I promise this is the very last segments of my Laundromat renovation project.  I thought that it would be instructive to document the process of a major Laundromat renovation and highlight the important aspects of this major undertaking.  I have learned from previous experiences that with a well thought-out plan the renovation runs like clockwork, just as without the proper planning you seem to go from one disaster to another and your planned opening date becomes a victim of the un-planned problems.

The original goals for the Laundromat renovation were the following:

1. Correct the rotten common wall between the Laundromat & the residing neighbor,
2. Replace the partially clogged old cast-iron waste line with a drainage basin system,
3. Move the Large washer to the front of the store,
4. Reduce the washer & sewer bill by as much as possible,
5. Increase the number of large capacity washers,
6. Increase the washing & drying capacity of the Laundromat, and
7. Reduce the Laundromat down time to a bare minimum.

The Laundromat was closed for 11-1/2 days and we lost only 1 weekend of revenue.  HK corrected 2 long standing problems; the rotting common wall and the partially clogged drain line.  The first of these put us in compliance with the landlord and the second will reduce our maintenance issues at the Laundromat.  The new Huebsch washers should reduce our water & sewer bill by 50% or an estimated $26,000 a year savings (we will be able to confirm this with the next water department billing cycle).   We have also have increased our big washers from 3 - 50 lbs. capacity to 5 - 60 lbs. capacity machines.  We have doubled our large washer capacity and have a net overall increase of 30% in total washing capacity.

The original plan was to be down for the minimum amount of time and to perform as much work as possible.  We were able to perform all of the roof work and firing up the CCI card system before the actual start of the renovation.  By completing the roof work beforehand, we had the advantage of being focused on the inside of the Laundromat and were not affected by any weather conditions. We were also very fortunate to get the CCI system all configured beforehand because we were without Internet services for the first 4 days of operation.  Under normal circumstances without the Internet we would have been SOL in trying to start-up a new CCI card system.

The renovation went exactly as planned.  All of the demolition and renovation work was done on time or even ahead of schedule.  We were very fortunate to have a great team of contractors including Brigante Carpentry (from Yorktown Heights, NY), Alliance Electric (from Port Chester, NY) and Indusi Plumbing (from Ossining, NY).  Of course my HK team was also terrific in their completion of multiple tasks.  Frank, Charlie & Eric works steady for 2 weeks at the Briarcliff location performing everything from jack hammering concrete to hooking up CCI card system to cosmetic carpentry work.  We also enjoyed the assistance of my Laundromat Manager, Rob Esposito who completed many of the final checklist items like mounting bulletin boards, mounting fire extinguishers, getting the Internet connected and many more tasks.

The "after action reports" shows that I should have planned to start the concrete jack hammering on Monday afternoon, (rather than Tuesday morning).  In addition I should have checked and made sure that we had our Internet access before we even started the project.  This would have made the entire CCI Card system run smother and takes less time.  My tile installer "Artistic Tile" helped us out by working in the evenings.  Artistic Tile lost a couple of work days and they had to continue to complete their work after the store had opened to the public.  We were also fortunate with your plumbing and final building department inspections.  The inspectors were very accommodating with their schedule.  In retrospect the renovation came off without a hitch and with any major job you need to expect the un-expected problems that will arise and muddy up the timeline.  With this job, everything ran incredibly smooth and I can only say that was due to the extensive planning and good teamwork from all of our trades.  Thank you one & all.

I have attached some of the photos of the highlights of our renovation.  The complete album is available on our website for your review.  The biggest take-away from this entire renovation should be planning, planning and more planning.  Every day that you are closed is another day for your customers to experience your competitors.  Every day that you are closed you are losing revenue.  From my own experience, pay a little bit more and use the best professions in their field.  You may pay more, but you will never be disappointed and you will be open faster and back in the business of making money.