Initially we wanted to have a similar setup to Dizzyfinch Photo Studio in London. A work/live photo studio in a semi-industrial space. Something quite open and spacious with at least a 3.2m ceiling. So the basic brief to agents was: find us a space that we can work and live from with 1 open area of at least 50sqm under budget.

We set up a few meetings and went to view a couple of properties that had some potential. But we quickly realized that since our requests were so specific and our budget only so big, there was only a handful of potential properties. Some of the first ones we looked at seemed quite good and we were very interested in a few. The only problem was that each property had reasons why we shouldn’t take it. For some the ceiling was borderline on the height criteria. For others there was just not enough space. Some were far too expensive, but perfect and others were great, but only offered commercial use and not residential. Below are some snaps of the places we saw before settling.

Luckily we were staying with family in Hout Bay and could take our time in finding the right place. We got to know Cape Town pretty good in a short space of time. Our daily routine would be to head into town for viewings, then hit the internet café and reply to more ads, then drive around areas that we felt could offer what we were looking for and call the agents advertising with boards in windows.

After a while we were no closer to finding a work/live option and resigned ourselves to the fact that we would probably have to split the two. This was not our first choice and would definitely be a more costly one. There were two properties that we were keen on, one in a converted brewery and the other in a business park. Both had potential and we went pretty far with negotiations before we stumbled upon a new attractive looking property. We had only been searching for properties that fell between 80 and 130sqm, this was where our budget seemed to fit best. Luckily we clicked on a link to show us more properties under a certain agent and there it was, “posted 4 minutes ago” a 300sqm property that was bang on budget. A quick look at the pictures and we could see the ceiling height was fine and space was not an issue. The only question remained was “what is the catch?”

Our agent James Shaw of Baker Street Estate Agents in Woodstock met us at the property and opened up to show us a space that had amazing potential. Pretty much a shell with a bit of work to do, but it looked good. It felt right. The landlords were cool with us staying there. We took a few snaps and went home to discuss and plan. After going over a few things together we decided to have a second look and measure up a few things to answer some questions we still had. After the second viewing we pretty much knew we were going to offer that same day. A bit of negotiating back and forth and the landlord had signed and accepted our offer. This included a 2 month rent free installation period that James helped us pass by the landlord, seeing as the place was a dirty shell in need of some TLC. We agreed to do the installations/improvements on our own, with the landlord taking care of a few minor things. However all the fixed/structural improvements we make will become property of the landlord upon our termination of lease. for example, the dry partitioning that we would have to build in order to create a bedroom and other similar stuff. Below are a few pics of the property as we were given it, I have also included a diagram of our planned alterations.

Once we got the keys we started accumulating all the essentials, both for household and for building. I have not really built much in my lifetime, but decided that a drywall should not be too much to handle, Jill and I can do it! My dad who is also a photographer, is also a developer and gave me a few pointers on the drywall. Jill and I then started sourcing materials and started building. A big thanks to Jan Corewijn for loaning us some tools and also a few words of wisdom from an old man who knows his stuff! Our first major problem was that the ceiling was a suspended foam ceiling and we were not allowed to fix to it of damage it in any way. There was the existing freestanding drywall room which we could use as support, but it was not easy finding a stud to fix to on that wall, we ended up fixing to it using toggles, some pretty heavy duty toggles. Other than that, we had a few little bumps along the way, but overcame each one of them and screw by screw we put up our drywall, I think we ended up using about 500 screws supporting a total of 7m in length and 3.6m high wall.  Below are some progress pics and clips to show you how we went.  I am very proud with how Jill performed on the building site and how we did everything together as a team!

A lick of paint and the wall was done, we could now move in.

Now we Just have to do a few more things before moving in.

Have curtains made and installed

Remove old flaking window tinting

Remove old notice board on existing drywall

Try and patch some leaks

Repaint dark red area

Clean the whole place (twice)

Create a café style window counter

Hang other things like – herb garden, towel rails, toilet roll holders, clock, mirrors, hooks, soap and shampoo holder in shower etc etc.

Install locks, change shower head

Clean again

Move in with all our stuff

Sort out security, telephone and internet

The first night we spent here was the first night my cousin came to visit from Durban. It was a great night, all our hard work in getting the place ready was done and we could enjoy a glass of champagne together.

Our next project is building an infinity wall or cyclorama. We are in the process of buying timber and planning it all out. Should be exciting. Then as soon as that is done we will be open for business. That will be a nice thing for me, I have been surviving on stock income for the last three months without doing much other work. Stock photography has allowed me that luxury, if you also want to have a passive income I suggest that you look through my other blog posts about getting started in microstock photography and about selling your photos online. I have also uploaded articles on microstock agencies and some key tools for the budding microstock photographer to know and use.

Happy shooting

Tags: baker street, building, cape town, contruction, counter, dizzyfinch, dry, drywall, glen surtees, microstockhelper, old castle brewery, photo, photography, stud, studio, video, wall, warren goldswain, waverly
Posted in Personal