Northfield Construction Company » Commercial Remodeling

Manufacturing remodeling

Ray Cox — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:18:41 +0000

Last week we started work at an area food manufacturing plant. The canning plant is in a down time now and they use the time to upgrade and make changes to the manufacturing process. Our work involves a lot of shoring of beams, girders, and roof purlins in preparation for changes to the structure. Once the concrete and masonry work is completed we will install new structural beams and columns.

PDG to Power Engineers

Ray Cox — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:25:42 +0000

Late this fall Jim Braucher announced that Professional Design Group was sold to Power Engineers. Jim started PDG some time ago, moving into offices above the First National Bank in downtown Northfield. His operation grew and he took over another leased space in the same area. Northfield Construction Company has worked on many commerical projects over the years with PDG….Cemstone Concrete, Northfield Auto Body, Laura Baker Services, Carleton College Art Studio, Village Charter School, to name a few. I’ve really enjoyed the prompt, professional service that PDG has offered the construction community. So I was pleased to see that the firm will remain in town.

Power Engineers is a much larger design firm with headquarters in Idaho. They plan to continue the type of work that PDG has done and I suspect will be adding additional employees at the Northfield location. To help that effort they are leasing a third space above the bank. We are doing some remodeling to make the new space suit their needs. I appreciate that the bank continues the tradition of matching existing trims. We had the custom oak trims made to match the existing profiles in this building.

Edward Jones Office Remodel

Ray Cox — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:46:00 +0000

We just completed a small office remodel for the Edward Jones office at the corner of Jefferson Parkway and west frontage road of highway #3 in Northfield. This work took place in a fully occupied building so we had to take precautions not to be too disruptive. We decided to work evenings to complete the project. We would start about 4:30PM or so and work until about 1:00 or 2:00AM. This allowed us to complete the tasks for that night and to clean up the space for the following work day. It went very well and the newly created offices were put to work right away by the staff.

ArTech Charter School Expansion

Ray Cox — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:59:25 +0000

We are in the home stretch of our classroom expansion project at ArTech charter school in Northfield. A few days ago the electricians completed mounting the photovoltaic panels on the south wall of the new expansion. These panels are fairly light weight, but pack a big punch for developing electric energy. The school monitors performance of the panels on a regular basis. It looks to me that the position of the photovoltaic panels will also shade some of the south windows during the high summer sun times.

The interior work has moved along nicely. VCT floor tiles have been installed in most of the new areas. One of the classrooms is being used for science teaching so there are cabinets with sinks. All the areas are bright and vibrant. I can imagine children filling the spaces and working on learning. It is fun to work on a project like this. Parts of our work have been viewed by the students and used as learning experiences.

ArTech Charter School Expansion

Ray Cox — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:14:45 +0000

We are working hard at finishing up the interior work for the ArTech Charter School expansion in Northfield. The steel wall framing was completed earlier this month. We followed up by installing sound insulation and drywall surfaces. The drywall finishers completed their work, and the painters moved in right behind them. The new classrooms are a bright yellow color which is very lively with the light streaming in through the windows. We only have to finish the walls up to the height of the suspended ceilings that will be installed shortly.

The mechanical system ductwork and piping has also been completed.

ArTech Charter School, interior framing

Ray Cox — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:11:00 +0000

The interior steel framing is well underway at our ArTech Charter School expansion project. The majority of the interior walls are framed using light gauge steel framing. We install wood backing in various areas so we have good anchoring capabilities for cabinets and other items. When working with walls this high steel framing is an excellent choice as the individual framing members stay straight and true.

We also have completed much of the rough-in work for the mechanical systems, both the plumbing piping in the walls and the duct work for heating and cooling. There is a roof top air handling unit on this project, so we take the duct work off the bottom of the unit. It will eventuall be concealed by a suspended accoustical ceiling.

VFW Siding

Ray Cox — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 16:36:04 +0000

We are working at installing some new siding on the VFW building in downtown Northfield. The facility is made up of multiple building that are connected with the front parapet to make it look like one building. The older wood siding had failed. We are installing new fiber-cement siding that should hold up nicely for many years.

ArTech Charter School Expansion

Ray Cox — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:34:12 +0000

Work continues on the ArTech school in Northfield. Last week we completed installation of the roof skin. The roof on the existing building and the new classroom addition is a standing seam metal roof. This type of roof has a very long life and rarely has problems with roof leaks. The seams, as the name implies, stand up above the actual roof surface by about an inch. The metal roof panels are attached using metal clips that allow the roof to expand and contract, and also are a thermal break to prevent cold from bridging the metal components. As the roof is installed, we also install the fiberglass insulation and the white plastic vapor retarder. The end result is a roof that is water tight, lasts a long time, and has a good looking interior surface.

ArTech Charter School

Ray Cox — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 19:01:42 +0000

The main components of the steel building addition for ArTech Charter school have been erected. It resembles a huge ‘Erector Set’ when we are doing this work as it is composed of lots of pieces of steel that bolt together. The fabricator did a great job and everything went together as planned. The workers have now started installing the vertical steel siding panels on the exterior. They use a thermal break in between the siding panels and the steel framing to keep cold from penetrating directly into the frame members. The spaces we are working on will house two new classrooms, one of which will be a science room.

Neuger Communications…finishing up

Ray Cox — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 12:00:55 +0000

The past couple of weeks have been a flurry of activity at the Neuger Communications remodeling job on Bridge Square. We’ve finished our work and are now working with subcontractors to get the final work completed. The carpet layers have installed most of the carpet now. The main work areas have carpet tile squares. That is a great product to use in an area that is subject to heavier traffic and wear, as the carpet tiles can be pulled up and replaced quickly if they are damaged. The offices and areas that do not have such heavy use have standard broadloom carpets. The walls have carpet base throughout, which is an excellent choice for long wear

Many of the door frames are brushed aluminum finish which creates a nice, clean look. The frames stand out against the newly painted walls, and against the darker finish on the wood doors. The work areas have nice storage cabinets and work surfaces which I know the staff will greatly appreciate.

In another week or so we should have final cleaning done and be ready to turn it over to Neuger Communications.