MotorAve guitars moved from Sunset Blvd in Hollywood to an obscure corner of Durham North Carolina in July 2007. Though our business and Mark's reputation as a top notch repairman was growing every year, guitar repair was always a means to an end for us. We will miss our friends and customers in LA- but building guitars requires space and time that we could never afford in Hollywood. Below are photos of the first phase of shop construction. We plan on starting the second phase in the coming months.

Phase One: Converting a second floor, one bedroom apartment into Mark's main shop space.

The rooms in this apartment were very small and unsuitable for a shop- so we tore them out.

The bathroom walls were the only ones that remained after the demolition. Several layers of kitchen floor were removed to reveal the hardwood underneath.

Without the walls, it was necessary to install structural beams. A temporary post held the roof load while the electrical panel was relocated.

In order to install the new beam we had to do a bit of fancy footwork -and we needed more temporary posts.

With the beam in place and the posts removed, it was time to clean up and build out the shop

In a few days Mark was ready to work. It will take him a few months of working in the space to fully build it out.