Nearing Completion

[Dave Grubb]

This is in Manhattan. We did everything here except the ceiling and the plantings. And yes ---that wall is a combination of curved glass and bent wood, they make a full 90 deg curve.

The second is a seating wall. Each individual "slice" (from the floor to the top) is 3/4" thick and each one is different than the one above or below. A unique computer program was required to feed the information to the machine that cut each of those shapes.

[Mike]

Nice!

[Dave Grubb]

Thanks Mike

Below are a few more photos, one of the seat wall in another area---it goes on and on!

The second is the curved glass wall seen in one of the above photos. That wall is one of the things that set us apart and are responsible for our growth---to the best of my knowledge, there is no one else that would even attempt that.

I should add that those plants are all real living plants. We recently did a project for one of our West Coast High Tech companies that had common areas with living walls made of moss as well as hanging planters overhead.

We have to remind ourselves at times that we are not designers, we are builders and the client/designers do not need to know how to build it they only need to show us what they want it to look like. I will admit there our times that they stump us, we simply cannot do what they ask--and then we have to work with them to create a design that is buildable and as close to their vision as we can make it.

I have one right now that I am trying to work through. The designer wants a marble top that cantilevers 12' and is 4' wide. The limit for deflection of marble is 1/1000, so in this case 0.144" with a 500 lb live load applied at the end. I am unable to hide the steel I need to do that. There will be a solution---I'm just not sure what it is.

[UTAH]

I think "classy" when looking at those shots, Dave.

Hunter

[Independent Voter]

Being a total idiot, I have to ask; Would those projects be possible [ thinking time expenditure here ] if we did not have computers ?

[wacojoe]

Looks so easy, simple and “right,” when it’s finished. That’s a sign of something done masterfully.

[Truckman]

Looks so easy, simple and “right,” when it’s finished. That’s a sign of something done masterfully.

Experience probably takes a hand at that game......Ben

[Dave Grubb]

Thanks everyone

IV--the simple answer to your questions is no--the cost would be even more than our clients would spend

To better understand that answer: we did not have detailed drawings of that seat wall (there are other similar items like that on this job, including the reception desk). What we had were renderings of the concept, which is very often the case. We first have to convert those "concepts" into actual drawings and then once we have approval on them (all done in 3D) we can generate the machine codes. Each slice is a unique piece and the detail of the shape is worked out one at a time.

The seat wall you see there took one draftsman 3-4 weeks to do--and that was after he "cut his teeth" on the reception desk shown below. To the left of the reception desk is a concierge station which is on wheels to allow them to move it were needed. The challenge with that was the original shape caused the desk to be unstable. We had to alter the shape (as little as possible) and add a steel counterweight in the base to improve stability.

Notice the screen wall behind the receptionist desk. The "cloud" is created by partially frosting the glass panels to give that illusion.

[FredK]

Well done project Dave.

[Mike]

Very interesting work you do. I'd like to see the manufacturing facilities.

[Dave Grubb]

The doors will always be open for you my friend, I'd be honored to escort you

[Mike]

The doors will always be open for you my friend, I'd be honored to escort you

I appreciate that, Dave. The problem is (as always) location, location, location.

[CactusCurt]

There will be a solution---I'm just not sure what it is.

Fantastic stuff! Couple of curious questions; what CAD program are you using? We used Autocad in my past life. I never learned it but what the guys could do with it was magic. You probably put this up while i was away, but do you guys have your own millworks and ship it to your sites (you had finished building furniture and were fooling around with process efficiency last i was here). And last, union? Thats not a political question so if someone makes it that, shame.

You are cantilevering a marble diving board? My buddy cantilevered a counter top but had to brace it from below. He used a piece of ship anchor chain with the links welded. Sounds hideous but it fit with his yellow iron motif. You need to invent a carbon fiber marble laminate. Looks like your customers can afford it!

[Dave Grubb]

Fantastic stuff!

Thank you

Couple of curious questions; what CAD program are you using? We used Autocad in my past life. I never learned it but what the guys could do with it was magic.

We use both AutoCAD and Inventor. The Inventor (also by Autodesk) is used primarily in the metal shop. Those machines interface with Inventor and we can write programs directly using the CAD/CAM interface. The wood operation is primarily AutoCAD with an embedded CAD/CAM program that runs on a SQL data base. For one offs in wood we work directly in AutoCAD and then do machine programing using a program called WoodWOP, which is a German software, to write the G Code.

You probably put this up while i was away, but do you guys have your own millworks and ship it to your sites (you had finished building furniture and were fooling around with process efficiency last i was here).

Yes---we have plants on Long Island about an hour east of the city. We have four trucks that are on the road most days by 4 AM to meet delivery demands--which are often time restricted. We prefer to not subcontract any manfacturing but we are outgrowing our own ability to keep up with the volume. As a result, I have introduced the concept of "core competencies". We retain the production of difficult/high margin items in house and subcontract the more routine.

And last, union? Thats not a political question so if someone makes it that, shame.

Yes we are union--for the most part. Manhattan remains primarily union, the other borrows increasingly are non-union. As a result, our production plants are all union and we have both union and nonunion installation crews. The current rate for carpenters in Manhattan working a 7 hour day is $1000/day.

You are cantilevering a marble diving board? My buddy cantilevered a counter top but had to brace it from below. He used a piece of ship anchor chain with the links welded. Sounds hideous but it fit with his yellow iron motif. You need to invent a carbon fiber marble laminate. Looks like your customers can afford it!

Exactly--and I will eventually arrive at a solution with the designer that meets his expectations and my limitations. One of the key elements in these applications is the ADA requiremnts which limit the height to 34" and 27" clear beneath. That limits the apron to a maximum of 7"---and I give up 1.5" to the thickness of the marble and the sub-top, leaving me a net of 5.5". The smallest (using 3 tubes) I can use to meet the deflection criteria are 6" x 4" x 3/8" wall. I have proposed a reduction in the cantilever which the designer is looking at now.

[CactusCurt]

Holy cow just anchoring that tubing takes some work. Shortening up will help but could they pick something heavier? The only things we did were cable stays and post-tensioning (or prestressing for you purists). We were crude You need a long drill bit to drill those prestressing strand ducts.