After all that work was completed and the services extended into the building location, we prepared the trenches for the foundation footings. We laid in a base of crushed concrete in the trenches and compacted it with compaction equipment. This provides a very solid base for the building foundation.

It was enjoyable working on this art studio facility. We used some materials that we don’t use often, such as the heavy horizontal steel siding. I think the building looks very nice and should serve the faculty well.

In many areas of the building we are installing plywood backer panels. These will be used for attachment of shelving and miscellaneous fixtures by the art professors using the building. It is easier to attach to this plywood backer than try to anchor to the steel framing.

Drywall is now being installed over the backer. On this building we are using Marvin Integrity windows. We ordered them with channels to receive the drywall which will create a nice, smooth looking return to the window.

Last Friday our workers started to install the windows. Windows for this project are Marvin Integrity window units. They have an extruded fiberglass exterior in a pebble gray finish. The interior is also extruded fiberglass but is a white material. We are installing these windows in the same manner we do for our residential projects. This involves properly fastening the window in place, then using special tape to seal the edges of the window. The top of the window has the building wrap protect the window flange. This way if there is any moisture that gets behind the siding the moisture can migrate down the wall surface and exit at the bottom of the wall….instead of finding its way into the wall around the window openings. 

The interior of the building ends up being filled with lots of geometric shapes….an interesting ‘art production’ on its own!

We are now moving on to the wall framing. The exterior walls are constructed using 6” steel studs. We prepare the window and door openings as we go along. Bracing is installed both internally in the walls and in some locations as X-bracing on the walls.

The first task was setting the beams and columns. The beams are large (6”x 6”) and are supported on the concrete foundation by heavy bearing plates. the bearing plates are bolted to the foundation with large bolts. Once set in place non-shrinking cement based grout is placed under the bearing plate to provide an absolutely smooth and solid base.

When the beams and columns have been set we move on to setting the roof joists…called bar joists. These are long metal trusses that span the entire 50’ width of the building. We bolt them in place, then come back and weld them to the beams. Steel bracing is used to connect the joists together. The work moves along quickly using powered scissor lifts, forklifts and personnel boom lifts. On top of the joists we fasten ribbed metal decking, again welding it in place.

This laser machine is assisted by placing the concrete using a concrete pump. On this job both the concrete pump and the ready-mixed concrete is supplied by Cemstone Concrete Products. The pump is radio controlled by an operator standing right along side the area being poured. Quite an improvement from the days when wheelbarrow and power buggies placed the concrete!

With the advent of modern laser guided equipment this work has become much easier. We can now operate a small tractor with a laser attachment. The box scraper on the back of the tractor can be adjusted up and down so that the grade is set just right. In this instance we are setting the grade to allow for a 5” thick concrete floor plus rigid insulation under the floor. The equipment does a great job creating a flat, level surface for the concrete.