An important part of the water-fed grinding portion of the job, is to soften the edges of the counter-top a bit, so it does not chip when you install it, or when you drunkenly break a beer on it for a good ole' bar brawl! Usually, an intern smacks his head on the edge to test the counter-top, and if it bruises, its perfect. If it draws blood, then its probably a bit too sharp of an angle, and Aaron has to hit it again with a finer grit.
Here, Ken tries his best to show some poor, drunken, irish immigrant how to slurry the surface of the counter top.
Ken works quickly to seal these counter-top pieces before it starts to rain- hurry Ken, hurry! Since this is an outdoor bar, it's
especially important that the coats of sealer take to the surface- sitting water could potentially damage that oh-so-impressive sheen that the guys work so hard to obtain. A few surface coats of sealer relinquishes the possibility of any moisture, or pooling liquid from absorbing into the pores of the cement, successfully keeping the bar
so fresh and so clean! Aint nobody dope as iNViDiA!
The foggier quality seen on the surface of this top, is due to the drying sealant Ken just applied- don't worry though guys, it'll dry up and look magnificent, I promise! That lovely gritty texture on the surface, is achieved by sprinkling broken shards of glass on the surface of the mold before pouring.
As any of our jobs go, there always seems to be some unexpected surprises that make the task excruciatingly difficult, or at least, a serious pain in the butt. Since the iNViDiA Design crew is
particularly skilled at spontaneous problem solving, the latter is most often the case, and a little elbow grease always manages to get the job done. Whatever doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger right? That might be true and all, but I'm still not sure that it justifies all the broken bones that Ken and Aaron give each other...
So as you can see, the bars top had to be removed by us, because it wouldn't fit between the overhanging lips of the counter-top's underside. Much of the time, the work that goes into the bars foundation, is underdeveloped, and quite frankly, sub-par, because the contractors know that
their work is going to be covered by
ours. Put another way, the focus of their job here, is openly
function over form. Problems arise however, when the functional aspect is questionable (like an unstable base), or, in this case, when the measurements are so vague, that they do not fit our design.
Because the base of the bar was so off from what we had expected, we were forced to call in the general contractor, to help us make the foundation of the bar fit the concrete pieces that are obviously, unchangeable at this point. In the meantime, we begin to fit the hurricane-grade acrylic panels into their metal frames, which are proudly fabricated in-house, by good old Carl. With obvious intentions to match the inside and outside decors, these frames are the same design as seen in the interior of the restaurant.
The popular iNViDiA patented panels, are meant to line the front and side of the bar, and be illuminated from behind using rope lights. The outcome promises to be a spectacular combination of efficiency, aesthetic, and functional support, since the panels will actually sit under the weight of the bars edge, and help to keep it stable. In the background, a fresh new iNViDiA intern, Eliseo, explains why he wasn't able to steal an ostrich from a cage at the zoo, as Ken demanded he do for his initiation into the company. Ken looks down with a fatherly gaze seeming to say, I'm not angry at you, I'm just disappointed... Someday Ken, you'll get your ostrich.
Someday.
Since the view from Ryan Braun's Waterfront is so splendid, and the third ward bridge is so close, it is
essential to make sure that the lighting illuminates the grandiose structure for all to see, and also functions as a beacon of quality and achievement for iNViDiA Design to be able to claim as their own.
Ideally, people will drive across the bridge, see the gorgeously lit/seemingly magical bar we made, and in a frenzy of over-excited awe, they will turn towards the illuminated structure, and drive right off the bridge! ALL BECAUSE OF HOW AWESOME OUR BAR TURNED OUT! Perhaps it would be a
morbid testament to the quality of our work, but iNViDiA Design selflessly promises to sponsor any funerals that happen as a result of their greatness.
We call the pro's in, and like the busy little beavers that they are, they immediately re-create the sub-structure of the bar to fit our hefty slabs of cement counter-top. Those guys are such good sports! As much as iNViDiA insists upon the quality of their work, it takes the hands of several to help us get many of our jobs done. It's kinda like iNViDiA is the star quarterback-
sure, we make it all happen, and we look damn good doing it- but we still need the rest of the team... Unless Aaron and Ken do figure out how to clone themselves. If that happens, then screw everyone else.
Asides from making sure that the bar has a hearty enough sub-structure to withhold all the girls from the restaurant dancing on its top, we also need to be sure it is level, so cocktails and stiletto heels don't slip off easily. Aaron and Ken weigh out their options in the small problem they have come across, being that one of the planks in the deck is slightly higher than the rest.
The guys somehow manage to overcome the problem, making the bar nice and level- no thanks to immigrant laborer Richard McKee who stands around uselessly. Good thing iNViDiA's contract with him, only requires that he be paid with a six pack of 16 .oz Milwaukee's Best's, and 8 potato's (Idaho potatoes, not those delicious red ones). This is one of the last seen photographs of Richard McKee, who mysteriously disappeared after this job. Rumor has it, that iNViDiA Design only had one position available, and there was a battle to the death between Eliseo, and McKee for the job...
Orientating the enormous pieces into their perfect fit, is often times a quite grueling process involving allot of flipping, swapping, shimming, and lifting. When it all comes together perfectly though, its definitely worth all the hard work and heavy lifting. Eliseo measures the overhang between the wood substructure, the frame tops, and the lip of the counter-top. This way, when the bar is perfectly in place, we can all disregard whatever numerical differences he came up with, using his
fancy shmancy ruler. Ken and Aaron measure in units of sweat, pain, and greatness only!
The bar comes together slowly but surely, and Eliseo is told to stand in the corner, as punishment for playing with his silly "ruler" toy too much. At this point, Ken and Aaron abandon the metric system entirely, in favor of the "tetris" system, which focuses on squares, blocks, and rectangular shapes fitting together seamlessly, and edges remaining flush. It's actually a pretty damn good system.
Entirely irrelevant to iNViDiA, and custom concrete design in general, but anyhow, heres a short list of possible things Ken is doing in this picture:
1. first and foremost, I'd say it looks like Ken is hopping like a bunny. A peter rabbit imitation perhaps?
2. "The Crip Walk," maybe? I don't even know how to explain this gansta' dance, or, why on earth Ken would be doing it...
3. Maybe someone just hiked the invisible football, to imaginary "quarterback Ken." This one looks like it could be a hail merry! Who's open?
4. Anyone who had gym class, probably had a teacher who made you do "Up-Downs," it pretty much involves a spastic in-place jogging portion, followed by the coach/teacher blowing the whistle, signaling for you to hit the ground push-up style, and then you hop back to your feet continuing the pee-your-pants dance as fast as possible. Maybe that one's a bit of a stretch though...
Eliseo practices his ninja like moves, to make sure his body and mind are fully attuned to doing what he knows best- ruthlessly pummeling combatants using the skills he learned from his
personal sansei master, Billy Maze. You probably know him from the OXY CLEAN commercials, but what most people don't know, is that Billy Maze was
originally, an undercover ninja assassin, who was trained by Chuck Norris himself. Billy applied his deadly talents and profound knowledge later in life, to develop aggressive cleaning solutions that beat stains, as ruthlessly as Billy used to beat people!
When Billy passed away, Eliseo swore to channel his knowledge of the deadly ninja craft, into something useful, and thats what brought him to the concrete design business. So why is he practicing the sacred ninja motions now I wonder? Hmmmm...
Pink foam is used
religiously in moving counter-tops from place to place. With it being such a brittle material like it is, and of course with its substantial weight, it is essential to cushion it whenever it is being put down. When the counter tops are in place, they are very durable, however, moving them around, dangerously uses their own weight, to their own disadvantage.
Tragically, this is the last photograph we will ever see of Richard McKee. Having overlooked Eliseo's knowledge of the deadly ninja arts, McKee agreed to fight for his position with iNViDiA Design, and only seconds after this photograph, he suffered a sudden impact blow to the chest, that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal claimed,
"...exploded his chest and stuff, before sending him through the fence, and into his watery grave in the smelly river below."Although the loss was tragic, iNViDiA Design moves on. When asked, iNViDiA partners Aaron and Ken said, "well, at least we don't have to buy anymore beer and potatoes for that lazy mick." Although the duo appeared unaffected in the Sentinal's inquiries, there was a tone of sadness that dampened the air. I think I even saw a tear in Kens eye, as he laughed maniacally when recalling the incident of McKee's death. Perhaps a defense mechanism in dealing with the loss of their miscellaneous Irish American laborer? We will never know.
Rumor has it, that McKee's ghost arises from the stinking river every so often- if you listen carefully, you can still hear his voicemails. A ghostly whine, requesting his money for cheap beer and potatoes. Perhaps iNViDiA will never escape McKee's ghost, haunting them insistingly...
FINAL PRODUCT DOCUMENTATION:
Once again, we got dave working on the photography, and therefore, my idle words got nothin' on the finished product! If you need some emotional direction for your viewing, I would say you should go with "AWE" as a general feeling. Keep a towel handy, to clean up all the drool...
Still making the blog..."Crazy," I know. It brings a little smile to my face and a warmth to my heart. Great things ahead, ART is ahead. The unbelievable process continues to grow. Stay tuned for updates of our latest project completed last week: a unique, complete kitchen remodel. This week: We begin the install of the largest piece we have made to date for an ultra contemporary kitchen. The island alone is 52 square feet. Photos from both projects will be added soon.
