Updates
Update #7
CONSTRUCTION IS COMPLETE!!
That’s right, our construction team is finished, and we have passed all the inspections. We are now able to claim our location as our own. We have made a large map as to what items need to get done in which order to open.
This past weekend and coming week, we will be focusing on painting. Next week, we will be installing our flooring. Allen will primarily be running these two projects with the help of friends and family. Tyler and I will be continuing to work on coding. We will also take a final look at the planned puzzles for our first room. When the flooring is complete, we want to install all set pieces and electronics immediately.
Our first room will be called Heist Havoc. Here’s a bit of information about it:
The Redacted Agency will task the recruits with a heist to recover a massive diamond on display at the most notorious master thief’s highly secured lair. As recruits, the agency will provide you with all the various heisting gadgets required to infiltrate and deactivate any security layers throughout the room.
We are sure there will still be a lot of changes, surprises, and challenges thrown our way. But we are very excited about what’s in store for our first room. Our plans and timeline were constantly changing, but now we are happy that we are in control of our timeline. We plan to work all day every day (as proof, I am writing this at 7:30 pm on a Friday while Allen is still at Redacted getting it ready to be painted!!), but there is still much work to do before we are prepared to open. Due to the construction delays, we are still hoping for late February, but realistically, it will probably be more like early March.
~Nick
Update #6
We wanted to write this update sooner, but unfortunately, construction hasn’t moved fast enough. Construction has not yet been completed, but we have had some significant progress. It is incredibly exciting that the walls have all been constructed!! When you walk past the windows, it is starting to look like it is a ‘real’ business. The fire sprinklers have been moved and updated. We have electrical wires ran but some lights in the ceiling still need to be moved around. The HVAC changes are also mostly completed.
On our end, we have picked out the flooring for the hallways and lobby. We are also looking at paint colors. We have planned how we will install all of these items and are waiting for construction to finish before we can begin.
We were initially told that the professional construction would be completed by December 14th. Due to those delays, we will also need to push back on our part. We are now shooting to be open in late February.
~Nick
Update #5
Construction is moving along! It’s on schedule but, unfortunately, not moving faster than planned. The metal studs framing our rooms were completed just before Thanksgiving. The electrical, HVAC, and fire safety updates are currently underway. After that, our construction team will return to put up all the walls, and then the professional construction will be completed.
Our first steps afterward will be installing the flooring and painting the walls. Then, we can start installing all of the escape room-specific items. Unfortunately, with a sorrowful heart, this will not be completed in December. We will still be shooting for a January opening, but a lot depends on how the above items go. Our biggest priority is to test the rooms thoroughly rather than rush to open them. We know this experience will have you coming back to play the rest of our rooms.
We have continued working on the room technology to prepare for the installation. Allen has been printing and soldering different tech modules for us. Tyler is working on the coding to make each module work. At the same time, I am working on using the modules and Tyler’s code together to get our puzzles going.
We are also excited to release some background information about the Redacted Agency and our Mission plans, but we are waiting to get closer to opening before we do so. Stay tuned for future updates!
~Nick
Update #4
Construction is underway! The three individual suites that used to be Cricket, Weathered Shed, and Wrap & Ship are now officially one suite that is REDACTED!
Over the last few months, we have diligently worked with the architect and landlord to create a floor plan that would reuse as many current walls and spaces as possible. This week, the construction team will be wrapping up the demolition portion, which includes cutting out the walls that were necessary to remove, removing the old carpeting and cleaning up the cement, and finally replacing all of the old ceiling tiles with nice, clean ones.
Once they finish the demolition, then the new construction begins. We confirmed they will start that process on Wednesday (Nov 13th). The demolition portion was listed as 4 weeks but only took 2.5 weeks. This portion is also slated for 4 weeks, and we are crossing our fingers that it also moves along quicker than planned.
Financially, we hope to secure our last bit of funding from the City of West Allis tonight at the Common Council Meeting. The construction costs were more than initially estimated, so we needed a little more funding to complete the project and buy all the necessary technology and equipment to build the escape room.
Allen, Tyler, and I are working hard behind the scenes, building prototypes and working on the coding that goes into the escape room. We had a big day this past Saturday, watching our separate work come together (mostly successfully)! We continue to work on what we can until construction finishes, and we can start physically building the escape rooms.
At this point, it is less likely that we will open before the last week of December, but we are still crossing our fingers. Unfortunately, it is more likely that we will open in mid-January. We won’t open until the room meets our expectations.
~Nick
Update #3
Redacted has submitted its Building Permits and Plan Review documents to the City of West Allis. Construction should start within the next couple of weeks.
While we wait for the Construction crew to get to work, Allen, Tyler, and I are busy getting the escape rooms ready to go. Allen is designing our Pico Box (pictured to the right). This box is 3D Printed and will contain all the puzzle hardware in our escape rooms. Once it is complete, Tyler and I can use it to test all our electronics, eventually leading us to test our puzzles during construction.
~Nick
Update #2
The first big milestone of the Construction Phase has been completed. We have been working with an Architect and a Contractor to ensure everyone is on the same page about what we want our escape room to become. After a few weeks of discussion, the architect submitted the plan review documents, and our contractor submitted the building permits to the City of West Allis. Hopefully, those will be approved in the next couple of weeks. At that point, we can begin construction.
We have leased three adjacent suites and will turn them into one big area. We are so excited. Here are a few ‘Before’ pictures of the space before construction begins.
Update #1
We are due for an update, so here goes!
A couple of months ago, I bought a bottle of wine. Allen and I were struggling with the fatigue of all the logistics of starting a business. We also were having terrible luck securing financing and a location. Two things happened that we were told, ‘Oh, we’ve never seen that happen before.’ So what did I do? I bought a bottle of wine. I told Allen that things had to improve soon, that our luck couldn’t continue being that bad, and as soon as they did, we would celebrate with this wine! Or if they kept spiraling downwards, we would drink it in our misery.
Well, we finally drank that bottle of wine!!
We were officially approved for our business loan, so we now have the rest of the financing needed to make Redacted Escape Rooms happen. We also signed a lease for our location a couple of weeks ago, but it was contingent on receiving the rest of the financing. That means both our location and funding have now been secured. We can move on to creating the escape rooms rather than working on the logistics of starting a business.
