Nestled in the Elk Mountain range of the Rocky Mountains is the Club at Crested Butte.
It now features handcrafted fixtures for its golf pro shop featuring a matte black finish and metal hardware, echoing the club’s overall aesthetics.
D.P. Juza built and installed fixtures in the Skyland Clubhouse golf pro shop for the Club at Crested Butte as part of their top to bottom remodel project. The custom fixtures built and installed by D.P. Juza for the club include a service counter with a back island, perimeter wall cabinets and displays, floor fixtures, and a set of nesting tables.
The fixtures were finished and painted with Benjamin Moore black, a near onyx black color, which turned out a beautiful matte black.
This matched the traditional mountain aesthetics of the rest of the club featuring black wood throughout with large rock accents like fireplaces and flagstone pillars.
Adapting to Unexpected Install Challenges
Installing the pieces for the club involved overcoming unforeseen challenges and new experiences for the install crew.
Ben Juza, D.P. Juza Vice President of Operations, and John, Master Craftsman and shop foreman, were originally the only members of the installation crew, but they added another crew member – Malachi – who worked in the D.P. Juza shop for the summer.
Bringing Malachi, the youngest member of the shop crew, on the install was to reward his progress over the summer and to provide him with a new life experience. On the install Malachi helped carry tools and fixtures, acted as the crew “gopher”, cleaned the install site up, and even pounded some nails.
Having Malachi along worked out well as they were able to meet their finishing deadline after encountering some challenges.
Overall, the fixture installation went well though, like any install project, they had to adapt some fixtures to compensate for uneven flooring and unplumbed walls. Due to this the process took longer, and they had to push themselves to meet their finishing deadline.
Elevation Challenges
The project involved some first time experiences for the crew members.
This project is the first that the majority of the crew worked above 9,000 feet. This leads into an experience and challenge the crew overcame on the install; the cordless nail guns they brought with didn’t work due to the high elevation.
D.P. Juza works installation projects across the U.S. and where they can they like to use their cordless nail guns, which use butane gas cylinders instead of compressed air. These work well on installation projects because the crew doesn’t need to use a loud air compressor or have hoses running through an install location.
The leadership team decided they would use the cordless nail guns for this install job; however, they didn’t anticipate the elevation of the job site affecting the nail guns as they had used them on install projects out west before.
Once on-site crew members found that the nail guns were not firing. To overcome this, they set the nails by hand and got it done with beautiful results.
After they returning to the D.P. Juza shop, they tested the same nail guns and found the worked fine, so it is likely that the elevation of the site did not have enough oxygen for them to fire. From this experience all D.P. Juza installation projects that are over 8,000 feet will not use cordless nail guns.
Exploring Crested Butte
During their off time the crew explored the Gunnison National Forest, the Gunnison Canyon and river, the town of Crested Butte and heard the slowest version of Billy Jean, according to John.
The install crew enjoyed the scenery on this install project. Waking up with a mountain out their front window is a beautiful sight to see every morning.
Visiting the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, known as one of the deepest canyons in the U.S. besides the Grand Canyon, was an experience they all appreciated. This area has very interesting landscape and geological features.
“You’re just driving along and bam there’s a giant hole in the ground,” said Ben.
While there they drove along the Gunnison River, which carved out the Gunnison Canyon. The Gunnison River is one of the largest tributaries of the Colorado River.
During their time in Crested Butte, they experienced some days when the air was very smoky due to wildfires in the region. The crew was thankful that there were no fires near them.
One night the crew drove into Crested Butte and checked out the town. Downtown Crested Butte is a very picturesque mountain town with new-old store fronts.
John thinks it looks like a set for a Hallmark movie, and he’s not wrong.
Wildlife in Crested Butte
Another day the crew decided to drive up the mountain to Gunnison National Forest to see elk. On their exploration they saw some mule deer but no elk.
They drove up the mountain over five miles. Getting up and down the mountain was a bit of an experience in the company truck as they had to Y turn the truck to make the switch backs in the road that crisscrossed the mountain.
Nightlife in Crested Butte
One evening the crew went to a concert held in the resort village where they stayed, about a five-mile drive from the golf course. The outdoor concert, held near a ski lift right on the mountain, featured Joshy Soul an R&B soul artist.
“He performed the slowest Billy Jean I ever heard,” said John. The event was low key and had families with kids.
Work Hard and Play Hard
On the Crested Butte installation, the crew worked through challenges and got to enjoy the natural beauty of the mountain community. They worked 12-hour to 15-hour days to complete the installation project in three days.
After ensuring the project was installed to D.P. Juza standards, they packed up the work trailer and made the 24-hour drive back to the D.P. Juza shop.