Right now we are waiting on the city inspector to sign off on all the work so we can pour the basement floor. This will beget the structural footings for the brewhouse and structure for the new rear staircase. We'll also start rebuilding some of the structural walls in the basement that were removed during excavation.
Although our job site was quiet for a few days, two doors up, the Logan Square Kitchen is now underway with their work. They've got less overall work to do than us, so we're probably on track for opening at a similar juncture.
Upstairs the demo is just about done and as the dust settles it actually makes sense to sweep up for a change. One of the downsides of all this demo in wet times like this is that without a ceiling, all the twenty or so leaks in the roof drop right onto the hardwood floor. Previously the invading moisture had to work through layers of plaster and acoustical ceiling panels before landing on the old carpet floor. Although we had only planned to do some minor roof patching it's become clear that we need a full tearoff. With all the associated masonry work, that's probably $30,000 at a minimum, but it's money well spent to close the envelope. After we install all the roof-mounted HVAC we are insulating the attic crawl space and closing it up which doesn't mix well with a lot of drips. Overall I think I've done a good job budgeting for the amount of work that needed to be done, but I'll admit to going cheap on the roof. Unfortunately, that's less money to spent elsewhere on optional projects like our wholesale brewing operation, which we might have to wait to launch. Choices, choices. Current priorities are: 1. Do all necessary work to open up the restaurant. 2. Everything else.