Bringing Joe's Studio back to Life

To All who helped with all the phases so far of the restoration of Joesph Pilates original studio in Becket Ma. I would personally like to thank you for your generosity and labor and for the gift of light, power, heat, coolness, windows and door to Joe's place of Peace.

In the Late 1940's Joe Pilates purchased a property in Becket Massachusettes to build and develop his health spa and training center. He built a small studio on what he called Jacob's bed a large rock formation.  It was to be his version of Jacob's pillow but instead of dancers it was going to be for Contrology. It became his home away from home and wanted to live there full time. He had it electrified and had lights, tanning lights and a TV in the studio so that when he wasn't working out or teaching he could work on his tan and keep up with the news.

He was never able to fullfil his dream of having a health oasis in the Berkshires where Contraology was practiced and taught. After he passed away Clara sold the propery and there were a number of owners until I was able to purchase the property in 1997. By that time the owners had done nothing with the buildings and the were in total disrepair and the roofs were leaking and there was water damage and mold throughout the studio. They had left most of his original equipment in the studio. 

I have since rebuilt the roof and re-shingled the roof,  rebuilt the deck, stripped out the inside and the floor and now were ready to start redoing the inside. With your help we have brought electricity back up to the studio and have a new circit breaker and wiring of the whole studio so that there will be lights and fans in the summer and a heater in the winter so that the studio and be used year round as both a museaum and a working studio. Thank you all who have made this Part of the rehabilitation process a reality.



Last  year we also had a number of trees cut down that had the potential to fall on the studio. One had fallen a few years ago and was right next to the studio and if it had fallen in a different direction it could have destroyed the studio so to be safe we had them removed




Step( # 7 ) to insulate the walls, ceiling and floor. We would like to use  UltraTouch Denim Insulation which is manufactured from high-quality recycled textile fibers (mostly recycled denim).  UltraTouch contains no chemical irritants and requires no warning labels compared to other traditional products and it is considered safe the environment and is fully recyclable if we ever need to re-insulates the wall again.THE MANUFACTURER HAS RECENTLY SENT A LETTER TO ITS DISTRIBUTORS THAT THEY ARE RETOOLING THEIR FACTORY SO THEY WILL NOT BE SHIPPING ANY PRODUCT TILL NOVEMBER 2018 SO WE HAVE PUT THIS PART OF THE REHABILITATION ON HOLD TILL WE CAN GET THE INSULATION THAT IS GREEN AND WARM.

The space is 400 square feet and estemates just for the insulation without instillation is approximetly $700  for the ceiling, $ 400 for the walls and $800 for the floor (requires insulation and covering as it is a crawl space)

So we moved to step 8 which was the windows and door. We decided to go with replacement windows and a new door as the old ones were  not energy efficent and were good for the summers only. We wanted to make the studio at least a 3 season facility if not 4 (we'll see how cold and snowy it gets).   Replacing the windows  makes the most sense since the building is stripped which made it relativly easy to install the replacement windows.  The cost per window was over $500 dollars ( and that was cost without installation and staining) and a door was over $900  since there are 10 windows this was an expensive project and the final bill was $7,655.00 with tax and delivery.  So in trying to keep it as original as possible while making it as energy efficient as possible new windows and a door was the best choice. We will be repurposing the old windows into picture frames for the walls of the studio.  This obviously this has become the most expensive part of the restoration. 

Once we can buy and install the insulation the next step(#10) is to  install sheet rock (about $ 1000.00 for walls and ceiling not including labor), add all the trim($200-300.00 not including labor), and put up the fans/lights

Step #11 will be to paint the studio. Approximate cost just for the paint $ 200-300.00.

the last step (#12)  would be to put in new floors $ 1600.00 materials only or sand and finish the existing floor. We are leaning to keeping the old floor as this will help keep it original while helping save some money. Estimate to get the floor sanded $1000.00

We are currently looking for help to complete step # 7 to insulate the studio. Since so many generous donations have allowed us to get the power back on and covered that cost of  $2600 we have increased the amout were trying to reach at least$10,500.00  so we can get the studio insulated and finish paying for the windows and door. Once the insulation is finished we will address the rest of the steps needed to return Joe's studio to a working studio and museum.  We're looking for help from any pilates person who wants to help make Joes Studio warm and cosy for those long and cold winters in the Berkshires and cool and comfortable during the hot summer months ;-)

Please gift what ever you can to help make Pilates History and help us make Joe's studio not only a mini museum but a place where people can come and learn Contrology again where Joe taught it.

Any support you can provide will allow us to keep the restoration on track to put these projects that are needed to ensure the legacy of Joes work in the Berkshires and the provide a source for Pilates teachers and enthusiast from around the world. Anything you give will be grately appreciated and will mean so much to me and the rest of the pilates community. 

We are hoping to have the studio up and running by next Spring/Summer. 

Thank You

Sincerely,

Sean P. Gallagher, PT