July 2002 Update
Construction begins
After jumping through all the hoops for the
bank, the planning board, and the fire marshal, the major renovations
have finally been started. The carpenter has been rearranging the
windows on the backside of the building and installing the new windows
on the parking lot side of the building. The annex end of the building
(future office, bathroom and workroom) has been jacked up and new
piers
have been poured. Of course, it rained for two days straight and the Sonotubes®
filled with water, so that delayed the pouring of the cement till it
dried. A new office floor has been built, making immediate storage space
for the glass display counters, so that work can continue on the main
floor of the building without obstruction.
A floor plan has been finalized and
added to the site so dealers can see just how the various spaces will be
arranged. The spaces are all numbered so dealers can pick out the exact
space that they would like to have. Spaces that are unavailable for
rental will be
marked as "reserved".
Unfortunately, all of the delays have also
set back the opening date. Some time in September is the closest guess
at this time. Flyers have been printed and will be sent to several
auction houses around Central Maine.
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Q: What is Sonotube®?
A: Sonotube® is the commercial name for a paper tube used for
forming concrete. It is used when builders want to make a concrete
pillar. They set up this paper tube (comes in diameters from 8 inches to
56 inches and in lengths to about 18 feet or so) and pour concrete into
it and let it dry. When the concrete is dry, they strip the paper tube
off, and voila, instant pillar.
More information on Sonotube®
http://www.concreteacc.com/sonotube.asp
Other interesting uses!
http://www.lungster.com/l/speakers/sonotubefaq.html
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August 2002 Update
Construction continues...
The work is progressing. While
stripping the old siding off the annex end of the building, we uncovered
the original “Roller Skating” sign facing the road. That
started some rumors that we are going to open up as a skating rink.
We have had people coming by just to look at it and one guy took a
picture of it before it gets covered up again. The original
"windows", nothing more than big prop-up barn style openings,
on the other end of the building were removed and the siding was patched
back together.
The 27 additional footers and piers that will
support the new second floor have been poured. It was a long
reach to get to the footer holes that ran down the middle of the building (25+ feet).
Holes were drilled thru the main floor and a cement pump truck was used to get the cement into the
Sonotubes® that were
placed right up under the floor. We also had to pour piers
for the 12’ x 16’ entry porch and handicap ramp.
Steel beams are now being put into place over
the original wooden beams with 3 supporting 10” x 10” columns
underneath. The columns are directly over the new piers. We
could put a herd of moose on the second floor with no problem!
(except getting them up there). Insulation is being put in the
walls and the new handicap accessible doors have been order.
Excavating will be done to relocate water and sewer lines for the
bathroom which is all framed in.
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September 2002 Update
Construction progresses toward utilization
The time is fast approaching when we can let
the dealers start moving in. The past month we have seen many things
accomplished
As soon as all the steel beams were in place,
they were primed, and then the floor joists started going in.
Approximately 380 floor joists were installed. Boy! What a major change
that was. To have a ceiling 10 feet above our heads, instead of an open
roofline that was 25 feet high at the center.
While
the carpenter was working on the
floor/ceiling system, we had another crew getting the walls covered. To
better insulate the building we added TUFF-R®
foam board over the pink fiberglass insulation and then put the OSB
sheets on the walls. In less then 2 weeks the walls were all covered and
tied into the new ceiling, including the bathroom. The new handicap
accessible, emergency exit doors were installed. The old double door was
moved to service the utility room, and the last window on the front side
was put into that space.
The last of the
new structural support work, that
started with the pouring of new footers and piers under the building, has
now ended with the post and beams on the new second floor, and the
installation of the PLV’s, "Paralam’s"
at the roof. With the final step of welding the second floor post
brackets to the steel beams in the floor framing, finished on Friday,
Sept 13, the floor covering can now be nailed down. When the
floor/ceiling is done in the next few days, it will be time to paint the
walls with a special flame-retardant paint. This will meet the codes for
the Fire Marshal.
After some setbacks, the relocating of the
water and sewer lines have been completed and the holes are being
back-filled. An underground drainage system will be installed to move
the rainwater from the large roof away from the building. Once that is
done we can build the 12 x 16 foot porch and the handicap accessible
ramp at the front entrance.
A large banner has been ordered to hang on
the outside of the building. It will advertise the web page and that
dealers are needed and the phone number to call. The sign for the end of
the driveway will be ordered this week. There are still a couple of
major jobs to do before we can open, like lighting and heating.
Hopefully these jobs will move along smoothly, and the next update will
be to tell you "WE ARE OPEN". There will still be some work
going on to the outside of the building and to the inside of the roof
system, but the first floor will be ready to fill with lots of wonderful
old things offered by some great dealers. If you are a dealer who wants
to set up in a new location, don’t wait till the only room left is on
a waiting list, sign up
today! Soon the Lewiston/Auburn area will have a large multi
dealer shop to go browsing through for that one of a kind purchase or
gift.
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-
- TUFF-R
®: Dow TUFF-R Commercial Insulating Sheathing
TUFF-R® Commercial Insulating
Sheathing is a polyisocyanurate foam board insulation with
reflective/radiant barrier quality aluminum foil facers on both sides.
OSB: Oriented Strandboard
Oriented strand board is an engineered structural-use panel
manufactured from thin wood strands bonded together with waterproof
resin under heat and pressure. Used extensively for roof, wall, and
floor sheathing in residential and commercial construction, OSB is
actually a second-generation panel that evolved from the original
product called waferboard. Orientation of wood strands to a typical
aspect ratio (that is, strand length divided by width) of at least 3
can produce a panel product with much greater bending strength and
stiffness in the oriented or aligned direction.
PLV: Parallel-Laminated Veneer
Parallel laminated veneer, or laminated veneer lumber (LVL), is
constructed of veneers that are bonded together with
phenol-formaldehyde (PF) adhesive resin to form a laminate. The
veneers are layered with the wood grain along the long axis of the
beam. Laminated veneer lumber is manufactured to typical lumber sizes
(2 x 4, 2 x 6, etc.). The length of the beams that can be manufactured
is varied using end joints or finger joints.
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October 2002 Update
Remaining construction makes way for opening day
We’re almost ready. We now have a true
understanding of how very, big this building is. Everything we’ve done has
taken so much, longer to do because of the size of the building. 
A
lot of man-hours, and 130 gallons of paint were used to spray paint the ceiling
and walls of the building. But when the plastic protecting the floor was taken
up, the real beauty of what we have been working for was revealed. Nice, bright
walls set off the old hard wood, roller skating floor.
The electrician has run the wire for the outlets and
lights. 
The
eight-foot, fluorescent light fixtures were put up (all 60 of them). The
propane-heating units will be arriving this week. The bathroom is complete,
except for the paper product holders. 
The
excavating has been done around the building, and now the deck, steps and
handicap ramp are being built. Once the lights are on, the heaters installed and
steps completed, it will be time to let the dealers start moving in.
With the placement of a banner by the road, we
generated a lot of interest. A reporter for the local newspaper, the Lewiston
Sun-Journal, who travels by the building every day on her way to work, did a
nice write up in the business section of the paper on Monday October 7th (click
here for the article). A special thank you to reporter Kathryn Skelton and
photographer Jose Leiva. The response to the article has been wonderful. Emails
were received from dealers and future customers. All are excited to see the
building being saved and the addition of an antique mall to this area.
Last
Sunday afternoon, wheels could be heard rolling on the old hard wood floor. The
owner put on her long unused roller skates and made a few trips up and down the
floor, being careful not to get too close to the posts that now hold up the
second floor. Before long, there will be too many fine quality antiques and
collectibles in the building to do any roller-skating. So one last time wheels
rolled on the floor of the new Sabattus Antique Mall.
Some work will continue on the outside of the
building. Siding needs to be put up, along with lights on the porch. Also the
sign at the road has to be installed. Those seem like minor things after all we
have done. The dealers, some of whom have been waiting since July, will start
moving in on October 31.
WE WILL BE OPEN for BUSINESS beginning on Wednesday
NOVEMBER 6TH from 1-7 p.m.
We have almost reached the first 25 dealers, so the
early bird discount will soon expire. Don’t hesitate! Come join the other
dealers who will get 10% off their rent for the first two months.
Check back for more updates on the progress of
filling this great old building with quality antiques and collectibles.
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November 2002 Update
Dream comes true
My
dream has come true. Since Halloween day I have
seen my vision come to life. The roller skating rink is no longer just a big old
building. It has become what I had envisioned. It is clean, open and well lit
and is filling up with some great merchandise. We have over 25 dealers with more
scheduled to come in.
We have seen a
good amount of customers, even with
all the bad weather Mother Nature has been throwing at us. Many people have come
just to remember the times they came to roller skate in here, or they have come
to see what we have done to the old building. We have heard only enthusiastic
responses. And some people have returned for a second look and are happy to see
how the building is filling up.
Some construction is still being done, but it is all
on the outside and up at the rafter level. The insulation for the floor and the
ceiling will be started this week. That should make it even cozier inside. The
lighted sign at the road should be turned on November 20. That will make it
easier for people to find us. And the last thing to do will be to put the siding
on the outside.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then these
pictures should say it all.
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This page was last updated on Saturday, October 15, 2005
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