Here’s what’s new:
Hush & Whisper Distilling Co. sees continued and significant progress in construction. Big steps have been taken recently in preparation to install the distillery equipment at the Varisco. Highlighting: the concrete cutting of the still way and the transformation of the production (annex) side of H&W.
Creating a still way:
From day one, there was a big question of how to safely fit Hush & Whisper’s 28-foot column still inside the Varisco Building. The ultimate answer: execute a complex, multi-step plan to cut a large hole in the first floor of the building. This would create a “still way” through the first floor down to the basement; and would successfully provide the needed space for the column still. While cutting a hole in the floor of the historic Varisco Building sounds daunting, our skilled teams successfully worked through the process— taking all safety and structural considerations possible.
Three weeks were spent in the basement below in preparation and around the still way hole to be cut. Before cutting began, it was necessary to reinforce the slab around the still way hole. Which involved scoring the basement ceiling pan beams to form up and pouring new supporting beams around the still way hole. The concrete was poured into the new beam forms at the basement through pour holes drilled in the street-level slab. Once the new supporting beams in the basement were cured, the cutting process above at street level began.
This process included cutting the four radius corners with a large 30” circular tub saw—cutting and removing small sections of the street-level concrete deck and forming the radius corners of the still way to ensure that open ceiling cells are closed and clean.
Scaffolding and plywood deck were in place throughout the coring and cutting process to prevent heavy pieces of concrete slab from falling through to the basement floor—preventing damage or injury. Now the hole is formed and ready for plaster finishing at the hole’s vertical faces. The full process took just over a month in length to complete.
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Transforming the annex:
The annex space, that will house the distillery and production side of Hush & Whisper, is in the process of a full transformation. After months of work and preparation, our construction team has recently poured, finished, and sealed the new concrete slab. As well as painted the ceiling and south wall and continued work to install new sprinkler lines for the space.
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Looking forward:
- This week the team will close the northbound lane of the 200 block of Main Street to install the 100-ton chiller on the annex roof.
- Preparing to cut a large window that will connect the tasting room and production side. This includes installing structural shoring and steel to support the annex wall until the window is installed.
Information Courtesy of Hush & Whisper Distilling Co.
