Sunday, October 9, 2011

Apartment Rehab

This Fall we've been working on an old apartment complex in Speedway, IN. This particular complex is under new ownership, and they have decided to do a relatively extensive overhaul of the place. As you can imagine, if you've ever lived in an older apartment, they are in desperate need of some TLC.
Our role in this project is doing the interior finish. We are installing new lighting, window coverings, bathroom accessories, bathroom vanity, closet doors, kitchen countertops, and some units get all new kitchen cabinets. Nothing fancy, mostly low budget inexpensive fixtures, but it's all new and a major improvement.
I haven't done too much work in multi-family residential construction. Most of my experience is single family semi-custom homes. It's a bit of an adjustment working in vacant apartments as opposed to someone's home.
So, while this work isn't too difficult or anything I haven't done before, I got to thinking the other day that it's good practice. We could all use some practice, whether an experienced carpenter or a beginner.
I had this thought the other day, when discussing the project with my crew, one of which has limited experience. It's a fast paced/production style atmosphere and the materials are inexpensive(which means I can let guys get their hands on things that I would normally insist on doing myself).
While this project may not be anything too exciting, nothing fancy, or maybe I won't be getting any cool photos, the one thing my crew and I can take from it is the practice and experience. Both of which are invaluable for any tradesman.

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