Red River Rockhouse

The road we’ve traveled…

Aaron — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 20:16:50 +0000

Obviously our updates here have been lacking, but not for lack of work. I guess I’ll start by answering everyone’s question “When are you guys going to open?” Answer: We don’t know. We made some plumbing changes to accommodate our patrons that require wheelchairs and in doing so had to resubmit our water and plumbing to the State. With that said, we are still moving forward and hope to be up and running soon.

Real quick before we get to the photos, a special thanks this time to August, Rob, Tina, Ayla, and Chad: without the time, effort, and support of these folks, none of what you see would be possible. Also, thanks to all of the local contractors and artists (a post spotlighting them is coming soon), Miguel’s for awesome pizza, time and time again, and all the folks that have stopped by to wish us well. We can’t wait for you all to be able to stop by, relax, and enjoy some food.

So, I put together these photos to quickly illustrate the whole process from the beginning to now. There are many more photos and the stories that go along with them on our previous posts (1,2,3,4,5,6). You can see how we’ve taken a small house with 7 1/2ft ceilings and made it into a bright, clean, airy, little cafe with a modern yet rustic charm. We hope you like it.

I can not even tell you how long ago this seems and it was just a year ago.

This is the construction and installation of our reclaimed barn wood counter in the carry-out section. Thanks to Many Moons Designs for mixed species counter top!

And here are the the fruits of all of our labor thus far!

Each table a single species of wood from barns here in Kentucky. Thanks again to Many Moons Designs for these gems. Our lamps were handmade by Annie at Dot and Line and we love’em; thanks Annie!

Thanks for checking in with us! We can’t wait to see you all soon!

Remodel Round #2

Aaron — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 04:13:00 +0000

So again, the best way to start out this post is a giant THANK YOU to all of our friends who came out and helped again! To my brother Nathan, August, Marc, Bill Ald, Eric M, Jayna, Matt, Eric B, Bryant, Bill C, Brian, and everyone else who just stopped in to check it out and give some encouragement; Thank you all very much. This is a huge undertaking and labor of love that could not be done without the support of all of you.

This round we completed the roof and skylights above the carry-out section, got a bunch of the electrical outlets run up into the attic so our electrician can tie them into the box, and hung a whole bunch of drywall and got a ton of it taped and mudded. In total contrast to last round, the weather was immaculate! The sun shone and the temps were in the 60′s; perfect working conditions and very little suffering. Below is some photographic documentation of the work and fun.

August and Frank, back up on the roof; this time in non-sweltering temps at least!

Hanging some drip edge and laughing as usual.

I have no idea, but something was pretty damn funny.

Roofing by lamplight, August laying them down.

Us deciphering the worlds most ambiguous directions ever!!! Thanks Velux.

Having figured out the directions to keep the warranties intact, and after roofing by night, we finished the roof and all the lines matched nicely.

In between work we took a break at the roadside Friction Slab Boulder and it’s stellar climbs including Bulldog, which Frank promptly dispatched in about 7 or 8 tries. Below is Marc Rosefsky being spotted by Frank and then Frank sending the rig, below that.

After the send it was back to work, beginning with a nice plunge cut. Good times.

Frank showing how to place the drywall in between the truss spaces and just what a pain it can be.

Here’s a nice shot to illustrate how many truss spaces we had to drywall.

And the mudding begins….ahhh, the loathsome mudding.

August and Frank showing some techniques used to get the job done.

My brother Nathan at it as well.

Nathan and I making the best of the mudding. Thanks for the shot August!

While we were mudding, Marc and Bill were completing the crucial linkup of framing between the main dining area and the carry-out area. With their work, the drywall was able to smoothly run between the rooms.

Finishing off the framing and drywall of the skylights. Thanks for the shots Aug.

Eric B, Matt, and Jayna helping out hang some drywall….and Matt striking a pose.

Eric measuring one of the final pieces of drywall in the dining room.

The breakfasts that got me through 20 days of living at the Rockhouse with no kitchen.

And all the work paying off. Thanks again to everyone that helped out.

And a parting shot of a well deserved rest out front of the Rockhouse.

Remodel Round #1 Part 3

Aaron — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 20:05:00 +0000

Hello all, again! Now that we are down off the roof from Part 2, we’ll be heading inside again for a few shots and then a bunch of random images taken through the week of some of the people that helped out.

Putting up a new wall in the main dining room.

Knocking it firmly into place.

Plumb walls are a good thing.

The cinder block wall all studded out and ready for some drywall.

So that is about it for our construction photos. This upcoming Remodel Round #2, which is taking place September 30th -October 18th, I’ll be sure to get a bunch more photos of the work we get done. And now, a bunch of photos of us having fun, climbing, and sweating out one hell of a hot week.

A few rest hours that we spent at Roadside Crag, where Carter got to do his first rock climb by ascending the classic Roadside Attraction! Well done Carter!

How Frank and Aaron survive 105 degrees on a roof.

August taking a bit of a beating from the heat.

One of my favorite photos of the trip. Frank chilling in the shade of a tree on the roof.

Frank dealing with the pain after taking a cinder block to the knee. Classic.

My foot after punching through my shoe and subsequently my foot and cutting through a vein and into a bit of bone with a sawzall. Good times. It’s actually healing nicely.

Carter from the west-sieeede….of New Lenox, IL.

Team FAC….well it would have been if we were smart enough to stand correctly. Instead we are Team CAF. Hilarious. And we do actually own shirts. And the initials were so that we stopped grabbing each others disgusting masks. Really gross.

August “helping” Carter put the cap back on the truck.

I have no idea, but I find it to be pretty damn funny.

Frank Byron and Aaron Brouwer. Working for our dream.

And that’s it. Thanks for keeping up with the us and our progress. Check the events page for the lowdown on Remodel Round #2 coming up in October!

Remodel Round #1 Part 2

Aaron — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:18:25 +0000

After the behemoth of a chimney was demoed and thrown in the dumpster, it was time to get to work on the inside and the roof. We started with removing the existing rafter system in the carryout section one by one, and replacing them with collar ties and adding 4×4 posts to add extra support to the ridge.

The simultaneous hammering technique proved to be the perfect remedy in taking these 2×6′s apart.

A great shot by Brandon of Frank and Aaron hanging collar ties, as seen from the main dining area.

Frank Checking the level.

It should be noted that I’m holding an unattached collar tie and shooting and that the level was corrected after the photo was taken.

Frank testing the structural integrity of the collar ties by campusing across them of course; is there a better way? I think not.

A little bit of photojournalism that I happened upon when I walked in the door behind Frank. Sometimes life just works out perfectly.

Once we finished the collar ties and the post supports, we started on the roof and the three, 2×5 foot skylights that we installed.

Frank getting it done, with total disregard for the 105 degree temps.

Aaron showing his “what?” face after removing an attic vent that was only a few feet up the roof…i.e. useless. Heat rises, still.

Frank cutting in the rough opening for one of the skylights.

Getting there.

How we do.

A perfect illustration of how hard we were working: We have no pictures of us actually installing the skylights, the tar paper, or roofing the whole thing until the last few shingles. We’re oddly proud of that fact. Below are a few of the finishing of the roof.

Cutting the final shingle…..

….And Cal Naughton Jr. (August) nailing it down.

After Auggie got the last shingle down, we cut a slot in the entire ridge of the building and installed a ridge vent and shingled it in; giving good breathing room to every joist space in the attic. Hope you all are enjoying the posts! We’ll have another up next week showing some more work on the inside and some random shots of the us and the shenanigans that have to take place to make work like this more enjoyable. Enjoy the day! -The Rockhouse.

Remodel Round #1

Aaron — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:30:45 +0000

Hello all! To start the heat index was over 100 degrees for all but one of the 14 days and at least three of the days were over 110 and that it rained, thundered, and was completely awesome. The Rockhouse has more sweat equity than any endeavor Frank or I have ever taken on, that is for sure. We would like to start with those who helped out, because without their help, support, great spirits and tons of laughs, this phase of the Rockhouse remodel would not been the success that it is and you all have our sincerest thank you. Carter Aldridge, my close friend Bill’s son, was our 17 year old, guardian, go-fer, voice recorder, memory, and hard working friend for the entire two weeks and definitely deserves a special thank you. My brother Nathan, August Wasilowski, Brandon Tilton, Eric Miller, Ines (regretfully we didn’t get your last name), and Bryant McDonnell were also very instrumental in the effort. Between the bunch of them: 8 tons of brick, mortar, and concrete were removed, electrical wires relocated to allow for new drywall (Eric and Carter’s sufferfest), the Rockhouse stayed a bit cleaner and everyone gave great input throughout. Also, thanks to all the members of the community and climbing community that stopped by and wished us well. We are going to do our very best to be a great addition to an already outstanding community.

So we first started with a bit of demo. And that may be one of the greatest understatements that I’ve ever uttered. The chimney that we took down was built as though gold bars or the secrets to the universe were being held inside for safe keeping. Instead of taking a day, which it would have if it was built more traditionally, it took three days and set us back a bit. The debris filled a 30 yard dumpster 3 1/2 feet deep and weighed in at about 6-8tons. And along with the chimney we had to remove a section of cinder block wall on the interior of the building. Here are a couple picks of the demolition of it.

Here’s Nathan going to work on the cinder block wall.

Frank rocking the chimney with a whole bunch of effort and a 10lb sledge.

And now getting it off the roof in proper fashion.

So that was the beginning. Just like an iceberg, the majority of the size and weight lied beneath.

Frank surveying the structural integrity of the behemoth.

And my brother Nathan venting a bit and getting a heck of a workout as the chimney holds it’s own…for a while.

Once it was sufficiently weakened, we tied a trusty old static line around the highest part we could safely reach and pulled it down….and Frank used his ninja running skills to get the heck out of the way. I really enjoy the large image where Frank is sporting a giant smile at the final felling of the chimney and getting to run from it while it was falling. Awesome.

Once toppled the chimney and some of it’s interesting finds inside (see the Natural Light mortar job below) were moved outside so we had space to work on the inside. Since the dumpster was not part of the original plan (a trailer that was overloaded and collapsed was) it was still a couple days from arriving, so we had the pleasure of moving all the debris twice! I mean who wouldn’t want to move 12 tons instead of 6?!?!?

Frank showing the addition of a Natural Light can to the mortar; for strength no doubt. This was just one of many.

Carter and the beginning of the debris.

Getting it in the dumpster….and it’s 105 degrees. Good times.

Frank cross-training by getting the blocks all the way to the back of the dumpster.

Well, I’m going to stop this post here as it’s already long enough and after we cleaned up the debris and got everything cleaned up inside we went to work redoing some walls, ceilings, rafter systems and then the roof and skylights. I’ll get that post up soon. For now, enjoy the day and we’ll see you all again soon.

Demolition Part 2

Aaron — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 02:15:37 +0000

This past week, Frank finished up the demolition that I had started a while back. He had a lot to do, with all the screws and nails needing to be removed from the bottom of the trusses, removing ceramic tile, fireplace, removing a bunch of stone facade, removing the impossibly overbuilt walls in the carryout area, all the shelving that was behind those walls, and a some other smaller jobs. Keeping with the precedent set by the first round of demo, Frank crushed it out in record time and took some photos to further show the progress of the Rockhouse!

After removing the stupidly overbuilt wall (5/8″ plywood over 16″ OC studs) and exposing the “hidden” room that was previously only accessible from the outside.

The kitchen cabinet system removed to make way for the three compartment sink.

All the screws and nails that needed to be removed from the bottom of the “W” trusses, so that they can be painted and left exposed.

Frank, delicately removing the stone facade from the carry-out area. That stuff was a lot harder to remove that you might think.

The pile o’ tile removed from between where the dish room wall will be and the fireplace.

Demo part 2 finished! Screws removed, tile out, walls down, and stone facade broke off. Now we are just about ready for the remodel in August!

Demolition

Aaron — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 18:58:14 +0000

So it has begun!!! This past week, we went down to the Rockhouse. Tina and Ayla went for a girls weekend to her Mamaw’s and I went to work! I had decided to do the demolition work myself to save money and get an idea of how fast it could be completed and have a basis of whether or not I was being unrealistic in my entertainment of the idea of performing the construction myself. I had three days in which to complete my task. It was 101 degrees with the heat index and I knew I was going to be in the attic of an abandoned house, removing batts of insulation, ductwork, and wiring and in the main space, the drywall ceilings, stud walls, wood paneling, and pergo flooring. About 20hrs of hard labor later, one tyvek suit, some ruined clothes, two saturated respirators, mounds of trash, piles of pergo and paneling to be reused, and one haggard body; I’d accomplished my goal. Through this very hard, but manageable work, I gained even more confidence that with the help of our friends, we are going to be able to complete this remodel ourselves. I took some pictures along the way to give some visual to the adventure. I hope this helps to stir some excitement in you all about a new addition to the Red River Gorge area and community, as it certainly has in me. Enjoy. -Aaron

A view from the outside

Tearing up the flooring and stacking it so it can be reused.

Removing the paneling from an interior wall; it too will be reused.

After carefully removing the old stained glass panes so they can be reused in the remodel.

Some artwork from a previous builder. It was on a 2×6 in an interior wall. “Dragon Claw 99′ ” is what it is signed/titled.

In the thick of it: ceiling and walls in the main dining area removed.

Similar time, opposite direction of view in the main dining area.

Said Tyvek Suit. Note: Immensely helpful at keeping fiberglass at bay when knee deep in really old insulation, but also a personal steam room.

The carry out section of the restaurant mid ceiling removal. I used solid oak doors to protect the pool table, which has yet to be removed.

Approximately 20 hours of work later and it’s all cleaned up and swept and ready for the next step. Stay tuned or better yet, click the RSS feed and be notified of new posts.

Red River Rockhouse

Tina — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:00:10 +0000

It’s official, we have the place, the dream, and the know-how…introducing another place to hang out and eat after a long day of climbing and hiking…

The Red River Rockhouse! Please bookmark this site as we will be blogging lots of new and exciting information regarding construction, opening, menus, meet the owner bios, and much, much, more!