Building Together
Construction Update Newsletter
Issue
01 October 2013
United Methodist Retirement Communities HFA Expansion
Quality Control Crews have been hard at work
Upcoming Milestones
on the building pad for the HFA
»» Building Pad Complete »» Primary Power Relocation Complete »» Underground Utilities Complete
Expansion. The building pad creates a stable base for the concrete foundation. During the pad construction, a special third party inspector performs compact testing, which ensures the pad’s
Executive Summary
Welcome to Building Together – The HFA Expansion Project Newsletter!
stability.
Greetings, from the HFA Expansion project site at the UMRC Chelsea Campus! We are excited to introduce Building Together, where we keep you informed and up to date on our project progression. Along the way, we will also use this newsletter to highlight trade contractors’ performance, show you steps we take to deliver a high quality project and share tips for working safely on a construction site. We hope this newsletter keeps everyone engaged in the project, even if you are not able to see our work in person.
& CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS
We will always start the newsletter with an executive summary, recapping the progress of the project over the past few weeks. Crews have been hard at work for two weeks now and the excavating and sitework crews have transformed the site. DN Higgins, our excavating
contractor, removed the top layer of soil over the entire site and is working on the building pad, which is the area that will become the foundation for the building structure. To save money and decrease disruption to UMRC residents, DN Higgins created a “borrow” area where they use existing soil for fill materials in low soil area sites. This eliminates multiple trucks each hour rumbling through the busy Chelsea Retirement Community campus. All and all, the first few weeks of construction have been very productive and have started the team off with tremendous energy and momentum. We look forward to the continued efforts by all of the workers onsite. - John Parker, Project Manager jparker@elzinga-volkers.com www.elzinga-volkers.com
Project Progress Photos
Groundbreaking ceremony
Safety Spotlight The project uses large, heavy earthmoving equipment, which is loud and dangerous to those working and walking through the construction site. To reduce the chance of injury, all visitors and workers on the site are required to wear “high visibility� clothing or vests. Workers also use special signals and safety precautions to
Removal of the existing water line
communicate with and prevent hazards for the equipment operators.
& CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS
Overall view of the addition footprint www.elzinga-volkers.com
Two Week Look Ahead
Over the next two weeks, all onsite efforts will focus on preparations for the concrete building foundation. The excavating crews will continue to prepare the building pad and relocate underground utilities such as water, sanitary and storm sewers. The local electrical power company, Chelsea Light and Power, in conjunction with our electrical contractor, will prepare for the relocation of the building’s primary power. These utility relocations are critical to the safe installation of the building’s foundation. Many other elements of the building’s fabrication are created away from the project site. Structural steel for the building’s frame is being carefully detailed onto drawings, which will be used to fabricate each component. The drawings will aid in the creation and placement of the steel beams and columns. Elsewhere, drawings for the building’s wood wall panels are being completed. We hope to start seeing these completed wall sections onsite in about six weeks. - Jordan Gougeon, Asst. Project Manager jordang@elzinga-volkers.com
SUBCONTRACTOR
SPOTLIGHT Throughout the course of the HFA Expansion Project, we will highlight the efforts of specific onsite trade contractors. In this edition, we recognize the outstanding efforts of DN Higgins, our site work and excavating contractor. Crews from DN Higgins started off with a bang, making substantial progress on both the building pad and the underground utilities relocation.
Setting the new storm water line
You may also recognize DN Higgins from the new Chelsea
Project Progress and Major Milestones
Campus Entry project. DN Higgins has been a long time partner of UMRC, and we are happy to have them on this project. Thank you to everyone on the DN Higgins team for your excellent work so far.
Ready for Move In Interiors Complete Drywall Complete
Groundbreaking ceremony
Building Enclosed Steel/Wood Framing Complete Foundations Complete
Groundbreaking ceremony
& www.elzinga-volkers.com
CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS