafts Apprentices Program needed a house ready for plaster in time to take advantage of the apprentices’ time in New Orleans. Master Plasterers would use the St Ann shotgun as a training lab for the apprentices.

We have been tasked to have the house ready for the apprentices within five weeks. We started the last week of November 2009 and intend to have it ready for the plasterers by January. To accomplish this we must complete all structural repairs, restore the historic roof, repair all exterior trim and siding, and then have all mechanical trades complete their rough-in.

Original indigenous cypress windows

The structure had a earlier termite infestation that went unchecked and the insects obliterated the sills, many floor joists, wall studs and even the original heart pine flooring.

The structural work is well underway with most of the damaged sills and joists replaced. Bryon Cornelison, HCC’s project manager, working with Max Mendoza (HCC’s operation manager), is responsible for maintaining this fast track schedule. Check back as we will keep you updated on our progress.

Great view of the bar's ceiling

Victory! HCC Completes the Museum Millwork Job

Euphoria and celebratory high-fives erupted in HCC’s office last summer upon learning we had been awarded the WW II Museum millwork contract. As the initial euphoria subsided, it was further tempered by the reality of our immense challenge.

Hal Collums Construction LLC teamed up with Central City Millworks LLC to bid on the fabrication and installation of custom architectural millwork for the spectacular WW2 Museum expansion opening November 7th, 2009. Earlier that year HCC had worked with Satterfield and Pontikes (one of the leading construction companies in the Gulf Coast region) to fabricate and install the millwork for the Saint Bernard Middle School.

As the initial euphoria subsided, it was further tempered by the reality of our immense challenge

When the WW2 Expansion was announced and the plans by Voorsinger and Mathes Architects became available, we were pleased to learn that S&P was preparing a bid. The HCC estimating group worked with S&P for several months through three plan addendums to develop and refine a competitive bid for the WW2 Expansion. Finally all the hard work paid off with a phone call from S&P telling us they had selected us as their millwork provider for the WW2.

We successfully achieved our WW2 challenge, delivering millwork that one of the architects described as “fabulous”.

Estimating the WW2  job, we realized it would be complicated and technically challenging. Now that we had the job and with our design department mobilizing and our production department planning, we started focusing on the obstacles. There were tremendous design challenges to be solved to accomplish the architect’s vision.

The architect’s plans shows the millwright the architect’s intentions aesthetically, however it is our responsibility to design a cabinet to meet the aesthetic goals while overcoming the structural and material challenges. Before we could put this job into design production we had to completely ramp-up our shop drawing department and our CAD design department. Not only would we have to hire additional CAD designers but we also needed to increase our level of expertise with our CNC router. All these challenges seemed daunting but we knew failure was not an option. We understood this was a legacy job and we had to be victorious for ourselves, our company, and our city.

Millwork at National WW2 Museum bar

Last week we successfully achieved our WW2 challenge, delivering millwork that one of the architects described as “fabulous”. We worked as a team with Satterfield & Pontikes and many other great local and regional subcontractors to deliver a new landmark to New Orleans.

This is truly a new jewel in the crown of our local tourism industry. Hal Collums Construction is proud to have played such an important role in this victory for New Orleans and the New Orleans Tourism Industry.

HCC selected as Best Place to Work 2009

Back in July of 2009, our own Bryon Cornelison (HCC Project Manager) forwarded an email nominating Hal Collums for CityBusiness Best Place to Work in New Orleans.

“To be acknowledged by CityBusiness, and be able to show the City of New Orleans what we are made of, is a proud moment for me.”

Due to the excitement of the World War II Museum, Wilson Elementary and the Port Sulphur Government projects our business life was hectic and the email was forgotten.

In October, I received a voicemail, saying “we had been nominated for…”.  To my surprise, this cheery voice (Autumn Giusti) over the phone explained that we had won!!  To be acknowledged by CityBusiness, and be able to show the City of New Orleans what we are made of, is a proud moment for me.

New Orleans CityBusiness picks Hal Collums Construction as Best Place to Work in 2009

Inspector Blondie approves of the beautiful new heart pine shipment

A new heart pine shipment came in last week from Maryland.  This beautiful reclaimed heart pine was originally cut from old growth pine forest in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama back in the early 1900’s.  It was then shipped up river to build manufacturing plants in the New England area.

Today, many of these old manufacturing plants have been disassembled and the old heart pine has been shipped back home.  Here at Hal Collums Construction and Central City Millworks we use it to make flooring and cabinetry. ]]> http://www.halcollums.com/new-orleans-flooring-heart-pine-shipment-arrives/feed/ 0 http://www.halcollums.com/acquisition-of-2611-3rd-street-warehouse/ http://www.halcollums.com/acquisition-of-2611-3rd-street-warehouse/#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:45:51 +0000 Nairne http://halcollums.com/blog/?p=182

HCC Acquires Third Street Warehouse

Hal Collums Construction, LLC and Central City Millworks, LLC are pleased to announce the acquisition of the property located at 2611 Third Street.  This warehouse is adjacent to our home 2610 Second Street.

This extra space is crucial to our growth and will help us add an entirely new finishing facility.  Outside consultants from Sherwin Williams and others have come to help on the planning and logistics.  By early 2010, we will have a state of the art finishing assembly line.  We hope, Peter Dave, the head of the HCC Finishing / Paint Department, will be thrilled with his new work space!

Cedric puts in another day at the mill shop

My name is Cedric, Hal’s dog, and I go to work with Hal everyday.  Even with my demanding schedule of seven days a week, 12 hours a day, I find a few minutes to enjoy a little rest and relaxation.  My day is mostly filled traveling to job sites, going to office meetings, and greeting employees, visitors, and homeowners. Working for a New Orleans contractor keeps me busy, but I don’t mind working pro bono.

For more photos of me in the mill shop and construction office, click here!

Blondie and Bishop sharing a tennis ball

Zelda still thinks she is a lap dog

That’s my friend Zelda sitting in Rob’s lap. He rescued her from the SPCA and she comes to the office just about everyday.  It’s nice to have a girlfriend to chase around in between my more pressing tasks.

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