Construction Blog #2

Since my last Blog entry there have been a handful of both noticeable and subtle changes at the Pilsener Haus and Biergarten in Hoboken, NJ. The individuals that are working hard to bring you this establishment have battled through frigid cold and bone-chilling winds over the past two weeks in order to continue their progress on this building; and until late last week, were working without any heat in the entire building.

The reason that it took so long to be able to turn the heat on was because of the fact that all of the windows were not installed and there were some emergency exit doorways without doors. However, some addition windows were installed, and the three or four spots that are still missing them have been boarded up (along with the doorways) so that no wind whips through.

Don’t get me wrong, it is by no means an island beach resort in there. The Biergarten has one of those big industrial heaters that you see all of the football players huddled around on the sidelines; the upper floors have one heating unit each. All heaters run off of natural gas and are regulated by thermostats which are set to 45 degrees. Yes, 45 degrees… the main purpose of these heaters are to take the chill out of the air so that 1) the sprinkler pipes don’t freeze 2) to take the bone-chillingness out of the air to allow the workers to be able to bare being there and 3) so that no one is spending an excess amount for 70 degree heating on a building that’s not 100 percent airtight just yet.

The Building

As I stated above, the biggest difference is that the heat was turned on for the building. Another major improvement is on the back emergency case stairwell. The staircase will be double-walled with the inside layer being cinder blocks and the outside layer is brick- in order to match the buildings exterior.

A view of the stairwell from the 3rd floor window

Showing the dual layers of the stairwell

 

Also getting pieces added was the plumbing on the upper floors. The cast-iron waste pipes are in (black) as well as the PVC pipe (white), and now some of the copper piping has also been installed for the water.

Copper pipes are for water supply, Cast-iron pipes (black) are for the drains, and PVC (white) pipes are the air flow pipes

The last major building improvement of the past two weeks has been that the elevator company, after stripping the elevator shaft of its old parts, has installed the new electrical tracks and began to install the frames for the new doors on every floor.


Wintergarten

Earlier last week, trenches in the Wintergarten were dug and the plumbing laid in for the bar area that will be along the back wall. After the dirt was filled back in, a layer of tiny rocks was spread on top followed by a large piece of plastic. When that was finished the masons then constructed a grid of rebar, or reinforcing bar, which will add even more support when the concrete is poured in for the floor of the Wintergarten

The white pipes are part of the plumbing

Kitchen

Similar to the Wintergarten, the kitchen area has also had a layer of dirt added too it in order to level it out. Also, where the side wall used to be, has been knocked down in order to make the kitchen and storage area just about three quarters of the length of the building. The kitchen used to be half the length of the building with a wall separating it from a storage area.

A view rom the kitchen looking towards the storage space. the floors will eventually be much closer in height then they are now

A view from the storage space with the wall knocked out

Main Dinning Area

In the dinning room, the areas were the PVC drainage pipes were sticking out of the ground, have now been cut down and had their finished grates installed at floor level.

The back wall which leads out to the Wintergarten has had its trio of doorways installed. The door frames are made out of steel to fit with the theme of the Biergarten, and the masons have laid bricks on either side to match the rest of the interior

In addition, since the Biergarten is actually slightly below ground level, the area leading out to the Wintergarten has had concrete steps poured.

There is a metal rim on the corner of every step to prevent chipping of the steps over time.

The ceiling in the restaurant area has had all of the tracks for the fire-rating installed and the second layer of sheetrock that gets screwed directly into them has started to go up… before the second layer went in, all wires were run in the ceiling for all of the audio and surveillance equipment.

Hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday season! Check back just before the new year for additional updates!

Construction Blog #1

Greetings, and welcome to the official Construction Blog for the Pilsener Haus and Biergarten. This Blog will give you a behind-the-scenes look at the progress of our build, transforming from an old factory into a bar/restaurant. We will update you a few times each month and take you from where we currently are on Thanksgiving through to Opening Night.

Over the past few months there have been many people working hard in order to bring this establishment to you in early 2011. It hasn’t been just the hard work of the physical laborers such as the carpenters, contractors, plumbers, and masons; but the designs of the architects, engineers, and hard work of the management team as well.

Initial demolition at 1422 Grand Street began back in August in what used to be an old Light Assembly Factory on the corner of 15^th and Grand Street in Hoboken, NJ.

It took nearly a full two months to fully complete the demolition by stripping down all of the old walls, floors, and ceilings to the bare brick walls and wooden floors. All of the old electric and plumbing were also removed in the process.

The Building

One of the first projects to be accomplished in this transformation was the painting of the “Biergarten” and “Pilsener Haus” signs on the top and sides of the building.

Signs for "Pilsener Haus" and "Biergarten" can be seen on all sides of the building

Within the past month brand new windows have also been installed which have made working inside the building significantly warmer. With the window cutouts open the wind whipped through the building, and with the cold winter winds rapidly approaching it will help to make work go a little smoother

A little over a month ago a new sewage pipe and new water main were both installed under the Grand Street sidewalk; a process that eliminates any potential future problems if we were to have used the old existing system.

Wintergarten

Out back, the foundation for both the Wintergarten and emergency staircase has been completed and construction on the emergency staircase is ongoing. In the last three weeks, the concrete back wall and support pillars were erected for the Wintergarten area.

View of Wintergarten from main entrance (emergency staircase on left next to scaffolding)

View of Wintergarten from the 3rd Floor

Kitchen

After jack-hammering through the concrete floor and cutting out the iron I-beams, new PVC plumbing pipes and new grease-traps were set to match the final layout of the kitchen. The maze of white pipes was covered by dirt and now the only remnants are the stacks sticking out of the ground.

Cinder-blocks are for support columns. Floor level will actually be close to where you see the color-divide on the wall

Main Dinning Area

In mid-October the electrician ran all of the wires in the ceiling for all of the lighting and within the past week the ceiling was sheetrocked bringing it one step closer to completion.

Metal tracks are to space out the layers of sheetrock for fire-proofing purposes

New plumbing was installed underneath the concrete flooring and the tracks that were cut out for those pipes have since been filled in with dirt then had concrete poured in.

View of dinning hall from front entrance

 Bathrooms

The bathroom areas were framed with cinder-blocks and their plumbing was set along with the instillation of the new sewer system. Just like in the kitchen area the majority of the pipes that could be seen a month ago have had dirt dumped and packed down over top of them. 

Office

The office will be located on the second floor of the Pilsener Haus building. The office area needed to be stripped of all the old plumbing on its walls as well as have the paint scraped off the bricks. About two weeks ago carpenters started to frame the areas in the office for the employees’ locker rooms as well as the owners’ office.