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Filed under: Uncategorized by Gail | February 24, 2011 | Comments (0)
Steel Going Up!
After a long winter wait, structural steel has arrived on the Old Town School’s construction site! The big yellow crane that is going to put the steel up and move all the heavy stuff around was put in place this morning. (Turns out we needed a “driveway permit” to move the crane into the site, so we got a ticket!)
Our contractors, Bulley and Andrews, took delivery of a lot of long steel beams, plates and the bolts and bits that attach them to each other. Late this afternoon, the crew was able to set a few of the steel beams in place, and began to form the skeleton of our new, 20 classroom facility. The structural steel construction will go on for about 12 to 17 working days.
Bulley and Andrews is working the structure from the back (the alley) to the front (Lincoln Avenue). We’ll take pictures and update here about what’s expected as the phases of construction progress.
Big Yellow Crane to Move Steel Structure Into Place
Filed under: Uncategorized by Gail | February 15, 2011 | Comments (0)
Happy New Year! What Are We Waiting For?
Hope your holidays were joyful and you’re staying warm. It’s been a while since we’ve updated this space. What’s going on? We’re waiting for steel.
Excavation is complete, some bad soil safely and responsibly removed, foundation steel (“re-bar,” for reinforcement bar) installed and concrete poured. While the concrete has been curing, the steel beams and other parts that will frame and hold up our new building have been designed, ordered and partly made. Com Ed put protective blankets over the newly configured wiring in the alley behind the site — a safety measure to protect construction workers as the steel is installed and the building is built.
The construction site is currently “de-mobilized” while we wait for the delivery of the first batch of custom steel girders, plates and bolts. Right now, there is a pile of steel, getting larger, in a Wisconsin steel yard. Steel is expected to be on its way for delivery in early February, and we’ll have updates on the specifics in this space a few days before the steel comes.
Filed under: Uncategorized by Gail | January 11, 2011 | Comments (0)
Second Half This Week!
Hey, neighbors, students, staff and anyone who is interested in how a building gets built — Tuesday, November 16 is the day we’ll see the second load of concrete poured for the foundation of the new building. We expect a 15-to-18- cement-truck-parade and a big pump truck tomorrow from 8:30am to 4:30pm. Hang in there.
We took a picture from the top of the roof on the Old Town School’s existing building last friday to show progress to date. You can see the back half has a fresh concrete slab, the front half shows the rebar installed earlier.
Half of concrete foundation poured. Second Half coming 11.16.10
Dennis Houlihan, Project Supervisor, who we met in an earlier post, provided these facts about the concrete pour and rebar: (last Thursday) “We poured approximately 350 yards of concrete, which translates into approximately 700 tons of cement. We will repeat this process next week (this Tuesday) for the remaining half of the mat slab, bringing the total amount of concrete for the Mat slab to 1400 tons. Additionally, we have installed approximately 70 tons of rebar in the mat slab.”
Construction word of the month: REBAR — Short for “reinforcement bar.” Ridged steel bars that put the reinforce in reinforced concrete.
Construction Calendar Week of November 15:
Nov 16 – Pour remaining mat slab. Traffic & noise impact level high, 8:30am to 4:30pm
Nov 17 to 18 – Strip mat slab forms. Don’t know what this means, but it’s restricted to the site, so traffic, noise impact level low.
Nov 19 – Verify underground plumbing layout. It better be right! Traffic, noise impact low.
Nov 19 – Settlement survey readings. We test constantly to make sure the foundation is a foundation. Traffic, noise impact low.
Nov 20 – Old Town School of Folk Music FREE Open House 5pm to 10pm. We invite all of our neighbors to sample classes, dance, sing, make art, play something, jam and see what we’re about. Just show up! Drop in at the Lincoln location this week for a schedule.
Filed under: Uncategorized by Gail | November 15, 2010 | Comments (0)
Construction Continues – Two Week Lookahead
Excavation!
First Week of November
This past week, excavation was completed, bad soil carted away and disposed of responsibly, preparations were complete for laying the foundation and the first of foundation rebar was delivered and installed. In case you don’t know, rebar is the wire-y stuff that puts the reinforcement in reinforced concrete.
Also Com Ed stripped the surface off of the alley – this was a surprise to us, but it’s done. There is still some overhead wire work to complete, and we expect that to happen over the last couple of weeks of November.
Next Week
More rebar and steel deliveries and installation. Late in the week, crews and trucks are expected to begin to deliver and pour cement for the new building’s mat foundation. It’s going to be a little tight on Lincoln Avenue during the day for a few days as trucks deliver their loads. The pedestrian sidewalk will be closed during working hours. Bear with us – this stage does not last more than a few days, once it starts.
Filed under: Uncategorized by Gail | November 5, 2010 | Comments (0)
Site Mobilization — Big Week
CALENDAR
• Supervisor Dennis Houlihan and various crews on site full-time as of 10.4.10
• Com Ed underground conduit 10.4.10 to 10.13.10
• Com Ed trenching in alley 10.4.10 to 10.13.10
• Construction fencing, traffic re-route 10.6.10 to 10.8.10
• AT&T, Comcast in alley in October
• Tree Removal 10.11.10. Lincoln and North side of site.
• Excavation Begins 10.11.10
DETAILS
Week of 10.4.2010
Project Supervisor, Dennis Houlihan will be on site almost every weekday starting Monday October 4, supervising crews, subcontractors, deliveries and construction activities until the project is finished.
All construction workers have been directed to park in the Old Town School lot – not on the street – to minimize the impact of worker parking on businesses and residents throughout the project.
Com Ed in the Alley. Com Ed overhead work is finished. Now underground can begin. A new Com Ed crew will be on site this week to dig a trench and lay conduit along the West side of the alley up to the Bad Dog Tavern. This means limited alley access from 8am to 4:30pm on weekdays. Com Ed has told us that the excavation crew will plate over any trenching to allow access to the alley, to parking areas behind businesses, and to resident garages by late afternoon every weekday. Conduit work should be complete by end of the week.
Fencing and Jersey barriers MID WEEK: The existing Lincoln Avenue fencing will be removed and construction fencing will be installed to the curb line at the site. Jersey barriers will be installed to safely reroute traffic to the street, off the sidewalk just in front of the construction site. Jersey barriers are temporary concrete traffic barriers that will route and protect pedestrian traffic around the site.
Week of 10.11.2010
Tree removal – At least one of the trees along Lincoln Avenue and the tree on the property line on the North side of the site will be removed this week. Any trees removed along Lincoln Avenue will be replaced. If the Department of Forestry will allow it, we will actually replace three trees along Lincoln with four in an improved streetscape design.
Excavation begins – Starting with breaking up the concrete slab, groundbreaking literally begins.
Meet Dennis Houlihan, Project Supervisor
Filed under: Uncategorized by Gail | October 4, 2010 | Comments (0)
New Project Start &ComEd Still in the Alley
ComEd reports that they are finishing up the utility pole and overhead wires in the alley off of Wilson. Next up is some alley trench work starting late next week, which will limit alley access from Wilson Avenue to the Bad Dog Tavern on weekdays. Com Ed will plate trenches at the end of the workday, as needed. They have indicated to us that alley access will not be restricted in the evenings, after 4:30pm.
This work is expected to begin September 29 and take 7 to 10 working days.
Old Town School project construction begins officially with the delivery of a construction office trailer to the Old Town School parking lot on Monday, September 27. Workers will be on site towards the end of the week. All project workers have been directed to park their vehicles in the Old Town School lot.
Filed under: Uncategorized by Gail | September 24, 2010 | Comments (0)
ComEd In the Alley – What’s Next
Here’s our latest installment of construction news:
First, thanks to all who came out to our fun groundbreaking activities in August! It was great to see so many of our friends and neighbors jamming on the site. More fun to come . . .
Meanwhile, the utility companies (Com Ed, Comcast & ATT) have started their site preparations and alterations. ComEd has begun work on reconfiguring lines on four utility poles in the alley – one more to go — and has a couple more weeks of work as long as this excellent weather holds out.
Here is how it will go, assuming great weather and no weird stuff underground:
• Overhead crews are expected continue working in the alley through September 22. New utility poles are being moved or replaced and wires reconfigured. ComEd expects no disruption of service.
• Com Ed plans to bury primary power lines by digging trenches and installing conduit underground in the alley from Wilson to just past the Old Town School property. This excavation work is scheduled to start Tuesday, September 22 in the alley starting at the opening on Wilson. Expect to see activity in the alley begin 8-8:30am on weekdays through September 29. ComEd has told us that the excavation contractor will plate over any excavations to allow access to the alley and to resident garages at the end of their workday, by around 4:30 pm.
• You may see activity in and around the manhole on Wilson (as well as other locations on Wilson) starting soon. There are underground worker safety issues (not related to our project) that ComEd has to fix before it can complete the alley work. The conduit work will be contained in the alley until the safety issue is remedied.
• We are waiting for a final date for the Old Town School construction crews to start work. We’ll update here as soon as we have it firmed up. The construction crew will be based out of our parking lot (to the east of the city lot). Workers and work trucks will be directed to park in The Old Town School lot when they come to work during the day to keep crews from parking in residential and prime shopper space.
Questions, concerns, etc—please give me a call! 773-751-3301.
Dawn Patch
Filed under: Uncategorized by Gail | September 9, 2010 | Comments (0)
Old Town School Groundbreaking Party Friday!
The tent is up, temporary pile of dirt piled, hard hats and shovels delivered, and this morning we had our official ceremonial ground-breaking. It was folky, fun, and if I did it right, you should see a picture with this post.
Now it’s time to have the official party, Old Town School style. Get details here.
We invite the community of the Old Town School and the Lincoln Square community at large to drop by the 4500 block of Lincoln Avenue tomorrow night, August 6, 6pm on the site whose address is 4543 or 4551 North Lincoln Avenue, depending on which direction you’re coming from. You’ll know it when you see the big white tent and lots of guitars, fiddles, drums, dancers and kids. It’s also across the street from the Old Town School’s existing building.
At 6 we’ll start with a Singalong with Jimmy T, have a Brazilian dance lesson with Dill, an easy jam session with Paul, Maria, Joan, Chris and Colby, and and Open Drum Circle with Rick Neuhouse that’s not to be missed. At 8 we’ll move the party indoors to 4544 North Lincoln (did I mention it was across the street?) and keep going with a square dance, student performances, sets from Ed Holstein and Bob Goins and whatever else might happen because we feel so good.
Excavation is set to begin after Labor Day. We’ll keep you posted.
Chris Walz and shovels. Photo by Scott Judd
Filed under: Uncategorized by Gail | August 5, 2010 | Comments (0)
Pre-Construction Calendar
Greetings Friends!
We are very excited to be moving forward with our expansion project. We know that a project like ours can be unpredictable—there are many moving parts to consider. The only sure thing is that things will change as we go along. But we’d like to keep you well informed, so here goes:
Confirmed dates:
August 1 Last day for parking on the property.
August 5 Groundbreaking ceremony on our new building construction site 10:00 am. Join us!
August 6 Student, faculty and neighborhood celebration on new building construction site 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm, and at 4544 N. Lincoln Ave. from 5:30-11:00 pm. Join us!
Approximate Dates:
Last week of August – Site mobilization. The new construction site will be prepared for access, equipment and security.
A construction trailer office will be installed in the Old Town School gated parking lot.
Note: Construction workers will be instructed to park in the Old Town School lot instead of on the street.
August 30 through September – Com Ed energy improvement project on power lines along the alley, from Wilson to the parking lot. (There will be no planned service disruption).
September 8- Excavation begins. Excavation will be just 4 feet deep, and extend to all of the property’s lines. Excavation and foundation work will be complete by mid-October.
October – December - Initial construction of structure. It will start to look like a building!
We’ll flesh out the details here on the blog as we are able. We’re anxious to tell you about our quest for LEED Silver designation, and all the cool things that go along with it.
Thanks for your continued support, and as always, give us a ring or drop us a line if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Dawn Patch
dpatch@oldtownschool.org
773-751-3301
Filed under: Uncategorized by Dawn | July 20, 2010 | Comments (0)
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