Dent Renovation -- Remarkable Progress -- September 29, 2011

A stunning amount of structural work has been accomplished in the Dent School. At this point the future classrooms are beginning to take shape and they will be large! Structural steel is in place providing support to the ceilings in the place of the masonry that has been removed. In the center core area, behind the School's front door, steel framing is going up tracing the location of the new offices for the Head of School and the enlarged Rose Window Room.

Monarc says the demo team will open up the interior chimneys beginning Monday, October 3rd. This will add the final bit of real estate we're seeking to provide more space in the renovated facility.

Jason Gray, Head of School, Robin McGrew, Architect, cox graae + spaak, Ron Wetzel, Monarc Site Supervisor, and Ardi Love-Small, Monarc's Project Manager, critique the steel beams supporting the floor above.

The ceiling just outside what was the Registrar's Office.

The steel guys hamming it up for the camera. This huge I Beam came in through the 4th Grade window and will be positioned in the ceiling about where the 4th Grade sink and staff room photocopier were.

The Monarc Team: Ardi Love-Small and Ron Wetzel.

A serious Jason Gray checks out the creosoted chimney in what was the interior Library wall. We plan to incorporate the chimney areas into the library space as book nooks to retain some of the period architectural design of the turn-of-the-century Dent Building.

Good Bye Generator! - September 30, 2011

MC Dean, the contractor that completed the electrical installation at 1000 5th Street, SE, wraps up its responsibility today as the generator that powered the school during our first few weeks of operation awaiting PEPCO is towed off the lot.

Using a generator was in our contingency plan to provide electric service to the modular units. It was a contingency that we did not think would occur given all the hurdles in the power supply chain that had been successfully overcome during the design and construction process. However, the double whammy of the delay in delivering the modular units to the site plus PEPCO's diversion to higher priority service requirements following Hurricane Irene activated our Plan B.

MC Dean provided flawless support during our period of temporary generator use both in keeping the unit mechanically fit but as important keeping it fueled even when that required weekend and holiday deliveries.


Photo Credit: Kelly P. Young

New Bathroom for 214 -- September 20, 2011

Mercer Contracting, LLC is busily working on creating a new bathroom for the 2nd Level of the 214 South Carolina Avenue, SE townhouse. The townhouse's Level 2 will be the Eighth Grade Homeroom when the Dent Renovations are complete and the faculty and staff return to our main campus.

Not unsurprisingly, the sub-flooring is partially rotten from a long-leaking toilet. Over the years water had seeped in between the layers of linoleum. This mold has to be the origin of the foul smell that has bedeviled the cubby area for years.

Alex Chance and Stephen Mercer are hard at work in this "demo" phase.

The charming '60s linoleum is the first layer in what was a multi-layer linoleum compilation on the floor of the bathroom.

Colors, Fabrics, Tiles, Carpets -- September 16, 2011

The whimsical, fun part of the Dent renovation project -- choosing the interior finishes. Robin McGrew, cox graae + spaak, the School's architect, took advantage of the nice fall day today to set-up the color and texture palette on the zig-zag in front of the Dent School. Heidi Ruesswick joined Jason Gray in reviewing the selections to help us make final decisions.

Of course always paying attention to the budget!

Dent Progress Meeting -- September 15, 2011

Monarc Construction, our contractor, cox graae + spaak, the architects, the School, and our project manager meet on a regular basis to review progress on the Dent renovation project. From left to right, Robin McGrew, our architect, Ron Wetzel, Monarc's Site Supervisor, Mark Bellingham, Monarc's Project Manager, and Tom Bien, the School's Project Manager. We meet in the Second Grade classroom.

The elevator shaft is under construction. For many weeks Monarc was digging down to create room for the elevator housing. With that phase complete the beginnings of the shaft have taken place on Level 1 in the space that used to be the entrance to the Kindergarten classroom.

Most of the structural steel is in place on Level 1 so the "action" has moved up one floor. The shoring, or temporary supports, are supporting the ceiling to Level 2. The perspective is from the PreK-K classroom looking towards the original entrance of the School. The PE office, the Business Office, and stairs to nowhere have been removed. Steel beams are on site; once they are in place then the scaffolding will be removed and taken up one more floor to support the ceiling in Level 3.

PEPCO - We have POWER! -- September 14, 2011

PEPCO completed the final few steps to connect our electrical panel to the grid Tuesday evening, September 13. This morning, MC Dean, our electrical contractor, added the final touches and flipped the switch. With this step completed we not only have a dedicated source for electricty but are also able to activate 24 hour/day coverage for our fire alarm system and intrusion alarm system. Progress.

PEPCO was originally scheduled to complete this work in August but Hurricane Irene disrupted its schedule. PEPCO crews were deployed throughout the metro area to restore power to thousands of existing customers who lost power because of the hurricane before adding new customers. Fortunately we were able to operate with generator power for the past few weeks until a crew could hook us up.

Photos:

Compliant Accessory Products is on site to complete the remaining details on our entry ramp: additional stairs and an awning.

The First Grade class is returning to School from the Joy Evans Playground located just across L Street from the School behind the Van Ness Elementary School.

The 7th Grade class is off to Garfield Park for Physical Education with Ms. Sellers and Mr. MacLeod.

Fire and Life Safety -- September 13, 2011

An issue with the building renovation that has required a great deal of thought is the installation of a sprinkler system. Our goal is to install a state-of-the art fire detection and sprinkler system in an 1899 building while preserving the architectural integrity of the structure and original building components such as the American Chestnut classroom doors. Tossing in a contemporary building code and the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC WASA) adds another dimension to already complex discussions with significant cost implications.

In our meeting, Tom Bien, the Day School's project manager for the Dent renovations, reviews our goals with Gareth Koogle, Shafer, Troxell & Howe, Inc., the firm that our contractor, Monarc Construction, has selected to install a fire pump, David Bain, Sales and Project Manager, East Coast Fire Protection Division of Fire & Life Safety America, the sprinkler subcontractor, and Brian Drinkard, Design Manager, Fire & Life Safety America. At the conclusion of this site survey the sprinkler contractor will complete trade submissions for review by the DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). Once the trade permit is issued everyone will get to work.

Dent Renovations -- August 29 - September 2

I have posted pictures of the scaffolding Monarc Construction has erected in the Dent Building to temporarily support the School and permit new, permanent steel supports to be installed. Construction work is a dangerous profession, and this message hit home during the earthquake. Imagine the momentary abject fear the men in this building experienced during the earthquake; they believed that the noise and shaking was the building collapsing on their heads.

Fortunately for the men and for our construction project the shoring and remaining bricks and mortar held. Following a structural inspection of the building only a portion of the chimney was damaged and had to be removed.

A substantial amount of structural steel is in place in Level 1. Installing supports in an existing building has to be carefully engineered and completed by skilled workers.

Photos:

1. Structural steel in the parking lot awaiting installation.

2. Dumpster of bricks and mortar. A significant portion of the Dent Building has left the School in dumpsters.

3. The former ASP/SC Office is in the foreground looking towards the PreKindergarten classroom. All those skinny poles, the shoring, held up the three floors above during the earthquake.

4. New structural steel installed in the ceiling of the Kindergarten classroom.

5. The elevator pit.

6. The "dead space" between the Science Room and the 5th Grade. A steel beam will replace the wall on the right and this space will be incorporated in the former 5th Grade to create the new Science Laboratory.

Level Green Landscaping -- The Level Best!

Level Green Landscaping, LLC, is putting the final touches on the School's modular units at 1000 5th Street, SE. Level Green, of which Douglass Delano, parent of Marion, Capitol Hill Day School Class of 2007, and William, a rising Day School 7th Grader, is a principal, has maintained the School's properties on South Carolina Avenue, SE for many years.

Thanks, Doug and the Level Green team; the temporary structure looks great!

Our downspouts and splash pads were installed by R. W. Kibler, General Contractors, Hyattsville, MD.

Moving into the Mods - September 1, 2011

As we prepare for opening of School we held our first full faculty meeting in the 2nd Grade Classroom.

Galen Wenger, CITI, works in the temporary server room to arrange IT support.

The Fine Arts Department, Andrew Taylor, Music, and Adrienne Nelson, Drama, work on plans for the year's musical on the sidewalk driven out by the fire alarm tests.