Woodworking/Detailing Queries

Have any detailing or woodworking questions you would like answered?  Please post them here and our team of experts will be happy to assist you.

Delicate Finishes

            We have recently completed two Yves Saint Laurent stores in Houston, TX and Costa Mesa, CA. These flagship stores are made up of high polished red polyurethane shelves and wall panels. During installation slight damage can occur due to constant exposure. We prepare for these situations by having materials on site for touch ups. In Houston, the final container of touch up paint had been opened close to job completion. Once the paint is opened the formula changes if not used immediately and cannot be used again. During the final days, additional paint was needed; however, we could not have it shipped down due to federal regulations. The Project Manager had pre-arranged for a finisher from the area to be on-site with additional paint should the need arise, which it did. The store was finished on time without any imperfections on the shelves or wall panels. Feel free to check our portfolio for completion photos of this shop and others. 

Trusting the Truck

         The fixtures are fabricated and ready to be sent out to the shops…now what? We are going to put them in someone else’s hands? That is exactly what has to happen during our large scale rollouts such as Jones NY Sport, Nine West, and Anne Klein. Fixtures are delivered via truck to multiple locations nationwide. Dates are set and schedules are made; however issues do arise such as breakdowns, weather delays, and traffic. A situation recently occurred during a delivery to California. A driver had become very ill during a run and we were not able to locate him for 24 hours. This had never happened before and we were very concerned for the driver and our fixtures on the truck. Dispatch was finally able to reach the driver the following day and we moved as quickly as possible to get a new driver down to take over the route. The close relationships we have with our transportation companies make it possible to address any situation that comes up during a job. Please feel to share your thoughts on this topic as well as any trucking dilemmas you may have had. 

A word about polyester finish…

Someone recently wrote to us about a problem they had with a wet sanded, high gloss polished, polyester finish (see the comment following our previous post). The problem was that it looked great on day one but a few days later, the panel was full of “orange peel”. This is my thought and it’s pretty simple: The polyester wasn’t completely dry when it was wet sanded and polished. It would look great the first day but as the material cures from underneath, it shrinks and the “orange peel” will appear. A minimum of three days should lapse before sanding and polishing out the “dimples”.  Hope that helps!

 

-Dan DeMarco

 

 

 

Welcome!

Welcome to the DDMA/ AWI company blog. This is the place for our employees, established clients, potential clients, industry colleagues, and friends to mix and mingle. Here, we’ll be posting about our latest jobs and most recent challenges, in addition to sharing a host of new ideas and architectural millwork solutions. Please visit often and contribute to the news and discussions!