New Home of Anthony Francos Verona-Montclair was previously occupied by Makeovers hair salon - this is how the store looks before our construction begins.
View from the front of the store.
View from the back of the store.
Cleaning and Desconstructing the Store
Dismantling and discarding the old shelving.
Ripping the laminate off the walls.
Dismantling the old bathrooms and changing rooms.
Cutting out the old decorative ceiling beams.
Ripping up the old floor.
Cleaning the now empty store.
Store Layout
Before anything happens a laser has to find true axis lines so everything is layed out square. Then those lines have to be chalked and permanently spray painted into the cement so they can be referenced later during construction of the walls and layout of the tile floor.
Floor tracks for the the bathroom and kitchen divisions as well as for the service counters have to be shot to the cement with a high powered nail gun. This is one of the most important aspects of setting up the store properly within the plan specifications.
View from the front of the store: You can see the outlines of the service counter to the left and the bathrooms to the right.
View from the back of the store: This is taken standing inside one of the bathrooms looking forward.
Trenching the Plumbing Lines
In order to be able to install sinks where we need them we have to cut drain lines into the cement floor. This "trenching" process is very difficult and time consuming...
...as well as loud, wet and dirty. Canals about a foot wide have to be scored by the saw...
...and then jackhammered out. Looking to the right rear of the store, to where the bathrooms are going to be, you notice the location of each drain is also spraypainted on the wall in the way of giant red numbers. This is to make sure all the drains are accounted for as we are extra cautious not to forget one.
As a consideration to our neighbors, especially the Sylvan Learning center next to us this "loud" phase of the work was done during overnight hours when the mall was empty. This is the view taken from our kitchen area looking toward the front of the store.
Digging and Laying the Pipe
With our trenches now exposed we start digging more than a foot deep in some places. This is required in order to achieve the proper draining pitch for the waste system.
Unfortunately we run into a lot of rocks which requires tedious jack hammering to clear the path for the pipe. As you can see the mountain of rocks and dirt we unearthed starts to grow.
Our plumbers carefuly monitor the pitch with each new section of pipe they attach. If the run doesn't drop 1/4" for every foot of pipe we lay the job will not pass inspections.
Fortunately everything works out and we now call the cement truck...
so we can seal the holes in the ground.
Between all the digging and the rest of the debris we removed the giant dumpster fills up quickly and so we have to call for another.
Framing the Walls and Counters
Now with our floor no longer filled with holes we can start erecting the walls over the track guides we laid out at the beginning of our job.
We can also install sheetrock on one side of the wall to stiffen it up, however we cant close both sides of the wall until after the framing passes inspection.
We can also start the framing of our service counter...
as here you can really see the store start to take shape. This would be the view from the customer dining area looking towards the rear of the store.
Start of Electrical Work
Before we can start to run all new wires and electrical service, we need to cut the mountains of old existing wires that are all over the place like spaghetti.
The new wires have to be run carefully through each new metal wall stud.
Each new wire is labeled so when it eventually gets connect to the fuse panel the electricians will know exactly what to label the circuit breaker.
Start of the Tile Work
Before any tile work can even be contemplated we have to meet with Enzo, who is one of the tri-state areas premier tile designers.
The tile then has to be sorted for floors, walls, murals, counters, kitchen and bathrooms.
As we start installing the walls tile we are immediately impressed. the installer is careful to check the level every few feet to make sure the wall is perfectly straight.
Where there are currently two giant x's on the wall we are going to have two beatiful hand painted murals of Italian country side scenes framed with a magnificent tile border.
This is the view right at the front entrance of the store. To the right is the hallway to the rear of the store and the restrooms. The dining room area is immediately to the left, and a little further down on the left you can see the service counter that will eventially display the over 2 dozen differenet types specialty pizzas made fresh daily.
Decorative Construction
Starting off like what looks like a basketball backboard...
Then transforming to an upside down boat...
Eventually winds up to be our dining room ceiling.
Our young but crafty painter, Jen, paints a masterpiece on the ceiling unhindered by the electrician working next to her.
We wanted something really creative over our pizza station, so we start with the craftiest carpenter we know, some metal tracks and a lot of imagination...
...and came up with this.
then adding some tiles and later some brick veneer to match the ovens will really make it stand out.
Random Construction Pictures
Installing a new store front.
A very big crane is required...
...as well as a lot of finesse to guide the new AC unit to its exact spot.
This mural took 3 months to get here from Italy and due to heightened security concerns on all international freight was stuck in Customs for 3 weeks so we were real happy to finally take possession of it.
Lets be very careful on setting this painting.
I know we are seeking perfection but must you individually place every little piece?
Lets hope our insurance carrier doesn't log on to the website as we're not sure what they would say about this one.
One of our neighbors who was a retired plumber himself would visit us every few days. As you can see here, he's not shy about giving advice and direction to our plumber.
Wouldn't it be easier to set this oven without the cigarette?
Although we would stop and talk from time to time...
...everybody stays busy to complete the project by the first week of December...
... But all Josh is thinking is, "when will we ever open this place?"
