Keith's Market

Last summer, I completed a small market in a remote corner of California.  The market is called Keith’s Market and it is located in the small town of Covelo.  This picture was taken about a week prior to the grand opening last Summer.

Before you get your maps, let me explain where Covelo is located.  It is about 13 miles north and 30 miles East of Willits.  Willits is located about 20 miles North of Ukiah on Highway 101.  OK, now would be a good time to get your map.  Basically it is about 160 miles north of San Francisco, as the crow flies, as they say.

My client was a wonderful man, named Brian Hurt.  I really enjoyed working for him.  He knew what he wanted, was ready to move forward, hard working, and was very honest.  My kind of guy.

It was a very interesting project because of its remoteness.  Covelo is located in a large beautiful valley called Round Valley.  Brian’s family had been there for over 100 years.  Brian’s main occupation was forest product support, but he also owns the only grocery store in town.

Since the town was so small, Brian had me include a plaza area next to the building and right on the street.  This plaza made his building the center place of the town.  Any parade, or other outdoor gathering will take place on his plaza. 

This photo is looking South, out of town.

In an effort to conserve, I reused the existing store, which was a pre-fabricated metal building, as the backroom and prep areas.  This also allowed easier construction, in that the existing building was able to remain open while the new store was built.  When the new building opened to the public, the old store was cleaned out and the backroom organized. 

These are photos of the interior and the ribbon cutting, which was held a few days before the official grand opening.

Project: Keith’s Meat Market, Inc., Covelo, California

Structural Engineer: Whitchurch Engineering, Fortuna, California

Mechanical, Plumbing and Electrical Engineering: Sacramento Engineering Consultants, Sacramento, California

Contractor: Danco Builders, Arcata, California

I was referred to Brian by the Owner of another market I had completed several years earlier.  Mr. Michael Braught hired me to do his store, in Laytonville, California, which is on Highway 101, about 30 miles North of Willits.  Michael was also a wonderful client, just like Brian.  A photo of his store is above.  Thank you both for allowing me to do these projects.

Now one final comment.  When I first started Brian’s project, he took me aside and said, “Now Jerry, when you come here, don’t take any side trips.”  “Don’t have a flat tire and don’t stop along the way.”  I asked why and he said, “this is part of the Golden Triangle and there are “Marijuana Grows” (this is what they call the secret places where marijuana is grown) in these hills and some people don’t like outsiders snooping around.”  Luckily, I never had a flat or a break down on my trips to Covelo.

Interior Design

Last year I completed an interior improvement for an accounting office.  Four young men, who were in a partnership, had just purchased a building with intent of occupying a major portion of it.  The remaining portion was occupied by a local homebuilder.

I really enjoyed working with this company.  They had decided what they wanted and were ready to proceed.  The project went very well.

I often consult with my daughter, Rebecca, for color and design ideas on my projects.  She has grown-up with my work around her and she has a natural talent.  On this project I took care of the technical portion and she did the complete color and material package.  As the Interior Designer she chose the wall and floor coverings, paint colors, prepared the sample boards and did the client presentation.  She is very good and has a keen design eye.  It was a delight for me to work with her.

 
 
Project: Professional Solutions Interior Improvement, Roseville, California

Interior Designer: Rebecca Wheable, Roseville, California
Structural Engineer: KPFF Consulting Engineers, Roseville, California
Mechanical: Rand Mechanical, Inc., Roseville, California
Plumbing: Cayler Company , Orangevale, California
Electrical: Paul Russell Electric, Inc., Granite Bay, California
Contractor: SW Bailey Companies, Inc., Rancho Cordova California

Soffit Design

In many projects that have a sloped roof and an overhang, the underside is often overlooked.  Unfortunately, this surface is very visible and a bad finish is not seen until the project is near completion.  Here are two examples of how the soffits look with this decking.  These are from the Oakdale Walgreens project that had its grand opening in October 2010 which I posted previously.  As you can see, it is a great improvement over exposed roof sheathing, which today is seldom plywood, but is typically Oriented Strand Board, known simply as OSB.

For my projects, I have found that T&G decking, with a “V” groove, often serves as a very attractive material.  It can be painted or stained, depending on the building color.  I am working on a new project and I have just completed this detail.  It shows how it is applied.  Please note that the rafter needs to be thinned down at the junction where the roof sheathing changes to the decking.  I have seen this done by a skillful carpenter with a pencil, a tri-square and a circular power handsaw.

It is important to always use 2x6 and never 1x6 material.  An actual dimension of a 1x6 is only 3/4” x 3 1/2”.  3/4” is not thick enough for the roofing fasteners to keep from popping through.  A 2x6 has a 1 1/2” actual thickness, which is adequate for most roofing nails.

Tectus Cube

Since I was a young boy, and my father gave me an Erector Set for Christmas in the early 60’s, I have been fascinated by construction toys and architectural blocks.  The other day I came upon an elegant little cube called the Tecus Cube, which is basically an Architectural block.  It is manufactured by Naef in Switzerland and can be found at the following link: http://www.naefspiele.ch/index.php?id=92&L=1

The design of this cube is based on the Golden Ratio.  (See the Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio )

I have always been better with images than words, so in an effort to understand this cube, I have taken the time to draw it out.  If you want a copy, first click on the image.  Then in the new window click your right mouse button and select “Save Picture As”.  Then save the image to “My Pictures” on your computer.

Naef has an American outlet which can be found here: http://www.naefusa.com/   While you’re there, take time to look around.  They have some very creative products.

Progress Report on Favero Family Dental Building

At my last field visit all Cor-ten panels have been installed and the Alucbond panels are about 65% complete.  All windows have been installed.  The proposed completion date is mid-summer.

This is the view from the street, which is the North-East corner.  Due to the small parcel size, parking is under the building and the suites are located upstairs

This is the rear of the building, taken from the South-East corner.  The rusty looking panels are siding made from Cor-ten steel.  Cor-ten was used on some modern buildings in the 70's, but is rarely used today.  It is a steel with a copper alloy.  It will rust to a point then stop, creating a protective laver over the steel without any painting or other finish and is completely environmentally friendly.  Today, it is only available in thin sheets and is used by the automobile industry for suspension components.

Detail of the Cor-ten canopy over the exit door.  In about a year, the steel will be completely rusty red and in several years it will turn dark brown.

On the Boards, June 2011

Several years ago I completed two multi-tenant buildings, Pads "A" and "D", in a retail center knows as Vintner's Square, located in Richmond, Washington.  The center is anchored with a Target store and several other national retailers.  My two buildngs were pad buildings at the main corner.  Besides design and working drawings, my work included the overall site planning.  I am currently engaged with preliminary site modifications as other retailers consider the center.

Developer: Browman Development Co., Inc.
Structural Engineer: DCI Engineers, Spokane, Washington
Mechanical Engineer: Absolute Engineering, Kennewick, Washington
Electrical Engineer: Hallis Engineering, Los Angeles, California
Contractor: Vandervert Construction, Spokane, Washington

Completion of the Social Security Administration February 2011

Social Security Administration, in the Sunrise Hills Business Park, 745 Morning Star Drive, Sonora, California.

Developer: The Imperial Group, La Jolla, California.
Structural Engineer: KPFF consulting Engineers, Roseville, California
Mechanical/Plumbing Engineer: Guthrie Associates, Torrance, California
Electrical Engineer: Hallis Engineering, Los Angeles, California
Landscape Architect: Landscape Design Solutions, Roseville, California
Contractor: Michael R. Tolliday Corp, Fresno, California.

This buildng is the fifth of a series of buildings I did for this business park located in the hills just west of the city of Sonora, California.

This building below is one which I designed, but the working drawings were completed by another architect.

These next three are the other buildings that I have completed in this office park over the last eight years.  Two were office buildings and the third was a doctor's clinic.  The developer for these buildings was Tower Investments of Woodland, California.

Grand Opening, February 2011

Walgreens #12525, a part of a center known as Stone Tower Plaza, located at the North-West corner of Twelve Bridges Drive and Fieldstone Way, in Lincoln, California.

Owner/Builder: Jackson Properties, Inc., Sacramento, California.
Structural Engineer: Kibler Engineering, Redding, California
Mechanical/Plumbing Engineer: Guthrie Associates, Torrance, California
Electrical Engineer: Hallis Engineering, Los Angeles, California

Grand Opening October 2010

Walgreens #11934, 150 California Avenue, Oakdale, California 

Developer: Brian Kisling for Interra Development Partners, LLC, El Dorado Hills, California
Structural Engineer: Kibler Engineering, Redding, California
Mechanical/Plumbing Engineer: Guthrie Associates, Torrance, California
Electrical Engineer: Hallis Engineering, Los Angeles, California
Contractor: Woodland Construction, Salida, California