After months of hard labor and work we finally have a finished product. Please follow the link on the right of this page to see the final images.
Although I do plan to make changes and additions to the overall design, I can say that the project is up and running. It is currently being used as an artist studio by my girlfriend and she is loving it.
My last update was completed while the insulation was being blown in. I then went about collecting the final wall materials. The plywood install was fairly straightforward, but that didn't stop me from making a few mis-cuts and making it necessary to use most all of my "extra" material. The plywood on the ceiling and walls is a basic BC sanded material that was given a light finish sand and a clear polyurethane coat or two to make it more resistant to scuffs and wear. The recycled paper panels called "Homasote" were cut to fit and then removed and covered in a high quality burlap fabric. They were then installed pretty easily. The final touches were rough sanding the floors and then sealing them with a floor oil-based sealant. I was extremely happy with the finish and couldn't believe how big of a difference the darker floors made to the overall feel of the room.
Hanging the box lights I made was also a pretty satisfying chore. It took two people to accomplish because they are so heavy, but it was easy to simply screw them into the ceiling. I generally detest simple overhead lighting, but the use of low-output halogens seems to give off exactly the light I was looking for with a custom high-end feel.
Once the lights and walls were hung I simply hung the vintage porcelain lamp given to me by my neighbor bill on the outside near the door and it was surprisingly ready for business. That night we had a small party and truly just celebrated it finally being over. I put in countless hours and many of my friends pitched in big to make this small dream of mine a reality. Now I feel I have the bug. I have requests coming in to build more, but I've yet to do any estimates for a definitive project. Simply conceiving, designing and building this project has opened so many doors to my inner creativeness that I'm not even sure of exactly where to point it. My internal sketchbook is filling at a rapid pace and I feel it's mainly because I was able to build what I imagined every time and of course I was only limited by my imagination. The annex 20' container I bought to store my vintage car is about to get a makeover as well simply because I can't just leave it alone and I keep finding all sorts of recycled materials that will make great additions to it as a garage.
Anyway.....thanks to anyone who read this. I truly appreciate everyone's support (ahem Keeley, Bill, Jeff, Margot and Chris) and I'm very interested in communication with any like-minded builders or potential clients alike. Feel free to email me at stulberg@gmail.com with any and all feedback or questions. Thank YOU!
(UDATE: Due to the overwhelmingly positive response I've gotten to this 'final' product, I decided today that I will begin considering orders for build-to-order containers and will soon begin a spec container to be sold soon. A visual plan for various designs is burning up in my head. Plans and updates to follow here. Subscribe to this blog if you are interested. Thanks everyone for reading!)
