How to Build a Coworking Space | Stage 2
We survived the second week of renos. For those that missed the first stage, read here.
It feels like we’ve been at 451 Pulteney St for years! Working on the floors for 100+ hours makes you really connect with the place.
Last week we removed staples, but this week Dans finished sanding the relentless floors. A mammoth achievement! The green layer of carpet glue was so thick, every step felt like you were stuck to chewing gum. After much hard yakka, the floors are smoother than James Brown’s lyrics.
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The first coat of floor sealer was so satisfying. We sealed the edges of each room to perfection, and then brushed the sealer across the floor with the snazzy broom thingo we got from Bunnings. Special thanks to their riveting online tutorials. Whatever you do, don’t get yourself stuck in a corner!
Anyhoo, the sealer takes about 3 hours to dry. The second and third coats were not so fun. We were over it and ready to pour the whole tin on the floor, order pizza and call it a night. Our inner hero persisted with even strokes. I chanelled an ice hockey champion, imagining I was brushing the sealer across the floor like a puck approaching the goals.
We won the match in the end. The pine looks super fine. We know over time the floors will lose their perfect glow, with scuffs and stains from all the foot traffic. We will grit our teeth and smile, and remind ourselves that nothing is permanent, and the scars are part of the story.
Midweek we had some visitors! Beno (Ben Turner) is one of our best mates and is also one of the most talented and precise carpenters in Adelaide. He runs a tight ship business, ‘Built by Ben’. He can pretty much do anything, and came in with a cape and cut a hole in our wall. It’s no ordinary hole. It’s a gateway to possibility and friendship. Ok, I’ve lost my marbles, but it’s a really nice hole with some neat woodwork. We now have a place to hang, have a cup of tea and gaze out the window. Our coworkers are gonna love it.
Need some work done? You can find Ben here @built.by.ben. Flick him an email: ben@builtbyben.com.au
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What happened next? I spent half a day removing tacky stickers from the windows with a paint scraper. Yay for natural light, but a big nay for stickers. Whoever stuck those 2001 Crows footy stickers to their window, thanks a lot, ya tosser. Just jokes. I’m a yoga teacher and would never think badly about another human and their actions.
Guess what!? We got our first pieces of furniture up the stairs. Thanks to another talented fellow, Matt Lott. He custom built these gorgeous couches by hand! What’s even more remarkable is he repurposed some old couches that were heading for the skip. He built the amazing frames and brought the couches back to life. He’s basically an expert at Furniture First Aid.
Check out his handy work! We are also pretty excited because Matt’s building us a deck in our event space, but this is a story for later. If you are in need of some creative hands, cabinetry and more, hit Matt up: lott31@gmail.com
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On the wettest and windiest day of the week, our beautiful friend Verity was moving house and donated some AMAZING trees and plants that will green our coworking space and yoga studio. We came to her house in a Budget Truck and filled it with leafy goodness from her glorious garden. The trees are ginormous, almost as big as Verity’s heart. We are so grateful for her donation, and our urban jungle dream is becoming a reality.
How did we get the trees up the stairs? With great difficulty. Luckily co-founder Jac returned from Japan in the nick of time. He helped Dans heave them up in a sack truck and I helped push from below. I fell into a fit of laughter as Dans became engulfed in foliage. We finally got the trees up the last step and rolled them into our breakout area of joy. After an arduous journey, we only lost one leaf.
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Watch our mâché renos | Stage 2 Vlog below and subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
Until the next installment..
- Izzy
