BLUE MYRTLE HOUSE

Delayed Opening Until October 2013

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 20:03:00 +0000

I'd like to thank all who have applied as a vendor for the Blue Myrtle House Farmers Market. Unfortunately we have not reached the minimum number of vendors needed to have a strong opening in October. I have made the difficult decision to lease the property for one year. The timing for this is two-fold; I would like to give a new Leasee ample opportunity to setup prior to Glendale Glitters. Secondly, this time next year when the lease is up I want ample time to setup the Farmers Market prior to Glendale Glitters. I will keep your applications on record and contact you down the road to see if you are still interested in vending at the Blue Myrtle House.

Parties interesting in leasing this property:
http://www.loopnet.com/lid/17818500

It's A Sign - Kinda

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 02:06:00 +0000

I've been working really hard on the monument sign for the Blue Myrtle House. I didn't have my camera with me or I'd have a picture posted here. I'm still not done with it, but give me another day or two. I find my camera and post a pic of it. It's my own creation (kinda) so you'll have to tell me what you think. You can see the start of it in the June Gallery. It's not plain white anymore. Stay tuned.

Blessing In Disguise

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 21:51:00 +0000

Just a minor setback at the Blue Myrtle House. The water heater leaked and ruined a large area of the pergo flooring. I had to tear it all out. I'm going to have the floor acid stained. It's low maintenance and will hold up to the beating I hope it has to take from customers! I'm still shooting for an October opening. There is so much to do before then.

Moving In

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 03:24:00 +0000

I got the Certificate of Occupancy last Friday. Todd, Alec, Jake, and Tyler helped me move some stuff into the house over the weekend. Almost everything that was in storage is now inside the house. There is still a lot to do to meet the October opening. I am going to try and start putting together the sales counter this weekend. I'm already starting to layout the shelving. Below is the main shelves that will be located in the center of the 1st floor retail area.

Once assembled they are suppose to resemble wings of an airplane. The arrangement of the winged shelves is that of a 4 bladed propeller that was commonly used on early airline aircraft.

Two Busy Months

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 19:58:00 +0000

I'm really getting behind on this blog - sorry. I completely missed May and June. It's been two busy months for sure. So much has happened I'll just give the highlights. To begin with we won't be opening until late September or early October. Worse case late October. The goal is to be open for the start of Glendale Glitters.

I'm crossing my fingers that literally today I get the Certificate of Occupancy. Which means I can move in! This is when the fun starts. My garage is full of stuff that needs to go in the BMH. Stuff like shelves, refrigeration, decor, blah blah blah.

Enough about that. The house was completed on the outside in May. With the exception of the floors the inside was pretty much done too. All that was left was to make sure everything worked for the final inspections. The inspections happened in June and into July. No big issues to report, just a couple of small items like landscaping and securing the AC unit with an anti-theft cage. The company that put in the AC is literally installing the cage today. Hopefully this very moment. It is the last item on the checklist that has to be inspected.

The other item was the landscaping. I had a tree planted and some pavers laid on the side and in front of the two buildings. I'm happy with how both turned out. I'm doing the irrigation and grass. I'm trying out an idea I had with the irrigation. I came up with a way to keep the watering completely below the grass. The video below shows the test stage. I wanted to make sure all the bubblers were bubbling before I buried them. I actually don't bury the bubblers just the tubing, the bubblers stay above the dirt. To see how Todd and I put this all together click on the July 2012 Photo Album on right.

It's Blue Again!

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 02:47:00 +0000

Wow, I cannot believe I went a whole month without writing something. I'll begin by saying it's been a pretty stressful month. I won't bore you with the details, but things have settled down and we are back on track. Like most projects like this it always comes down to the financials. This is already being done on a shoestring budget, but March was looking like it was down to a few strands of fabric with not much left over.

To make up for some of the cost over runs I took over some of the jobs originally covered by the builder. Redden Construction has done a wonderful job on this house and has gone the extra mile a couple of times. Scott who was the lead on this has really done a fantastic job. I cannot express my appreciation for all that work he and his crew have done.

Unfortunately the opening has been pushed back because of the additional work I will be doing. Spring is not a possibility but Summer is. We may do a soft opening in the Summer but since this area is so dead that time of year we may wait until Fall for the Grand Opening.

From April 2012

Up On The Roof 2

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 02:20:00 +0000

The last Up On The Roof is from November 2009 when I was tearing the roof off the old house. Wow, I cannot believe how long I've been at this. It's getting real close now. I am so impressed with the job Scott and the Redden crew are doing on this new construction. Scott is paying particularly close attention to the Craftsman style detail, and from what I'm hearing from passers by and neighbors they are all loving it. I think when these guys are done it will be a great inspiration to what can be done in this small historic area of Glendale!

February 2012

November 2009

Out On The Farm

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 16:20:00 +0000

Construction is going pretty fast. To see the progress just click on the top photo album along the right side of the page.

I met with Monica and Farmer Frank at Crooked Sky Farms on Friday. Monica gave me a tour of the farm and talked with me about getting produce and how to manage it in the store. I talked with Frank a little bit about the Blue Myrtle House too. It was good to meet both of them and I look forward to working with them in a few months when I'm ready to start stocking the shelves.

We're Vertical!

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:14:00 +0000

The lumber was delivered this morning and work on the main structure began right away.

House Foundation Down

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:38:00 +0000

The Redden Construction team worked late into the night on this one. The cement showed up about 11:30am and twelve hours later the guys went home. This Wednesday the front porch, out-building and rear walkway will be poured.

Final Prep Before The Pour

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:01:00 +0000

Scott, Robert and the rest of the crew are working hard to get the forms ready for the concrete trucks that'll be showing up in the morning.

Footings Going In

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 02:12:00 +0000

The property is really starting to take shape with the footings be poured today. Won't be long before the slab is down. The weather has been really nice, hanging in the low 70's!

Official Ground Breaking

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:11:00 +0000

The official ground breaking took place on Monday without fanfare. Ted, Scott, and Robert from Redden Construction were all on hand to get the job done. The entire slab and footers were torn up using a backhoe. The ole 1926 foundation came up fairly easily, but didn't give up any secrets from beneath - no buried treasures, no nothin'.

Securing The Work Site

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:55:00 +0000

The construction company had all the fencing set up by Friday to start work on Monday. I was out the previous week removing the picket fence that bordered the parking area. I also had to remove about 40 cement blocks that bordered the yard where you see the oleanders. Take a good look at the oleanders in these pictures because they are being removed along the east side of the property. As they are now they completely block the view of the Blue Myrtle House from 58th Avenue.

Another Shelf Mod

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 01:56:00 +0000

Oh boy, another modification to the shelves. The last modification I made to the shelves took up too much floor space. I didn't realize how much space they took up until I placed them into the 3D model of the store layout. I messed around with the 3D model to see what worked best. As it turns out whacking off one end of the shelves and moving them perpendicular to the wall gave me more room and easy access from both sides. The graphics below are the modification in progress. I got a temporary structure holding each shelf in place while I bolt on the wing spars at the end. The graphic at bottom is a mock up of the first floor.

Thank You

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:59:00 +0000

I've been at this for quite awhile now, so I figure it's time to stop and say thanks to all who have helped me out so far. First and foremost, thank you Jesus. I'm glad you have been with me along the way. Thank you to all my family and friends who having been saying prayers. For all the family and friends who helped tear the old building down, thanks.

Thank you Jennifer at Meridian Bank for your help in obtaining the financing needed just to even make this project possible. Thank you Thomas at Redden Construction for your enthusiasm and willingness to take on a small job like this. Thank you Anne Marie and Matt at ACS Services for going above and beyond when I needed a soils report in a pinch.

Thank you City of Glendale Planning Department, particularly Remigio. Your help and patience during the plan submittal process is appreciated more than you realize.

Thank you neighbors of the Blue Myrtle House "lot". Your encouragement and inquisitiveness along the way has helped me to keep going.

Thank you Kevin for drafting the plans. It wasn't as easy as it seemed but you were able to take my house design and make it work.

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:53:00 +0000

It's official! Construction begins on the Blue Myrtle House next week!

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 19:06:00 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving! This time next year we won't be open today, but we will the day before and after. Exciting announcement coming Monday!

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:15:00 +0000

Exciting news! A big announcement will be made on Monday about the Blue Myrtle House.

Shelf Shape

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 03:11:00 +0000

I modified the shelves I'm making. They didn't look aero enough so I made a simple change to the length of each shelf. This not only gives them more of an airplane look, but it also increases shelf space. This is a rough finish. I still have to align the shelves, sand and stain the wood, and paint the metal (wings).

From November 2011

3rd Submission

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 19:32:00 +0000

Argh! 2nd Submission came back with red lines. This is a little disappointing but what can you do. The staff at the City of Glendale Planning Dept have been very helpful and patient with me. Hopefully we'll get this all corrected and construction started soon.

2nd Submission of Plans

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 14:24:00 +0000

All the red lines from the 1st plan submission have been corrected and turned in for further review. Hopefully the remaining reviews will go smooth and I'll get the permits to start building. If all goes well that should happen within the next 12 days. I would like to have construction started by the end of the month. Redden Construction will be the builders. The house should be done by the end of January and open for biz in February or early March. Below is what the house will look like. There are two structures. The building at the bottom is an 11' x 16', it will be located at the rear of the property in front of the parking area. This initially will be used for storage, but potentially as a retail kiosk or workshop. The building on the right is the main house. It has a front porch and balcony.

Building Vendor Shelves

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 20:18:00 +0000

I started on the main vendor shelves this past weekend. Actually I started making the parts to the shelves. Sticking with the "Vintage Aero meets Classic Rural" theme, the shelves will look like wings of an airplane. I'm using my CNC machine to cut out spar-shaped braces. I'm using material from the original house to make the shelves. I'm also using some old redwood my buddy gave me from from a deck he tore off his cabin up in Happy Jack. I'll post more on the shelves as I progress, but for now here's a video of the spar being cut out on my CNC machine. It's kind of cheesy, I put it to music:}

Siding All Sawed Up

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 17:22:00 +0000

I finally finished cutting up all the redwood clapboard siding I saved from the original house. I trimmed off the beat up edges and then ripped each board almost right down the center. I wanted a couple of widths so I offset my cut a little. I wound up with two widths; 1 1/2" and 2". Each board varies in length between 18" and 36". Once I had the boards ripped and trimmed I made one last cut with the boards turned on their side. By doing this I was able to cut off the beveled edge of the clapboard. One side of each board has a fresh cut finish while the other is weathered and old looking. Both sides look pretty cool when all laid out. My plan is to panel the vaulted ceiling of the new house with these redwood planks. Now my problem is deciding which side to show. I can't decide which side looks better; the new grainy look or the old weather-beaten look. I guess I have to ask myself - do I want the inside of a barn look or more of a refined cabin look? I'm going to have to call in a couple of experts to help me with this one.

Dog Days of Summer

noreply@blogger.com (DC) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 03:30:00 +0000

Went to the Dog Days of Summer event last night. It started at 6pm but Lisa and I plus Piper didn't go until 7:30. It was still 105 degrees then but at least the sun was almost down. It appeared to be a pretty good turn out. There were dogs of all shapes and sizes. Channel 15 was there with a news crew. We stopped by Papa Ed's Ice Cream to get a frozen doggie treat, but the line was pretty long so we just walked around some more. It was nice to see so many people out with their dogs for this event. We walked around both the downtown and Catlin Court areas. Most of the people were in the Catlin Court area when we were there.