Reconstruction
The idea of building a beautiful and modern living in the city center in the building of the former post office headquarters has always been a great challenge.
The reconstruction itself is demanding and tricky, since it always brings a number of unexpected surprises that cannot be prevented despite all efforts and preparation. Let alone in a building that had its one hundredth birthdays forty years ago. Nevertheless, the objective was too luring, so in November 2020 we embarked on working and starting the demolition of foiled interiors serving as offices of the previous owner.
Besides the adjustments of interiors it was clear that a lot of work would be needed on the facades. Their condition was pitiful and some wall lacked any facades at all. Forced by reality we had to abandon the original intention counting only on local repairs, and to accept the fact that we would have to remake a number of places completely.
Inside the building, we fiercely commenced work and gradually started demolishing traverses and inside installations. It was all happening during the operation of the remaining parts of the building, therefore, owing to the sustainment of comfort of the tenants, most of the noisy work was realized early in the morning and late in the afternoon. It required very thorough planning, but the aim was clear – manage all work within an adequate time, and be as considerate to the tenants, as possible.
One of the biggest interventions was the adjustment of floor heights. The fourth floor had original ceilings more than 4 meters high; on the other hand the loft space over them that should have contained duplex units was too low. That is why the project counted on reducing the ceilings and replacing them with steel construction. It turned out that the original beams, in spite of being more than a hundred years old, are in a very good shape, and after consulting a number of experts we decided to preserve them.
We think that the result is absolutely amazing. Thanks to using the original material, the house kept its uniqueness, and still fulfills the strictest demands with regard to living quality. Although we feel sorry that these beautiful constructions had to be hidden in drywall cases to match the necessary fire safety standards.
After finishing the work on the ceilings and floor we continued with traverses. It is a classic drywall solution. In our case, however, we used the system solution of a German producer, and unlike the classic ones they have a double width and special filling. This way, we reached extremely high efficiency for the absorption of noise, and the apartments secure necessary peace and privacy to their users.
We paid great attention to the roof, too. Due to its age and the effect of the weather conditions, it was necessary to perform a vast and extensive reconstruction. Fortunately, the weather was good and during the repairs we did not have to face any natural elements. Unlike the inhabitants of Southern Moravia who were then hit by a disastrous tornado. So the carpenters voluntarily set off to help and still have our respect for that.
Despite that we managed the work on our building in time and perfect quality. They are the proof that Czech craftsmen are among the top. The life expectancy of the modernized roof is long decades.
The process of reconstruction required a great extent of flexibility and technical inventiveness. A number of the solutions was created literally online, and instead of software the solutions were drafted on spot and often in a very untraditional way. For instance with a pencil on the plaster. However, the high expertise of the implementation team managed to overcome all traps and the result of our work may be seen in the „Gallery“ section.
