November 12, 2009 Update

Some of the concrete walls have been poured.  The structure in the left foreground is an air intake.

 

 

 

Preparing to pour footings.  The concrete is delivered from the concrete truck via a chute to wheelbarrows and then manually placed.  The grid between the form boards is iron rebar that are tied together with steel wires.  This serves to reinforce the concrete.

 

Lower level has been backfilled with “CA-7",” which is a graded crushed stone.  That is, the stone are of relatively uniform size.  What looks like Kraft paper laid over stone, is actually a product called Cetco Ultraseal.  This is a multilayered waterproofing material that combines natural sodium bentonite and a chemically resistant hydrophilic polymer to form a bentonite-polymer alloy (BPA).  The is material has swelling properties that seal small concrete cracks.  The “paper” is simply overlapped. 

Electricians installing conduits under L-107.

Cioni Excavating crane rest atop a massive pile of earth at the southeast corner of the site.

2nd floor:  Note copper heating and cooling piping along the brick wall in the background.  Metal studs, that define the walls, in the foreground.

Architect Dan Weese photographs wood windows on the east side of the 2nd floor.

The 95 year old window frames are being carefully stripped of layers of paint.

After all the paint has been stripped, the wood will be treat with a special epoxy product that will fill any gaps, sanded smooth and repainted.

Building the west basement

The west basement will house the bulk of the mechanical equipment that will serve the building.  Although it is difficult to perceive it in a photo, the excavation is quite deep:  Two stories (20 feet). The adjacent earth, which is very sandy, is held back with steel sheets driven into the ground.  The large, horizontal steel tubes, called whalers, serve to keep this temporary steel “wall” from buckling inward.  The bottom of the excavation is inches above the water table.  What appear to be walls (some spray painted blue) are forms that define the foundation wall.  After the form construction is completed, which includes the steel reinforcement within them, the void between the forms will be filled with concrete.  Many, many truckloads of concrete.  After the concrete has hardened, the forms will be removed (“stripped”) and the new foundation walls will be visible.

When completed, the mechanical room will be entirely subterranean, topped with a new set of stairs, an entry plaza and landscaping.

I shoot with my camera set to record at 9 megapixels and the image files range from about 3,500 to 5,500 pixels in width, depending on the amount of detail and color in the subject.  I normally reduce the image size to 1,000 pixels wide and format the image for viewing on the web.  i.e. so the images load quickly.  However, I really like the amount of detail in the following image, so posted the original image size(3,456 x 2,592 pixels), however, optimized for faster loading.  Click the image to see the steel (“rebar”) between the forms.

The next photo shows the south end of the building.  The foundation wall below the existing fireplace in “the treaty room” (Room 108) has been reinforced with steel and the foundation wall opened.  A second basement will be constructed on the south end of the building and the opening in the foundation wall will be part of a new corridor.

Carpet

Away from the dust and noise . . . an afternoon at the Mart selecting carpet.