Today was a busy day onsite as we started removing soil in preparation for the Inn's foundations. Collin, our civil and geotechnical engineer, from Out of the Box Engineering gave the ground his stamp of approval and tomorrow we will begin to build everything back up with engineered fill. It's exciting times!
It seems like we have had a very long journey to get to this point. We've drawn many versions of the plans, built a scale model, had many, many meetings with engineers of every sort. But, at long last, we are done the planning. Shovels, as they say, are about to be in the ground. It will be a little while before we begin the actual on-site construction, but the land preparation will proceed, starting tomorrow morning, bright and early! This is going to be exciting...
Peter had a grin on his face the whole time the crew was building the giant head a few weeks ago. Now that grin has been replaced by an even bigger smile as he begins work on the sailing ship which will protrude from the tower of the North Star suite. Guests who stay in this luxurious suite will sleep in the ornate stern of the ship.
The ship started as a concept drawing, then became a scale model (it was at this stage that we worked out many of the ornate details). Those steps were relatively easy and quick. However, it took a few tries before we sorted out the ship's engineering - apparently, safely balancing the full sized hull of a ship on top of a eight foot tall concrete wall is no easy task. Thankfully, our structural engineer, David Lee sorted out all of the math; imagine those calculations! It sure is good to have an engineer who gets what we do!
With the design work safely behind us we have begun the actual construction of the ship. We first cut out the thick steel plates which will define the waterline of the ship. Above this line will be the walls of the ship and below will be the floor of the suite and the lower hull. At the moment however, the ship is upside down. There is a tremendous amount of fitting, cutting and welding in this stage. Everything has to one hand fit one piece at a time because each piece is unique to allow for the curved and tapering shape of the hull. Once this main structure is finished, we will hand forth body of the hull with a pencil rod armature. Then, we will hand sculpt the timbers and planks using fibreglass reinforced concrete. This is what guests will see. All of the carefully fit and welded steel structure will be hidden inside, never to be seen again.
Sharp lookouts who have driven by the Hazelnut Inn property have probably noticed a bunch of new surveyor's pegs and flags in the last week. The pegs are show the locations of the building that is soon to begin. Things are about to change in a big way! The ground preparations are set to begin next week. The septic and drainage fields will be the first to be installed. The organic soil will be then removed from under the building site and will be replaced with coarse engineered gravel. All of this work needs to be done in order to get ready for construction which is due to start soon and very soon. It's going to be exciting!
Each element and every feature found at the Hazelnut Inn will faithfully tell one of our suite's stories. However, rather than words, visual details will hint at these tales.
According to legend, the North Star's intrepid explorer has somehow found herself in possession of architectural artifacts from around the world and built her estate around them. Lamentably, her journeys have left little time for mundane tasks such as maintaining the grounds. Thus, the garden is in some disrepair. Our guests will be able to explore the garden and discover many of these half forgotten relics.
For instance, a large obelisk is on display in the explorer's garden. The obelisk was undoubtably acquired in a mythical land and suffered some wear and tear on its journeys. When this tall stone relic was reassembled, the pieces didn't quite line up. And unfortunately, not enough effort was put into the foundation. The necessary repairs were makeshift: a large steel bracket was anchored into the precious stone artifact. Still leaning badly, the obelisk eventually succumbed to gravity and tumbled over. It still lays there to this day. The steel bracket is twisted and broken, its anchors pulled roughly from the upper stone. All that remains are the rust marks from the iron brackets.
All these details are purposefully crafted into the feature. The steel is artfully bent and welded in place. The concrete is hand carved to look like stone. The paint is skillfully applied to mimic rust and weathering. Each piece of the obelisk will be carefully placed as it tumbled haphazardly into the garden. The top two portions of the obelisk will act as a bench on which our guests can sit and take it all in.
Our giant stone head received his final dry brushing this week. He is going to be a thing of beauty when he is finally tucked into his garden bed!
