It looks like spring is fully sprung with the weather we have experienced this week. Doesn’t it seem like we went from March to June in just a matter of a week? The current weather report indicates there is a chance of rain next Monday, but otherwise fair weather is in the forecast for our fair little city. This is something we certainly need to help expedite construction on the Lecture Hall. We are a bit behind schedule, but the latest schedule update makes it look like we will be substantially complete by the last week of July instead of the third week in July.

Next week’s construction activities will include more metal stud wall framing, and a bit more concrete pouring of the floor slab at the classroom added to the northeast of Lecture Hall 1. The roofing work will continue on the lecture hall areas and mechanical and electrical work will proceed as areas become available to those trades.

I’m off work next week, so you won’t get another construction update for two weeks. Being so, you should see a lot more progress in my next Lecture Hall photo. No Foolin’!

Take care,
Tim

Thought of the Day:

“Wisdom equals knowledge plus courage. You have to not only know what to do and when to do it, but you have to also be brave enough to follow through.”- Jarod Kintz

I like this quote and I thought this must be from a wise old mind. But it is not. I Googled the name and he’s a young hooligan, sort of like me, but I don’t consider myself young. He loves to write, like me, but he actually is self-published, unlike me. I may have to read some of his work. The title of one of his works is intriguing: “There are two typos of people in the world: those who can edit and those who can’t.”

Not much new to report on with the Lecture Hall construction, except that we have a new trade on site. The drywall contractor has started installing the metal stud framing in the lecture halls. These metal stud walls will form the finished walls inside the building, so we are one-step close to finishes.

Have a great weekend, and don’t forget to Spring your clocks forward on Saturday night.

Yes, Daylight Savings Time begins this weekend.

Cheers,
Tim

So, my lovely cherub is an 18-year old senior in high school and very much into drama. Not just the typical drama teens have with their parents, but real drama as in theater, singing, and musicals. Recently we made a trip up to the Seattle area so she could compete for a National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) scholarship that took place at Highline Community College. I killed some time by browsing the bulletin boards in their Student Union facility while she was rehearsing for her performance. I came across a laminated business card for somebody who goes by “SkyMan, an American Real Life SuperHero”. I thought to myself “Wow! How cool is that?” I had no idea such a thing existed. I started thinking about some issues I’ve had with unwanted people getting onto the Lecture Hall construction site and doing undesirable things. I figured this could be the key to catching these hoodlums! I will become a Real Life Super-Hero and protect this construction site from evil! Beware potential violators of the green fence barrier. You will be overtaken by my acute awareness and ability to dress in non-offensive color schemes, unlike Skyman. You potential villains have all been warned. Now I just need an appropriate Super-Hero sounding moniker.

This week on the Lecture Hall project the forms were stripped from last week’s stem wall concrete pour. Now a large amount of electrical and plumbing infrastructure will be installed on the subgrade in preparation for the Workshops and Classroom 1 building addition. On the attached photo you can see the stem walls in place and the start of the electrical conduit installation.

Today will entail a bit of jackhammering work as they start on the expansion of the Rotunda that will be constructed between Lecture Hall 1 and the Workshop and Classroom 1 addition.

During next week you won’t likely notice any significant construction activity taking place as the electricians and plumbers do their under slab work. The following week should be when the slabs for this addition get poured. There will be a lot of concrete trucks on campus during that day, so I’ll warn you when that date becomes definitive.

A few people have contacted Facilities with concern over sediment and possibly oil getting into the campus drainage system. The Department of Ecology has some pretty strict regulations when it comes to these matters. Being so every project that involves pushing dirt around includes what we in the construction world refer to as “TESC” plans. No, these initials are not related to the name of our college, but they stand for “Temporary Erosion and Sediment Control”. In the plan for this project are the requirements to filter any sediment and / or containments that could get into catch basins and potentially impact aquatic life. Being so drainage patterns from our site were observed and a couple of catch basin drains in the Red Square area have been fit with catch basin filter socks. All catch basins within the construction area are also fitted with these devices. So rest assured that all is taken care of in this aspect of our project. We are not harming salmon or any other sea life with our construction project.

Have a fun filled weekend!

Cheers,
Tim

I’m not sure if you noticed but there were some pretty loud noises emanating from the Lecture Hall construction site this week. You would think those noisy steel workers are getting paid by the decibel and they are looking at getting their money’s worth on this project. Well, next week should be very quiet compared to this past week’s activity. What am I thinking, it is quiet already because those workers are not here today.

The addition will really start taking shape next week as they will be pouring the concrete stem walls for the addition. If you are not sure what a “stem wall” is this illustration can help clear that up.
The only real difference on our project is we won’t be using wood studs or sheathing as shown in the illustration, but you get the picture. The footings for those stem walls were poured earlier this week.

They will also begin pouring the concrete deck for Lecture Hall 1. Lecture Hall 1 will be the biggest space and will have many more levels than the other three lecture halls. Some of the stepped levels will be created out of the metal decking, but additional levels will be constructed out of concrete poured over foam insulation. I know, it might be hard to believe. I assume most of you are most likely saying “WHAT?” to yourself. I will provide photos when the time comes. They should be very cool!

Also next week there may be some backfilling of grade around the building, but that will be brief. Rain is evident today, but the weather forecast for next week indicates dry weather, so hopefully our roofers will take the opportunity to make some great progress with their work.

That is it for now. Have a fantabulous weekend!

Cheers,
Tim

During this past weeks adventure in Busland I overheard something while commuting on route 41 from Evergreen to the Olympia Transit Center. This fellow passage said “I suddenly have really bad motion sickness, I think I’m going to hurl.” This is not something you ever want to hear from the person sitting next to you on a fully packed bus. I’ve previously seen the chain reaction that can occur from just one person tossing their cookies. I want to thank you Evergreen student, whoever you are, for not vomiting on me (or anybody else) that afternoon!

We have reached another milestone this week in construction of the Lecture Hall. The trenches have been dug and footing formwork is being installed for the addition of the workshops and classroom that will be constructed between the lecture halls and Lab I. The photo was freshly taken shortly after 1:30 PM today. I’ve indicated on this photo as to what areas will become the new teaching and learning spaces. You can also see the freshly poured mud in the Rotunda area.

Next week we should see some walls being framed in Lecture Hall 2, 3 and 4. Metal decking installation will begin in Lecture Hall 1. Being so, those noisy metal workers will be using their loud saws again to cut the metal decking for installation. Some more concrete work will take place just outside Lecture Hall 1 for the construction of classroom 2. They will also start pouring the footings for the workshops and classroom 1 after the formwork and rebar installation is complete.

Wow, another three-day holiday weekend is just hours away. Enjoy it!

Cheers,
Tim

Geek alert. The following email contains technical stuff regarding construction. No foolin’.

There are so many rules and regulations when it comes to construction that it can be mind boggling. But it is all in the name of safety. Did you know that every time a concrete truck shows up on site we have a “Special Testing & Inspections” firm do work to ensure the concrete being installed meets the current building code requirements? This is an independent agency the owner (Evergreen) pays to verify that certain structural materials meet the design strengths specified. They check on numerous things done on site such as the steel welding, steel reinforcing placement, and they inspect many different aspects of the concrete being placed. One of those tests is called a “slump test”. The “slump test” is done on-site shortly after the concrete truck arrives. If you want to learn more about slump the following is a good resource: http://www.concreteexchange.com/how-to-center/concrete-mixes-and-additives/concrete-slump-test/

Another thing the agency does is take samples of the concrete from the truck and simulate it’s placement on site with the use cylinders that will be tested at a later date. The attached photos show C.J. Coffey (Mr. Coffee is what I call him) of Pacific Testing & Inspections doing some of his work. He puts a little concrete in each cylinder and then pokes it 25 times with a rod to replicate a vibration tool the contractor uses to get air bubbles out of the concrete (also known as “mechanical consolidation”). Then he adds a bit more concrete and does the same thing again, and then a third time until the cylinders are full. Those cylinders are capped and stored on site to cure in the same setting as the concrete poured for the building. The next day the samples are sent off to a lab and eventually crushed so the compressive strength of the concrete can be verified. If the concrete does not meet the required strength it will have to be removed from the building. Too much water in the concrete mix will make it weak and will increase its likelihood to crack. Not enough water in the mix may create voids in the concrete and again make it weak.

The required strength of the concrete may vary depending on the application. On the Lecture Hall the new infill concrete walls have to meet a designed 4,000 PSI (pounds per square inch) of compressive strength. In one example the crush test performed at seven days after the pour showed a strength of 7,370 PSI. They crushed another sample at 27 days and it measured a strength of 10,920 PSI. That is like Super Hero Strength. Can you say “WOW”? The concrete will continue to slowly build up more and more strength over time. It will eventually reached its peak strength in about 50 to 100 years, and then even more slowly lose some of that strength. I’m pretty sure I reached my peak strength some time earlier.

If you were on campus yesterday you may have noticed a number of concrete trucks coming and going from the Lecture Hall construction site. Well, yesterday was another milestone. We poured 93 cubic yards of concrete in what will become Lecture Hall 1. This concrete installation was for the footings and slab that will support the structure for the new Lecture Hall floor deck. It amounted to ten concrete truckloads! The pouring started around 8 AM and continued until just before 1 PM. Another attached photo shows that installation in process.

Today some more jackhammering will take place as they start clearing paving from around the Lecture Hall to allow for more of the addition. Most work next week will include the excavation and concrete formwork installation for the addition. Roofing weather barrier work started on the Lecture Hall this week and will continue next week as the weather cooperates with us. Formwork for foundation walls will go up for a new classroom east of Lecture Hall 1. Concrete will be poured on the newly installed Rotunda metal floor decking. Some of the excavated areas between Lab II, the Library Building, and the Lecture Halls will be backfilled and compacted, so don’t be surprised if you feel planet earth shaking a bit next week.

Have a fantastic weekend. Don’t forget Chinese New Year begins this weekend; so Happy New Year once again!

Cheers,
Tim

Earlier this week I read an article about Nooruddin Karsan who is known in the IT world for selling a human-resources software company that he co-founded. He sold it to IBM for $1.3 billion. He now runs Karlani Capital and also offers management consulting to companies that are having problems. He’s a solver of big problems. The fee for this work is a mere $250,000. I first wondered what kind of problem is worthy of such a fee? I then realized that perhaps Chipotle Mexican Grill should give him a call.
The interior of the Lecture Hall is really starting to come together. The metal floor decking in Lecture Halls 2, 3 and 4 has been installed and this week we poured the concrete floors in those spaces. The attached photo shows the pouring and finishing in action in Lecture Hall 2. You can see the room will have three stepped levels and they are working on the second one. The concrete pumper has an arm and hose through the roof deck, one worker controls the placement of the concrete out of the hose, a couple of laborers rake it in place, another laborer is using a mechanical vibration tool to work out the air bubbles, two other workers use a screed to level out the concrete, and another guy (holding the long blue pole) does some detail leveling and finishing with what is called a bull float. After a couple of hours the new concrete sets up enough so they can get on it with the use of kneeboards and a couple of trowels to do more detailed finishing of the floor.

Last Friday’s major beam installation allowed for the grading inside Lecture Hall 1 to be completed this week. That now enables the concrete foundation to be poured in Lecture Hall 1 next week.
The structural steel framing for the new Rotunda started this week and the metal decking for that area just began this morning.

Beginning next week a new temporary construction path will be installed along the front of Lab I. This path will allow for the expansion of the building towards Red Square while allowing construction access around the south and west of the Lecture Hall building. After that pathway goes in more excavation and foundation work will begin for the rest of the building addition. This path will eventually be constructed into a ramp that will provide access to Lab I and II from Red Square.

Cheers!
Tim

Wow, it is Friday already! I love these four day work weeks, especially when the weather on the holiday isn’t half bad.

Do you know that today, January 22, 2016 is National Hot Sauce Day? Tomorrow is National Pie Day? Sunday is National Compliment Day? I wonder what National Hot Sauce tastes like?

There will be some construction activity on the Lecture Hall project tomorrow, so don’t be surprised to hear the metal decking guys hammering if you stop by campus tomorrow after picking up your National Pie. Other activity will be some concrete pouring of the floor structure inside new Lecture Halls 2, 3 and 4. The steel erectors will start framing the new floor structure for the rotunda area. The large curved concrete wall that will enclose the Lecture Hall 1 addition will also be poured.

Our own faculty member, Bob Haft, was out on site with me taking numerous photos of the crane work and beam installation on Wednesday. I haven’t seen any of those photos yet, so I have included my own photo of this beam after all the work that was needed to get it installed; see attached. It took about two hours for the crane to set up, about an hour to remove the shoring, get the beam set and bolted in place, and then remove the crane cables supporting the upper wall. Then it took between one to two hours for the crane to demobilize and head back to the shop. That is a enormous amount of work for one beam.

Enjoy the sun while you can!

Cheers,
Tim

Hello all,
We will have a lot of activity tomorrow (January, 15th) related to the Lecture Hall construction that I want you to be aware of before Friday begins. A whole bunch of mechanical units are due for delivery tomorrow and will be craned into the lower level of the lecture hall. We will have flaggers out coordinating the trucks driving in for this delivery, but we want to make extra you sure you are extra aware of these activities. I beg of you to please keep your smart phone in your pocket and your head up while you are walking, running, skateboarding, rolling in your wheel chair, hovering on your hoverboard, or Segging on your Segway while in the vicinity of the bus loop and the construction entrance off Red Square. Please believe me, that latest text message or Tweet about me can wait! Be safe!!!

There will be a lot of other activities next week, some include the use of a very large crane. Yes, a crane capable of lifting 185 tons will be on site on Wednesday to support the remaining portion of an exterior wall at Lecture Hall 1 while temporary shoring is removed and the new permanent structure supporting it is installed. All you Facebook show-offs will want to invest in a selfie-stick for this day. You definitely will not want to miss this photo opportunity to share with all your friends. More concrete saw cutting is also in store, so don’t throw away those earplugs yet.

Have a great three-day holiday weekend! I will honor MLK Jr. with spending time with my family, whether they like it or not.

Cheers,
Tim

Hello, it’s me! No, it’s not Adele, it’s me!

I don’t know about you, but I’m really, really, really glad the whole winter holiday season is over. Whether you are into Christmas, Kwanza, Festivus, Hanukkah, or none of those things, it is over for another year! On with everyday life!

At the same time I wonder about what I’ve succeeded with in this past year. What I really wanted a year ago was a new job. Six months ago from this week I started a new job working here at Evergreen. I recently read a quote credited to novelist W.P. Kinsella that is poignant and timely for me. Here it is: “Success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get.” I Googled this quote and Dale Carnegie is also credited with it. Donald Trump will probably claim it is his, so who knows which one is due credit, but I still like it.

On the Lecture Hall project yesterday we had some more concrete work continuing the infill of openings in existing concrete walls. On the attached photo you can see we really tested the limits of the concrete pumper. The arm of the truck is stretched out over 75-feet to get the concrete to an infill wall at what will be Lecture Hall 2. I took this panoramic shot with my phone, the steel beams and decking in the foreground appear to be bent; they are not.

Next week the concrete saw cutters will be back cutting away the buttresses in Lecture Hall 1 so the the expansion of that space may take place. I’ve heard some complaints regarding the metal deck guys and their noisy hammering. The good news (as I see it) is the saw cutting noise will probably drown out that darn hammering noise. We will also start to see the installation of new steel beams for the new rotunda area. Metal floor decking installation will continue. Placement of footings for the building addition facing Red Square will begin.

That’s it for now. Happy New Year!
Tim