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civilcoconstruction · 4 years ago

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A Crown Heights Duo Remodels Their Smallest Spaces

A dream shower and walk-in closet complete this Crown Heights closet and bathroom renovation

“After” photos by Miao Jiaxin for Sweeten

Homeowners: Kate + Max posted their bathroom and closet renovation on Sweeten

Where: Crown Heights in Brooklyn, New York

Primary renovation: A new bathroom layout and combining closets in a 610-square-foot apartment

Sweeten general contractor

Sweeten’s role: Sweeten matches home renovation projects with vetted general contractors, offering advice, support, and financial protection—at no cost to the homeowner.

Written in partnership with Sweeten homeowners Kate + Max

Before: Finding the right time to renovate

We’ve all walked into homes where two different sets of ideas are in play. This renovation was part of a quest for cohesion. We’d established an aesthetic when we’d updated the kitchen two years before, and we were now putting in a bathroom and closet we could love. The old set of ideas included a showerhead on the long side of the bathtub and pitch-dark storage spaces. We were not sad to see them go.

65929-Max-Bathroom-Before-02

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We are Kate, a creative director for a women’s wellness startup, Max, a data analyst at a tech firm, and Lenny, a female Pitbull/Rat Terrier mix. We live in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, in a 1926 co-op building. We’re first-time homeowners of a 610-square-foot one-bedroom apartment. We purchased in January 2016 as first-time buyers. We didn’t change the place until 2019 when we renovated the kitchen.

We planned to wait to continue renovating, but the combination of being home due to Covid-19 and having few opportunities to spend money meant that we wanted a nicer place and we accelerated our savings plan. We decided to go for it this year and renovate the bathroom and our closet as a single project.

Swapping out the tub for a shower

Remodeling the 35-square-foot bathroom was a style choice, but also one of function. In the existing room, neither the floor nor the walls were level. We hated that the shower head was in the middle of the wall on the tub’s long side. We wanted a modern stand-up shower with a glass door instead of the step-in tub and wraparound shower curtain. The closet redo made sense to tack on because of its proximity to the bathroom. We wanted to combine two small adjacent closets—one accessible from the bedroom, the other from the hallway—into a single large one. Neither closet had electrical wiring, so finding our things was a challenge. We knew we could net more storage if we merged them into one large closet.

This was easily the most challenging phase of the project, since we’d left Brooklyn on a road trip and were far away when the contractor discovered the problem. We didn’t need to worry.

After: Creating a whole new bathroom layout

We started in the bathroom. We rearranged the whole bathroom, so this was not a simple “rip and replace.” Moving the shower to the back wall meant relocating the toilet and reconfiguring the plumbing proved necessary. Our biggest questions were about the unknowns. In a nutshell, here’s what we learned: You can’t prepare for what’s behind a wall or under the floor. You carry out the demolition and hope to get lucky.

We’d decided we wanted white subway tile with a dark gray grout on the walls. The floor tiles had a distressed texture in dark gray. The vanity’s light wood finish matches our kitchen cabinets, and it offers tons of storage even though it’s only a 24-inch unit. The toilet search was more challenging than expected since we had specific size requirements, but eventually, we found one we liked.

The contractor handles the discovery under the subfloor

We’d heard plenty of nightmares about people moving plumbing in New York City bathrooms and hoped our fate might be different, but it wasn’t. Having completed most of the demolition, the contractors lifted the floor tile. Beneath the visible layer, they discovered two additional layers of tile. Once the subfloor was exposed, it was clear it had been compromised, both by years of trapped moisture and the weight of those three tile layers.

The co-op’s engineer brought onsite recommended pouring a new concrete slab, which added expense and impacted our schedule. This was easily the most challenging phase of the project since we’d left Brooklyn on a road trip and were far away when the contractor discovered the problem. We didn’t need to worry. Our contractor worked with the building’s engineer to pour the new slab to the required specifications.

Smooth communication with their contractor

Our Sweeten contractors provided us with updates via an online project-management tool that helped with communication throughout the job. The team used the tool to share photo and video updates. It helped to keep everyone in sync and organized. That platform really streamlined the conversation regarding every aspect of the job. The bathroom came together exactly as we’d hoped. We’re thrilled with the new storage, including an inset bottle nook in the shower. And the rain showerhead combined with our building’s incredible water pressure makes for an immersive experience every morning.

Combining closets for a larger one

The expanded bedroom closet came next. The contractors removed the wall separating the two smaller closets in order to merge them; we kept the door on the bedroom side. I love being able to see things in the closet, thanks to the increased space, and the addition of wiring let us install good lighting. For the shelving, we took a hybrid approach, buying all of the parts separately. The white shelves are typical closet shelves, but the racks are meant for garage storage. We can finally find our clothes!

This closet hack would also mean addressing the hallway with trim and paint. On that side, the contractors closed the door opening and painted the wall, where we later created a gallery wall for art and photos. The previous door trim was missing chunks of wood (likely from people moving big objects in/out of rooms and banging into the door frame.) It had also been painted a million times and was generally an eyesore. We knew replacing the door and window trim would go a long way towards refreshing the space. The red light fixture provides a nice pop of color.

Their Sweeten contractors: the right renovation partners

This was a much larger project than we thought we’d be taking on this year, but it worked out beautifully. Our Sweeten contractors were transparent about billing, supplying us with perfectly itemized invoices. They were terrific problem solvers, with elegant design sense and ideas that enhanced our final results. We love our new apartment!

Thank you, Max and Kate, for sharing your bathroom and closet renovation with us!

Materials Guide

BATHROOM RESOURCES: Bond Tile “Palermo” gray ceramic floor tile; Elite Tile “Crown Heights” ceramic subway wall tile; DreamLine “Encore” shower door with ClearMax

Technology; Latitude Run “Ranjeet” 3-tier display wall shelves; Wrought Studio Strobel surface-mount medicine cabinet: Walmart. Modern brass wall-mount shower set in matte black finish, #J020862-US-12IN-THSV-SB: Homary. Marina 24” Natural Oak Vanity: Eviva. Vega vanity light: Lightology. Toilet: Woodbridge.

CLOSET RESOURCES: Shelving: The Container Store. Rebrilliant “Kintzel” heavy-duty racks: Wayfair.

HALLWAY RESOURCES: Paint in White Opulence OC-69 in matte finish: Benjamin Moore. Light fixture: Light Stock Store.

—

Sweeten handpicks the best general contractors to match each project’s location, budget, scope, and style. Follow the blog, Sweeten Stories, for renovation ideas and inspiration and when you’re ready to renovate, start your renovation with Sweeten.

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from CIVICLO Construction & Interior https://civilco.construction/a-crown-heights-duo-remodels-their-smallest-spaces/

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oodlyenough · 8 years ago

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fic: return on investment (1/2)

If Atlas were a baby, Fiona realizes, she would be its luxurious, jet-setting mother, travelling the world on a whim, and Rhys would be the live-in nanny doing all the actual childrearing.

Atlas needs money. Thanks to Felix, Fiona has four million dollars.

Rhys will probably regret this.

3.5k in this chapter. Mostly comedy, with a bit of drama to come. Post-game. Pretty exclusively about Rhys & Fiona’s relationship, with bit parts and cameos from Sasha, Vaughn and Yvette. Kudos to @shinyopals, @firstofoctober and @valoscope on Tumblr for humouring this idea long enough for it to grow as it has. Also on AO3.

Update: Part 2 on Tumblr | Part 2 on AO3

The first million of Felix’s nine is spent getting Fiona and Rhys back to Pandora after the Vault transports them half-way across the galaxy.

It’s not how Fiona imagined spending her first million dollars. It’s also not how she imagined her first visit to another planet. Or who she imagined visiting it with.

It does put an end to Rhys’ whining when he learns she has millions of dollars cash in her back pocket, though, so at least there's that.

“I didn't think Vaults were supposed to cost you money,” Rhys points out, ever so helpfully, as Fiona parts with a larger chunk of change than she's ever previously held.

“This was a dud,” Fiona reasons. “Obviously. The next one I find’ll be better.”

“Seriously? You still wanna be a Vault Hunter? After all this? You’re not all… Vault-ed out?”

Rhys looks at her like he's pretty sure that's stupid. Truthfully Fiona is pretty sure he's got a point, but it's not like he's one to talk.

“Hey, people with glass career ambitions shouldn’t throw stones.”

Rhys smirks. “Yeah, not sure that figure of speech really held up for you.”

“Whatever, just… shut up. You're lucky I'm nice enough to pay for your ticket, too.”

“Technically that’s money you stole from me and Vaughn, so…”

Fiona flips him off, upgrades her ticket to first class for the leg home and leaves him in coach.

That leaves eight million to split with Sasha.

Sudden wealth agrees with Sasha—or at least, Sasha agrees with sudden wealth.

She spends a chunk right away, on a tricked-out caravan that makes the old one look like a clown car, a sound system powerful enough to wake the dead, and at least a dozen guns that individually cost more money than any gun has any business costing.

Fiona understands the kid-in-a-candy-store impulse (Sasha nearly buys out one of those, too), but she’s older, arguably a little wiser, and definitely more patient. Besides, she might end up teleported across the universe again.

So instead she takes her four million, buys a new hat, and waits for an opportunity to present itself.

Rhys gets them all together with such forced nonchalance that it can only mean one thing: he wants something, and he is nervous to ask for it.

Fiona knows this, but she decides to let it play out anyway. Watching him squirm is funny.

Hours later, when Sasha and Vaughn are preoccupied with Sasha’s new motorbike, Rhys finally spits it out, and even though Fiona knew there was a request coming, she nearly chokes on her beer.

“You want me to what?”

“Invest,” he repeats, like it sounds any less insane the second time around. When her eyes remain as wide as dinner plates, he raises both index fingers. “I know, I know, I know, just—hear me out—”

He launches into a well-prepared sales pitch/slideshow/shameless plea, of which Fiona absorbs about twenty per cent through her haze of surprise, confusion and bewilderment.

When he’s finished, Fiona watches him closely through narrowed eyes. Her first question is, “Did you ask Sasha the same thing?”

“No.” He shifts in his seat under her scrutiny. “It seemed like a bad idea to… mix business and pleasure.”

“God.” Fiona just about gags. “I’ll give you the money if you promise never to call my sister ‘pleasure’ ever again.”

Rhys is disturbingly unperturbed, tilting his head with a grin. “Is that a deal?”

“I dunno…” Fiona tilts her chair onto its back legs and pushes back her hat so she can stare up in proper contemplation. “Would that mean I’d own Atlas?”

“Nah, there’s lots of different ways you can do it, you don’t have to be involved at all. Could just be a loan with interest, or—”

“I wanna own it,” Fiona decides.

“You… what?” he sputters. She can just about see the gears in his head grind to a halt—or the circuit boards, or whatever cybernetic garbage he’s got implanted in there. “No, you don’t.”

“Uh, yeah I do.”

“...Why?”

Fiona shrugs. She lets the front legs of her chair hit back against the ground with a thunk.

“Sounds cool, doesn’t it? Fiona: Vault Hunter, business owner.” She spreads both hands in the air as if she’s unfurling an imaginary banner.

Rhys stares at her, dumbfounded. After a second, he narrows his eyes. “You were that kid on the playground who had no interest in the toy truck until somebody else was playing with it, weren’t you?”

“Dunno. Didn’t grow up with a lot of toys. Or a playground.” She pouts, aiming for a guilt trip, but she must fumble the landing, because Rhys just rolls his eyes.

“You don’t want to own Atlas,” he insists.

“Sure I do.”

“Look, the interest rate I’ll give you—”

“Nope.” She leans across the table, her chin cradled in her bridged fingers, smirking. “Wanna own it.”

Rhys leans forward too, with an equally snide smirk, like he’s hoping to catch her in a bluff. Fiona realizes two things in quick succession: that this has become a game of chicken, and that she isn’t about to lose.

“Really? That’s really what you want. You really want equity, not interest, or a portion of the profits, or—”

“Really.” She slides one hand free and extends it across the table. “So, deal?”

Rhys’ narrowed, mismatched eyes study her face and then her outstretched hand, his jaw working in wordless contemplation.

Finally, with an aggravated huff, he grabs her hand in his. “Deal.”

Fiona grins, and tries to make sure her grip is as tight as his, even if her efforts are wasted on his prosthetic.

“Don’t worry,” she tells him, “I’ll still let you do all the work.”

Rhys shakes his head as he lets go, scowling. “You’re such an asshole.”

“Hey, hey, hey!” She points a finger in mock offense. “I’m a rich asshole.”

Once she signs on the dotted line, Fiona owns, technically, 51% of Atlas’ outstanding shares.

Majority shareholder. It sounds like it pains Rhys to say it.

Sasha asks what that means, exactly, and Fiona sort of shrugs, and Rhys groans very loudly and hits his forehead on the table.

If Atlas were a baby, Fiona realizes, she would be its luxurious, jet-setting mother, travelling the world on a whim, and Rhys would be the live-in nanny doing all the actual childrearing.

Rhys does not appreciate this metaphor as much as Fiona does.

He also doesn’t appreciate when Fiona refers to Atlas as her “hobby”, her “side hustle”, her “pet project”, or basically anything that describes it as “hers” at all.

This, of course, only encourages her to do it more often.

For the most part, though, she doesn’t spend a lot of time thinking about Atlas. Vault Hunting is a pretty preoccupying gig. Rhys sends her updates, sometimes—because he thinks she might care or because he wants to make her feel guilty for her uninvolvement, she’s not really sure—and she sort of half-skims them. She hasn’t got the head for business, anyway. She’d rather get shot at than read a quarterly report. Literally.

“That’s why I’ve got loyal servants like you,” she tells him.

If looks could kill, and if those killing powers worked even through a vidlink, she’d definitely be dead by now.

Fiona leans back against the wall, one foot braced against it, and buffs her nail polish while a nervous-looking woman in a lab coat turns her back to Fiona, hand at her ear.

“Hi, yes, sorry to bother you,” the woman says, “it’s Sophie, from R&D?”

There must be a pause on the line, because Sophie shoots a skittish glance over her shoulder at Fiona.

Fiona waves.

Sophie turns away again immediately, and Fiona shakes her head. She isn’t even trying to be intimidating.

“Yes, hi,” Sophie says again, apparently transferred to another line. “I—no, no, there’s nothing on fire this time. There’s just, um, there’s a woman here? Who wants a tour of the lab?”

Fiona wonders if Sophie is one of the so-called Children of Helios, and if so, exactly how long it’s going to take for those children to stop hiding in their parents’ basement.

“I know we don’t do tours,” Sophie says, sounding a little irritated at the insinuation. It’s the most Fiona has liked her so far. “But she says she’s—well, she…” Sophie casts another helpless glance at Fiona, like she resents what Fiona’s presence is making her say. “She says she owns the place.” Sophie is still watching Fiona from the corner of her eye as she nods slowly to the voice on the other end of the line. “Right. Okay. Will do.”

Finally, Sophie turns to face Fiona properly.

“He says he’ll be down in a minute,” says Sophie.

Fiona grins, pushing herself up from the wall. “Great.”

“You didn’t tell me you were coming,” is the first thing Rhys says to her, and Fiona snorts.

“Hi, Rhys, I’m fine, good to see you, too, it’s been so long,” she says pointedly, but he ignores her, moving straight to the door, his palm held out to interface with the control panel.

She watches him work, head tilted. They haven’t seen much of each other in recent months, each caught up in their personal whirlwinds. Fiona is finally starting to earn some respect, and Atlas is taking its first fledgling steps as an actual, functional business. Again. Vault Hunter, CEO. It’s been… busy.

The Rhys in front of her now is even starting to look the part, all expensive clothing and serious facial expressions and the perpetual vibration of someone who’s consumed way beyond the recommended daily intake of caffeine.

Fiona knows him, though, and she’s not so easily fooled.

“It’s really… not a great time for you to be here,” he admits to her as the door slides open. “I’ve got advertising proofs to approve, financials to look at, a couple big meetings that really need to go well, and shepherding you around is not exactly the prep I had planned.”

“Shepherding?” Fiona counters, following him through the doors. “Thought you’d be excited to show off.”

Rhys smiles thinly. “Yeah, well, you know, I would be! Just… kinda busy… trying not to lose all your money and torpedo my own career. Again.”

That sounds more like the Rhys she knows, always a little more awkward and uncertain than he tries to pretend. Fiona grins and claps him on the shoulder as they head into the lab.

“Tough. I want to see what my money’s paying for.”

Her money, it turns out, is paying for a number of things. The Atlas of yesteryear had a lot of irons in the fire, and in that regard, at least, Rhys’ is no different.

There’s a limited line of guns, the expensive sort that collectors pay exorbitant amounts of money to never use. Fiona asks if these were made explicitly to please Sasha, and Rhys gets a dumb look on his face and shrugs, which she takes as a yes.

They don’t keep the plantlife in the lab, he explains, which makes sense, but he assures her there’s a lot of it. Fiona remembers ten-foot carnivorous flowers and decides she’s not really missing out.

“Is it all still so… aggressive?” she asks, and Rhys sort of grins.

“Aggressive plantlife really agrees with Pandora,” he says, which she has to admit sounds true enough. “We’re working on fruit and stuff though, you can try some later.” Then something catches his eye, and he waves her forward eagerly. “Fi, come here.”

He introduces her to a frazzled woman named Hannah, standing on the outside of a tiny observation room. Through the window, a small, nondescript robot is holding what looks like a glorified button. Painted on the floor are two separate, coloured circles.

“We’ve been trying to learn more about the teleportation technology from the Vault of the Traveler,” Hannah tells her, and over Hannah’s shoulder, Rhys wiggles his eyebrows excitedly.

“Quick, easy interplanetary travel, right?” he prompts.

“Easy is one word for it.” Fiona tilts her head and raises an eyebrow. “Another is nauseating. Disorienting. Terrifying.”

Rhys dismisses it with a shrug. “I mean, it’s... probably less terrifying if you know it’s going to happen.” He sidles up next to her, full-on salesman. “Just think, though! Pandora to Dionysus in ten seconds.”

“Yeah, Dionysus will love that,” Fiona jokes, but it does sound pretty cool, now that he’s said it.

He scratches the back of his neck. “Well… we can worry about that later. It’s a work in progress.”

“I made some adjustments,” Hannah says, and then launches into a technical explanation that sounds like gibberish to Fiona. Rhys makes a good show of looking very attentive, but Fiona’s pretty sure he has no idea what any of it means, either.

By the end of it, Hannah’s holding up a remote control, and all three of them are watching the robot in the observation room curiously as Hannah holds up a remote control switch.

“It’s supposed to reappear in that blue circle, there,” Hannah explains.

The little robot dematerializes from its red circle and rematerializes almost instantly, in a bright flash of light, three feet into the air and nowhere near the blue circle. Before it can even hit the ground, it disappears again, reappears elsewhere, faster and faster, with non-stop bursts of blinding light, clattering around the room as it collides with the walls, floor and ceiling.

Finally, there’s a memorable slam against the window that sends them all flinching backwards. Hannah flips the switch the other way, and the robot falls from mid-air and lands on the floor.

Fiona cringes.

“It doesn’t, um, there’s no AI in that, or anything,” Rhys says hastily, though he looks a little horrified too. “It’s fine.”

With matching, pained thumbs up, they leave Hannah to her work.

Along with the guns and the experimental teleportation, there’s a variety of miscellaneous tech, small-ticket items that Rhys shows to Fiona with all the enthusiasm of a teenager working part-time at an amusement park.

Every employee they run into knows Rhys, and Rhys knows all of them, well enough that she thinks he might be cheating, but she never catches his ECHO eye lighting up.

None of them know Fiona, which leaves her the great pleasure of introducing herself as Rhys’ boss, reveling in their look of confusion and Rhys’ scowl.

“I mean they really should have heard of me,” Fiona tells him.

“They don’t have reason to,” Rhys says. “It’s not like you actually do any work here.”

“You could have posters. ‘The Woman Who Made This All Possible’.” When that fails to get a response, she nudges him with her elbow. “Or a statue.”

“I’m not building you a statue,” says Rhys flatly, a disappointing underreaction.

It’s unusual for Rhys not to take Fiona’s bait, and she frowns. “I feel like your heart’s not in this.”

Rhys ignores that, too. “Last lab’s up here, let’s just finish up.”

There’s not much to look at in the last section of the lab, except for various computer displays she doesn’t understand, some whiteboards covered in indecipherable writing, and various hunks of metal in various states of completion, largely unrecognizable to Fiona. She peers at a printed list of specifications, trying to make sense of it, her eyebrows knitted together.

“Is this an… arm?” she asks finally. When there’s no answer, she prompts, “Rhys?”

Nothing. When she looks up, it’s obvious she’s lost Rhys’ attention. He’s standing in the hall, staring in deep concentration at some display projected from his palm, his golden eye flickering wildly.

“Hey. Rhys.”

No luck. Fiona rolls her eyes.

“Mr. Robot,” she tries again, and this time she reaches up to flick the port at the side of his head.

The display from his palm flickers for a second, and Rhys reacts like he’s been shot, jumping away from her with a yelp and flailing both arms uselessly.

“God, don’t do that,” he scolds, glaring, and Fiona would maybe feel a little bit bad about it if his reaction were not so funny. “What? What do you want?”

“Food,” she says, aware of the sudden rumble in her stomach. “Where’s this fruit you promised me? Lunchtime!”

“Oh. Right.” He points to the exit doors behind him. “There’s a cafeteria that way. Keep going, hang a left, can’t miss it. You’ll find something.”

He turns to go the other way, already focusing on his palm display again, and Fiona catches him by the shoulder.

“What, you’re not shepherding me?” she asks.

“Can’t. Sorry. Busy.” He doesn’t even look up as pulls out of her grip and waves her off. “I think you can manage lunch on your own, Vault Hunter.”

Fiona watches him go and shakes her head.

“Jackass,” she mutters.

“This is Atlas food, and I own Atlas, mostly, so if you think about it, this is really already my food, and I shouldn’t have to pay.”

Fiona says it all clearly and slowly, with such a winning smile that surely no one could deny her.

The man serving food at the canteen does not look convinced. “Lady, I don’t even know who you are.”

Fiona’s about to explain why that’s really not her fault, and she’ll be speaking to the CEO about that, because it seems wrong, really, that she not get her due, and—

“It’s fine, Steve,” comes a voice from behind her. “She’s with me, just put it on my tab.”

Turning to face her unlikely saviour, Fiona finds Yvette, eyebrow arched, hands on her hips, and lips pulled into a smile. Steve mumbles something about executives looking out for each other, but he hands Fiona her tray of food without further complaint.

“Thanks,” says Fiona brightly, after Yvette’s grabbed her own food and lead them to a table. “Rhys basically abandoned me,” she adds.

Not that she’s feeling resentful, or anything.

“Yeah, he’s been a ghost recently,” Yvette says, sliding into a booth. “He always gets like this when he’s busy. He’d probably sleep in his office if your sister would let him get away with it. Vaughn and I used to stage interventions at Hyperion.”

The second she’s said it, she looks like she regrets it, a shadow passing over her face at the mention of Helios. Fiona pretends not to notice, studying her plate of food intensely.

“But anyway,” says Yvette, abruptly trying to regain control of the conversation, “I didn’t know you were visiting today!”

“It was a surprise.” Fiona takes a swig of her drink through her straw and raises her eyebrows. “You know, like a secret shopper. Gotta say, though, my tour guide gets a failing grade.”

Yvette laughs at that, and then she starts to catch Fiona up, filling her in on all the details Rhys had been too distracted to bother with. Atlas is doing a lot of work with cybernetics, Yvette explains, and at various price points. There are lots of people on Pandora who could use prosthetics like Rhys’ own, but not many who could pay for them. Trying to find the right balance of dexterity, function and affordability is the primary focus and current struggle of the R&D team.

“One of our suppliers is a real dick, too,” Yvette adds, matter-of-factly. “I know he’s trying to overcharge us. I’ve worked with him before.” She rips her piece of toast in half and points at Fiona with it. “That’s one of the meetings Rhys has been hyperventilating about.”

“He didn’t tell me any of this,” Fiona says, pulling the lid off of her soda cup to chase down the last drops of her drink with her straw.

Yvette only shrugs. “Like I said, he gets like that.” She pops the second half of her toast into her mouth. “Besides—it must be pretty boring compared to what you’re up to these days. You must have amazing stories.”

Fiona pushes the ice around in her empty cup. Vault Hunting, not unlike conning, is about ten percent the sweet thrill of victory, ninety percent guesswork and fumbling to cheat death in ways that are embarrassing to think about later.

Still, she doesn’t like to spoil the illusion.

“Oh yeah,” she says, looking up. “Totally. Great stories. The best stories.” Already she’s mentally fishing for anecdotes that lend themselves to her… more creative impulses. “This one time—”

Yvette shifts closer in anticipation, but when she glances at her watch she blanches. “Shit. Hold that thought. I should probably get back to work.” She rises easily from the booth and takes her tray with her. “Come see me before you leave, all right? I wanna hear about the Vault Hunting.”

“Will do.” Fiona leans back in her chair, one arm draped over the side of it. “Thanks for lunch.”

“Oh, don’t mention it,” Yvette winks as she drops her tray on the pile and walks backwards to the door. “Rhys pays that tab anyway.”

Part 2 on Tumblr | Part 2 on AO3

#borderlands #tales from the borderlands #fiona the con artist #rhys the company man #oodlyenough i write fic #can u believe i've now written two fics with the basic premise of 'man seeks business investors'

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lastlookgames-blog · 8 years ago

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It’s been a while...

Hello! I haven’t been posting on this as much as I wanted to lately (read... sorry for not posting for like 6 months). I figured I should write a quick (after writing this... quick can also apparently mean really long) update about what I have been working on.

First of all I still plan on developing the game I had previously mentioned called Patience 16. In preparation for that however, I decided to work on a smaller project called Toola’s Journey: A Wolf’s Tale.

Toola’s Journey is basically a book in digital form, currently only being released for android devices. Why only android? Because I feel that is the best medium for the game currently as it allows players to simply read the book whenever they have some free time, and it allows me to test it since I currently only own an android phone. At some point I may release it for IOS and/or PC ... but that will have to wait to see if I get any traction on android first.

I decided on this project originally because I wanted to make a simple game to get the basics of Unreal Engine 4 down before I really start working on a larger more complicated game. I started a couple of projects which I really couldn’t put my heart into or the mechanics just weren’t working... and then I remembered that I used to love writing. I decided lets make a game similar to choose your own adventure books!

Suffice it to say that there is a lot more work involved in something like that then I originally realized. It has also taken a lot longer than my original estimate. Happily enough though, I really freaking enjoy making it!

When starting a game like this you might think... just write a story, break it up into chunks, add a few options, put it into the engine, and VWALLA! You have yourself a game. That is certainly what I thought at least. What I hadn’t quite considered was how much more involved it can get... and that is admittedly because I am dead set on providing a complete story, that is fun and engaging, and one that provides as many considerations for people with varying needs as possible.

Here is a basic Idea of how my process has gone so far;

Step 1: Research if there is even any market for this kind of game on Android devices. Research wolves and fall back on my knowledge of fantasy settings to begin envisioning the general story concept.

Step 2: Create a basic flow chart for chapter 1 with minor ideas and plot points, the options presented with each page, and which options lead to which page.

Example:

Step 3: Write the actual story for those pages, long-form, in a word document.

Step 4: Begin developing the game. Create graphics. Figure out the engine and how to best create pages, add text to them, link them together.

Step 5: Realize that in order to do separate blocks of text that can be either bold, italic, or regular, and have them resized AND keep those properties, I need to create a custom font.

Example:

Step 6: Figure out how the heck to get it onto android devices. Also gather names of people I know to help test the game.

Step 7: Begin initial round of testing, getting everyone signed up for beta access and gather initial feedback on chapter 1.

Step 8: Research options for music and/or background audio effects. Determine that a mixture of music and ambient noise is a pretty good mix. Implement those into the game, and add settings options for audio volume.

Step 9: Set up bookmark system so that players can save their progress and return to it later, also correctly set up a new game and continue system.

Step 10: Continue to gather feedback, and based on that add in a button at the bottom of each page to view the previous page you were on so players can review what they read previously if necessary.

Step 11: Realized that testers have no great way to notify me of any spelling or story issues without having to reference specific text on a page. Implement a system that shows players what page they are on, so any feedback can be easily referenced and fixed by me.

Step 12: Initial feedback from some testers has been entered. They genuinely seem to enjoy the story, and are interested to see what comes next. With the basic premise having been accepted, and with knowledge that I can maybe write something that people will continue to enjoy, I can begin to write the rest of the chapters.

Step 13: Create flowcharts for chapters 2 & 3 the same way as chapter 1. These flow charts also contain the beginnings of choices that will affect what text or options will be displayed and available throughout the rest of the game. This is a new element which will help set the story apart from others, as well as add many fun options for players who want to re-read and try a different path in the game. Getting these functions working early will be necessary for further chapters.

Step 14: (This is the step I am currently on) Finish the flowcharts, and then write those pages into the word document. Put the story into the game, and create the system for showing or hiding text and saving variables for specific choices that will effect the story later. Begin doing some minor marketing and posts on social media to get some basic audience awareness of the product even existing and what it may be like.

In the future!:

Step 15: Realize that this story is quickly becoming something that would be an average length novel once completed, especially if players choose to play through at least 2 times to see the variations in choices. Become slightly disconcerted that this project will take a million years to finish.

Step 16: Shove all of the fears and worries deep down into a dark hole within myself and chug on!

Step 17: Finish the other 4 chapters! Contact various media outlets and personalities who may find the story interesting... pray that they actually have an android device.

Step 18: Add some art? If time or motivation or file size don’t allow for that... just release the game already...

Step 19: Wait while going insane to see if anyone is willing to actually PAY MONEY (GASP! HOW DARE THEY ASK FOR AN UPFRONT COST!?) for a complete game instead of having to deal with micro-transactions and adds.

TLDR; Maybe I am going about this all wrong and there are way simpler ways to get all of the things I want into this game, but there certainly is a lot of work involved in making any game... even a simple story game. Good thing I enjoy it so much! Thanks for reading!

http://www.lastlookgames.com/toolasjourneyawolfstale.html

#indiegamedev #androiddev #lastlookgames

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beaskneeees · 6 years ago

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Weekly Update

This week has been split between ImageCraft and dissertation.

On Monday I had my final dissertation tutorial; I spoke with my tutor a lot about the last improvements I can make and any suggestions for the final chapter that I could implement. All of her comments have been immensely helpful and I have learn so much about editing, long-form writing and how to improve my writing again and again. Having never written something this long before, it has been quite a big challenge, but the tutorials and feedback have been so helpful in terms of helping me understand how to improve without getting too overwhelmed.

I have struggled with writing the final chapter this week, but instead of rejecting the work and not doing anything, I have broken the chapter down into smaller chunks so it is more manageable and less daunting. I have also been working on the other elements of the dissertation as well, so that work is still being done when I am too tired to write new material.

With imagecraft, we had a day trip on Thursday to the Tom Eckersley collection in Elephant and Castle, which I really enjoyed as I had never seen the physical copies of posters like his, so it helped me to understand the process of how work like that is made. We then went to the Drawing Room to see their current exhibition; I felt a little lost as I didn’t quite understand it’s relevance to the other work of the day, but it did look good and help me understand what the different possible contexts for my work are. Finally we visited Pocko, an illustration agent based in Hackney, which was very enjoyable. To meet and hear from industry professionals was incredibly eye-opening, and they gave some very useful tps on how to finish off an image and how to treat your work pre and post graduation. I had a particularly good chat with the lady who worked there about climbing and how I can professionally develop my work. She suggested that I approach the Bouldering Bobat teams with a portfolio of climbing related work to see if they were interested in using it for merchandise.

In terms of my development with imagecraft, I have made a lot of progress this week. My discussion with Nic last week was massively helpful, and my contact with both the typography team and the etching team helped me a lot. On Tuesday I spoke to Brian in etching, who suggested these methods:

- Photoetching tends to work in one colour (any method) (full colour restricts and is v expensive)

- Hydrocoat rougher - polymer very realistic

- Photo etch resist big, cheap and gritty (good for larger work - could be a good place to start)

- Dye transfer - transfers a photocopy onto paper or a plate (up to you)

- Consider if you want dots or not.

This chat really helped me understand where to go next and how this would use my images. I have managed to get on a typography workshop next week on Thursday, which will induct me and develop my poetry and writing within the images.

On Thursday I finally got round to distorting my images with my scanner; I simply would scan and then move the postcard around to see what kind of warped images I could create. I made up a system of doing three attempts per postcard, and occasionally including the writing on the back if it looked particularly good - this system helped me stay focused and stopped me from overthinking the process. Below is an example of how these came out - I was surprised by how much I liked them, and how well they worked with the ideas of the abstract and the sublime I am focusing on.

I signed up to the etching workshop on Friday, and there I brought two of these distorted images as well as three normal postcards printed so that I could do my first dye transfers. They ended up going better than I expected, and I am going to develop them by bringing them along to the typography workshop next week. I think the colours weren’t quite strong enough on them, so I might have to find another method to get the brighter colours. Perhaps I should even speak to the screenprint team to get their opinions.

I also developed a steel etching of one of my drawings from Snowdon, which I ended up collaging with one of the postcard printouts. I wasn’t as excited by this as the image is a bit too plain and not bold enough.

With development in this project I still need to start painting and see where that goes, but I might even wait until next term to do that as I need to focus on the print and typography before I get too busy to juggle everything. I think it would be good to follow this first idea through and just see what I get from it. I just think the painting could get the bright, bold colours that I want, but I would struggle with the typography.

I have made a detailed plan of the upcoming weeks to keep myself focused and not too stressed, as there is a lot to think about. I have also been heavily involved in the third year show developments this week, having a catalogue meeting with Darryl that really helped develop our ideas and pushed our boundaries of what we thought we could do. We also held an additional meeting to our Tuesday meeting on Friday, where we discussed the overall flow of the project as well as any improvements we could all make. The catalogue team and I have decided to run a workshop next week to develop the idea of what we want from the catalogue and what ideas people have; we want as many people as possible to get involved in this.

Overall, this is a busy and stressful period and I have been struggling to keep up, but I have been trying very hard to remain balanced of work and life (in terms of looking after my mental health and such) which is a big task for me. This blog is really helpful for keeping track of everything, and should help me manage the year as a whole.

#dissertation #show #course project #weekly update

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rwcnj · 7 years ago

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Kitchen Renovation Cost: What Will It Cost To Remodel Your Kitchen

Once you’ve planned your kitchen renovation and have estimated a general cost of a kitchen remodel based on your home’s total value, it’s time to examine a cost breakdown of kitchen remodel. In other words, how you should allocate your funds for a kitchen renovation, and which upgrades will consume most of the costs to complete.

Cost to Remodel Kitchen per Square Foot

It goes without saying that larger kitchens will cost more to renovate. But with every home remodeling project, there are “give and takes”, including material substitutions, appliance cost vs. value, and reducing the scope of the project. When you have a dream kitchen in mind but can’t afford the entire project, don’t hesitate to consider staged renovations where each year you can tackle another major kitchen upgrade.

Using the 5-15% of the total value of your home estimate will get you an idea of the range you should consider spending, but looking at the kitchen remodel cost per square foot can get you much closer to an accurate cost estimate. When considering costs per square foot, you will also take into account the quality level of the renovation:

Low End – laminates and basic tiles for kitchen surfaces and flooring, budget-friendly appliances, painting

Mid Range – solid surface countertops (Corian), luxury vinyl flooring, replace cabinet doors, stainless steel appliances, new lighting fixtures

High End – full scale gutting with new plumbing, replace cabinets, high-end appliances, natural material countertops, and flooring, refinished walls and woodwork, and new lighting

The larger the budget, the more options you will have for creating an entirely new kitchen in appearance and atmosphere. Work with a professional kitchen and bath remodeling service that knows how to substitute materials and kitchen components, while still giving you a dream kitchen no matter what size your kitchen may be.

Cost Breakdown of Kitchen Remodel

So you’ve determined the level of kitchen remodel you want according to square footage, scope of work, and the quality of installation, now consider what percentages should be spent for each major project, according to the National Kitchen & Bath Association,

Cabinetry and hardware: 29%

Installation: 17%

Appliances and ventilation: 14%

Countertops: 10%

Flooring: 7%

Walls and ceilings: 5%

Lighting: 5%

Doors and windows: 4%

Design fees: 4%

Faucets and plumbing: 4%

Other: 1%

For greater flexibility in allocating money and making substitutions, consider your kitchen as a whole to determine where you would like to see more change or have a greater level of quality. Asking a few simple questions can determine if keeping your current countertops or flooring can work just as well:

Do I need to replace the cabinets or can they be refaced?

What are the real difference makers for my family?

Is changing the kitchen configuration or size really necessary?

Instead of installing a kitchen island, will a mobile version work?

Using a Kitchen Remodel Cost Estimator

You will find many cost estimators online that can give you an estimate of a kitchen remodel cost (sometimes based on geographical location). A cost estimator will allow you to input specific variables concerning your kitchen remodel, such as cabinet and countertop materials and dimensions, flooring material and square footage, and basic or premium appliances. The resulting calculations will offer a low, middle, and high-end range of costs for each of these major kitchen upgrades but can oftentimes be misleading. For a true estimate of your remodel, you should contact a professional for a quote. RWC will proudly provide you will an estimate on any project!

Takeaways

Consider your kitchen as a whole to determine where your family will benefit most from a remodel

The larger the budget, the more options you will have for creating an entirely new kitchen

When considering costs per square foot, you will also take into account the quality level of the renovation

Contact RWC for bathroom and kitchen remodeling, including design along with door installation and window replacement to homeowners in northern New Jersey.

*The post below was originally written in May of 2017 and has since been updated above.*

This is part two of a four-part series on renovating your kitchen. Learn how to plan your kitchen renovation here.

As you prepare for your kitchen renovation, it’s time to think about how much your kitchen remodel is going to cost. You can estimate that your kitchen renovation cost is going to be between 5-15% of the total value of your home, but there are many variables that play into the cost of a kitchen renovation. From plumbing costs to the appliances you choose, pricing out your kitchen renovation takes some times.

When You Want to Recoup What You Spend

The 5-15% total value of your home budget range is a good home renovation cost starting point for homeowners who want to recoup what they invest into their home renovations by selling within the next few years. If you expect to live in your home for much longer, spending a little more to get the kitchen of your dreams is probably going to be worth it. When your kitchen remodel is a renovation to upgrade your kitchen in order to make your home more attractive to buyers, you’ll want to stay below the 15% range.

Permit Costs Play a Role in Your Budget

You may need to get building permits for your kitchen remodel, or special permits for plumbing and electrical work. According to Angie’s List, a good estimate for permits for your kitchen renovation is $900. While this may not be a significant part of your budget, it still adds to your overall costs.

Fees for Project Management

Unless you are doing your entire kitchen renovation project by yourself, you’ll spend some money just to have the project managed by a professional. This fee is usually about 11% of the total cost of your project, The profit margin for companies that do kitchen remodels is only between 8-10%, so the fee is reasonable when you take that into consideration.

Cost of Moving Electrical and Plumbing Work

The cost of moving electrical or plumbing work for your kitchen remodel is a highly variable part of your budget. It’s possible that very little plumbing or electrical work will need to be done, saving you money on your budget. At the other end, you may need to do extensive electrical work upgrades or move plumbing throughout your kitchen. When this is the case, your costs can be a good chunk of your budget.

Countertops, Cupboards, Floors and More

The products and finishes that you choose to renovate your kitchen with are also going to vary widely. You’ll want to keep in mind the style of your home as you choose materials for your renovation. While you may love pure marble countertops, you’ll want to know if they make sense in your home. Consider all of the variables that go into choosing materials, and this can be a great place to save on your budget when it gets tight.

Your Appliance Choices Matter

You may not need brand new appliances if yours are relatively new. You can choose to paint appliances that are in good shape, or decide on new appliances that aren’t the most expensive. Depending on what you want for your appliances, this can be a big budget breaker or keep your budget on target.

Saving Money on Your Kitchen Renovation

To keep costs down on your kitchen remodel:

Go with products that are durable yet less expensive.

Keep your renovation in line with the style of your home.

Don’t be afraid to keep cabinets or appliances that are still great.

When you are ready to remodel your kitchen, it’s time to contact RWC, Windows, Doors & More at 973-227-7123 to learn more about your kitchen remodeling options.

The post Kitchen Renovation Cost: What Will It Cost To Remodel Your Kitchen appeared first on RWC.

from RWC https://www.rwcnj.com/how-much-is-your-kitchen-renovation-going-to-cost/

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flauntpage · 8 years ago

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Trust the Prosthetic: Four Observations from Raptors 114, Sixers 109

This post is brought to you with limited advertising and no surveys by TalentFleX Solutions. TalentFleX Solutions is a full service business consulting firm offering contingent, contract and project based professionals in the Information Technology, Data Analytics, Finance & Accounting and Human Resources fields. Our model provides for flexibility in hiring needs from project, to contract to permanent placement. Our consultants have extensive experience in attracting, screening, and placing the very best in technical talent for our clients. For more information, please visit http://ift.tt/2oPPjkL or email [email protected]. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for updates.

A little bit of botched injury news to go along with a blown 22-point lead.

Last night was an early Christmas gift for Sixer fans.

There were four of us sitting at a table in the media room during halftime and one writer looked up and said, “they’ll probably lose by eight.” He was right, just off by three points. You just got the sense that a big letdown was coming, and it did.

Why, then? Why the letdown?

I saw a combination of turnovers, some missed shots, and unnecessary fouling. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan went 6-9 in the third quarter and Delon Wright was 4-4. The Sixers regressed to the norm after shooting 58% in the first half.

Brett Brown’s explanation:

“They jumped us, they just crawled into us. It’s not like they double-teamed Ben or used blitz pick and rolls. They got physical, and you know that’s what the NBA does and I burned two timeouts to try and get us stronger. There’s no magic bean, there’s no magic play. It’s body-body-ball stuff, if they come up and press you’re going to have to back them off and create space and possibly expose fouls, like Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan do. But when you look at it, they went a little smaller, they switched out on everything, they got up and in and they went on an offensive tear and made a bunch of threes. I don’t know the exact number, it felt like 10-of-11. It just felt like that, and I think that type of mentality to me sort of set the tone for the period.”

Toronto was 5-8 from three in the third period.

A word on the coach:

I’m not the type to call for someone to be fired in December. David Fizdale and Earl Watson were in toxic player-related situations, which is why they were removed, be it their fault or not. Jim Curtin always said, “players win games, coaches lose games, and referees ruin games,” and I think that describes Philadelphia appropriately. It’s easy, knee-jerk reaction to rip the coach when you blow huge second-half leads, but I’ve said before that Brett Brown doesn’t have Joel Embiid, he doesn’t have Markelle Fultz, and the remaining players are a 21-year-old rookie who can’t shoot and a bunch of role players.

We’re compiling a body of work that right now includes four throwaway years that I don’t even count as part of Brown’s tenure here. Are you judging him on what he did with Hollis Thompson and Jerami Grant? As far as I’m concerned, this is year number one, with injury and communication concerns that are out of his control and a roster with little depth. I need 40 games of healthy Markelle Fultz before I can even begin to make a legitimate judgment here. If Brown does get fired, it would either be at the end of the year or in the midst of a similar start next year.

So I think we compile positives and negatives from a larger body of work and then evaluate it at the end of the season. What, you didn’t expect them to win a playoff series, did you? Let’s not pull a 2016 Eagles here and think the squad is off to the Super Bowl after a surprise 3-0 start. I think most of us pegged them for .500 or right around that mark. They were going into the season with a core of young stars that had played 31 combined NBA games. They got off to a strong start and we stupidly adjusted our expectations based on a miniscule sample size.

Now, don’t get me wrong, you can absolutely rip Brett Brown for letting his team waste 10 seconds before fouling at the end of last night’s game. What exactly was Jerryd Bayless doing there? Stuff like that from a veteran is inexcusable, and we write it down, log it, and come back to that when evaluating the coach and that player somewhere down the road.

Also inexcusable were some of the bogus foul calls Toronto received at the end of the game. The Raptors went 32-35 from the free throw line while the Sixers went 10-14.

This one was particularly egregious:

Where's the foul? http://pic.twitter.com/gH7ldSrmfZ

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) December 22, 2017

I guess they thought Simmons fouled the guy with his left forearm after the shot.

Shrug.

Some guy was yelling at media row after the game:

“Somebody write up how the Sixers are getting hosed! Every single game. Every call goes against them. Somebody’s gotta write it up!”

Anyway, I need to see what Brown does with a healthy Simmons/Embiid/Fultz for a meaningful chunk of games before I’m ready to bring in some Colangelo retread hire. I know “measured” isn’t how we do our takes in Philly, but let’s please just give it a try.

1) Simmons’ Shooting

20 points on 9-14 shooting with a 2-3 clip on shots of 10-feet or more.

He was much more aggressive last night getting to the rim and looking to “score the basketball.”

Two clips:

and this one:

Smooth, right? That second shot, he’s stopping and popping and working off a screen. If he adds that to his game on a consistent basis, the Sixers’ pick and roll becomes so much more dangerous. The high/low game with Embiid is respected and he can pull defenders further from the rim in addition to how he attracts crowds collapsing at the net.

Ben looked good scoring but had some frustrating rookie moments highlighted by a 4 to 7 assist to turnover ration.

There was one point where the crowd went crazy on a phenomenal defensive effort against Serge Ibaka, only for him to turn the ball over on the ensuing possession and commit a foul on the other end. Best and worst of Ben right there.

2) Third quarter

The Sixers actually started strong in the third and extended their lead to 76-54 by the 9:09 mark.

People say, “well, how can you blow a 22 point lead in the third quarter! That’s bad coaching!”

Have you ever watched the NBA? There’s 21 minutes remaining in the game at that point. That’s 43.7% of the entire contest. Of course a team can get hot and close the distance in that time frame, especially when they have two superstars on the floor.

There was a mini-period within the Toronto run that exhibited the reasons why the Sixers struggled down the stretch:

They went 0-1, had a shot clock violation and two shots were blocked. They committed 4 fouls and 4 turnovers and gave up a pair of offensive rebounds. The 22 point lead was down to 8 in less than four minutes and continued through a timeout taken midway through it.

Basketball is a game of runs, always has been. It doesn’t excuse the mistakes, but it’s wrong to think that any lead is safe at any point in the game.

3) Embiid nonsense

How does a guy go from “questionable,” to “probable,” to “out” in less than eight hours?

He looked fine on the court pregame, shooting a few shots and dancing around a bit.

This is what we were told afterward:

Brown: Embiid went through warm-ups and didn't feel comfortable. It's that simple. Half hour before game we learned that he wasn't going to be able to give what he felt helps the team so we decided to rest him

— Kevin Kinkead (@Kevin_Kinkead) December 22, 2017

Okay.

It’s ridiculous that Brown has to be the messenger for this news. The Sixers don’t need to sit the medical staff in front of the rabid Philadelphia sports media, but how about a press release detailing some specifics of Fultz’s shoulder rehab or Embiid’s back/load management? That stuff goes a long way in the goodwill department. They are very close to losing casual fans that came back around this season.

This isn’t hard.

4) The supporting cast

19 and 7 for Robert Covington, who shot the ball well early, then kind of flattened out in the second half. He finished 6-16 and 5-12 from three-point range, adding 3 offensive rebounds.

He left the game early in the first quarter, then came right back, with some people insisting that he had to use the bathroom. I don’t know. I didn’t ask him post-game if he needed to take a crap. I think we’ll just let that one go.

But whatever he did helped, as he finished the first half 4-6 from behind the arc.

He was even getting stuff like this to go down:

Robert Covington gets the toilet bowl shot to drop http://pic.twitter.com/QAtr9vNlxt

— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) December 22, 2017

As for Dario Saric, he finished with 19, 10, and 9, one assist short of his first career triple-double.

People ask, “why can’t Dario do that when Joel Embiid is on the floor?” Well, he can’t do it when Embiid is on the floor because Embiid gets the bulk of the touches, shots, and rebounds while also being the defensive centerpiece around the rim. Saric plays some stretch-five in the fourth quarter of games where Embiid is unavailable, and he’s also getting more minutes in general, too, which is why his numbers go up when Joel isn’t out there. Embiid is a ball-dominant big in both possession and hitting the glass, and the offense runs through him when he’s out there.

Remember, Saric began the season on the bench. He’s been much better as a starter but personnel groupings are always going to affect contribution, and you see the difference when the superstar conduit isn’t out there. If anything, fans/media should be ecstatic with the way Saric performs when Joel is absent, instead of asking, “why doesn’t he do that all the time?” It’s like asking, “why doesn’t Trey Burton always have these kinds of games?” Why? Because you’ve got a Pro Bowl tight end already on the field.

Anyway, merry Christmas to our loyal Crossing Broad readers.

Kiss my ass. Kiss his ass. Kiss your ass. Happy Hanukkah.

Trust the Prosthetic: Four Observations from Raptors 114, Sixers 109 published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

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