Project Meeting -- December 15, 2011

Lots of progress to note at this week's Project Meeting. Monarc Construction has much responsibility to keep the momentum going as we enter the holiday season.

The fire pump. This iconic piece of equipment, subject of hours of discussion, evaluation, review, revision, and eventual purchase, is now installed in a portion of the former PE Storage Room. This pump takes ordinary tap water and pressurizes it to operate the sprinkler system that is being installed on all four floors of the Dent Building.

The subcontractors installing the ceiling grid. The contractors have quite the array of equipment and measures to make sure the grids are level.

Kyle, Ronnie and Alan discuss the proper ratio of water to cement that Kyle is preparing for what will be the floor of a closet on Level 2.

Probably one of the most anticipated improvements to the Dent Building is underway by the School's contractor, Disconnect Reconnect. This firm is installing the wiring for our computer system.

West Chimney -- December 8, 2011

Following the removal of the West Chimney both above the roof line and in the Library the contractor was able to demo the south wall of the chimney in the 6th grade classroom. In this shot you see what was the chimney flue and have a good angle on how much space will be added to the classroom. The contractor is working on sprinkler system hookups.

Rebuilding the chimney is well underway. The open side of the chimneys on level 4 are on the library and the art room, or north, side of the chimneys, opposite the openings on all three lower levels.

Workmen bring the cement blocks by hand, either one or two blocks per trip, walking up all four floors via the rear stairwell. They sure do wish the Koné Elevator guys would pick up the pace!

Site Visit -- December 8, 2011

Mark Bellingham, Project Manager, Monarc Construction, at today's Project Meeting.

Ceiling in the foyer area. the shiny pipes are for heating and air conditioning, the small diameter black pipes are for the sprinkler system and the hanging wires, which are difficult to spot, will support the ceiling grid. An arduous task to get everything to fit in the very small spaces that have been allowed for these backbone items.

Level 3 electric panels. One of the very well appreciated amenities in this project -- from the Business Office's perspective for sure!

Level 4 Great Space subflooring. This was unexpected; once we pulled up the wall-to-wall carpet and the old linoleum tiles in the Loft we found an odd, spongy subflooring; a fun-house experience walking around. In addition the floor joists were structurally enhanced at the time of the loft renovation in a piecemeal fashion giving less support than was needed. Understandable as the Loft was at one time just an attic. Well, not to worry; now everything has been redone and sealed with solid plywood subflooring.

The former computer room looking towards the former Loft area incorporating what was the clay room. This room will be the 7th Grade Homeroom and Foreign Language Classroom in the renovated building.

Site Visit -- December 8, 2011

A construction site is sometimes more difficult to coordinate than conducting an orchestra or perhaps herding cats. The drywall men and mud ladies certainly had a hazy memory of the drawings in the Pre-Kindergarten classroom where as you can see they have "finished off" the strand of temporary lights and a dangling electrical cable.

Progress Report -- December 1, 2011

Coordination issues are at the forefront at this stage of the renovation project. Subcontractors are working throughout the building and the inevitiable overlap occurs. Project managers, the architect, and even sometimes the owner are drawn in to help navagate a solution.

This azure blue insulation material coats the exterior walls of the Level One classrooms. Nice, bright color!

One of three electrical panels in a newly created Level 3 corridor that provides access to new bathrooms.

From the vantage point of the library you can now look down into the 6th grade classroom since the chimney has been removed. You can see that concrete block is being delivered to begin the reconstruction process.

Our project looks really high-tech in this picture -- taken from the Art Room looking toward the front stairwell. The contractors are installing roof supports and duct work in this area.

The sprinkler install crew and the equipment they use to custom cut sections of pipe.

A view of the Level 2 foyer area. The stairs on the left lead to Jason and Antoinette's Office; the office right behind the stairwell is for Field Education and the doorway with the light streaming in and the visible insulation is the former 1st Grade soon-to-be music room.

Babar en avion -- November 21, 2011

Babar was discovered behind the loft in the former First Grade Classroom. He will soon be behind wallboard again preserved for the next renovation project.

Chimney -- November 21, 2011

Poof, the west chimney is no more.

The loft area is quite spacious without the center core chimney. Our makeshift skylight of plastic adds the designer touch.

Chimney bricks have been partially cleaned and stacked under the library skylight. The core support below the roof line will be built of masonry block and the bricks will be recycled to complete the portion of the chimney extending above the roof line.

Now that the temporary steel supports buttressing the chimney have been removed the crew can install the final loft roof support. These steel I bars enable us to remove all the former wood ceiling supports and provide more flexible classroom space. Monarc was able to sell the wood supports to a carpenter who will recycle the posts into furniture.

Interactive White Boards -- November 21, 2011

The School has selected Epson Brightlink Interactive Projectors for the renovated classrooms in the Dent Building. Thanks to the teachers that helped in evaluating the product:

Second Grade: Krysta French
Third Grade: Sydney Daniels
Fifth Grade: Beth Nalker
Mathematics: Cheryl Fricchione

Coordinating the installation requirements to provide guidance to the Monarc Construction team are John Duffy, Vice-President, Computerware, Robin McGrew, cox graae + spaak,the School's lead architect, Tom Patterson, President, Dancing Wave Media Systems, and Mark Bellingham, Project Manager, Monarc Construction. Even with renovated classrooms each installation required a slight tweak here or there to get the boards installed in the most effective manner.

At Grade Access -- November 11, 2011

Work continues on the at grade access to the School through the rear entrance connecting to the sidewalk on 2nd Street, SE.

Chimneys Ahoy! -- November 7, 2011

4th Floor, West Chimney. The library is to the right and the corridor leading to the former Humanities classroom is on the left.

The Library.

The Library.

West side of the School looking across 2nd Street, SE. The chimney tilts towards South Carolina Avenue, SE.



In my October 19th post I included a photograph showing the masonry beginning to bulge on the 4th floor's west chimney. The situation quickly deteriorated as the wall began to fail. With the wall bulging out to the north not unsurprisingly the chimney above the roof line began a serious tilt south. Monarc Construction was quick to provide progressively more substantial supports to buttress the wall and hold the chimney in place.

Initially in the design process the School's architects and engineers planned to take down the chimneys as we rebuilt the structural supports through the center of the School to open up space for enlarged classrooms. The chimneys would then be reconstructed. As the project underwent the value-engineering (VE) process we decided on a different approach, one that would retain enough of the chimneys' core to support new structural steel and the existing chimneys. This approach, we expected, would save time and cost less than dismantling and rebuilding the chimneys. Once the wallboard was removed from the west chimney on Levels Three and Four and the cutting began Monarc Construction concluded the remaining bricks and very old mortar were not stable enough to carry the load. When the wall on the 4th floor began to buckle and the chimney began to tilt work in this area was stopped until the experts completed their review and proposed solutions.

Linton Engineering LLC examined the crumbling structure, the original architectural plans, completed then reviewed its recommendations with cox graae + spaak, the School's architects, Monarc Construction,the contractor, and the School's project management team. For the west chimney, then, we return to our original design: the chimney above the roof line will be taken down and the interior chimney supports will be dropped down to Level 3. Level 4 supports will be rebuilt with reinforced masonry block of sufficient strength to support a reconstructed chimney. The east chimney, which was damaged in the earthquake, will also be reinforced.

At Grade Access -- Progress! November 7, 2011

One of the more difficult issues in adapting a turn-of-the century structure for contemporary use has been at-grade access to the Dent Building and each of its four levels.

The School considered several alternatives to access through the front door within the guidelines provided by the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) and found none satisfactory. We opted to revive an old design dating from the 1998-2000 renovations, an at-grade entrance to the lower level of the Dent Building off 2nd Street. We will install an elevator in the building to serve all four floors. When the renovations are complete Dent will be fully accessible and the School will be in voluntary compliance with 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design for Commercial Facilities.

Construction Progress Report -- October 25, 2011

Each day more and more of the vision of what the School will look like when construction is complete comes into focus. Today's pictures indicate Monarc's progress as the rooms are framed and the finishing touches are made to the support infrastructure.

The wood structure supports the floor of the Rose Window Room.

This is an excellent shot enabling you to visualize the Head of School's Office. The ladder rests against what will be Jason's office. Note it "floats" in the space between Level 2 and the front doors. The south wall of his office,the one facing the front doors, will be glass. Big brother will be watching! The Registrar's Office will be on the angle on which the scaffolding and two construction workers are located. This "L-shaped" space will be the go-to place in the renovated Dent Building.

The Rose Window space.

An excellent view of the space realized by pulling away one side of the massive interior chimneys.

Photo Credits: Heidi Ruesswick

Pebbles on South Carolina Avenue, SE -- October 25, 2011

Kelly Young, Operations Manager, Capitol Hill Day School, and Phillip Latham, PTSales, check out these "pebbles," small chairs and tables that the School is considering for the foyer on the renovated School's lower level, the early childhood classes.

Funky and fun.

What a wonderful neighborhood -- October 20, 2011

The Monarc Construction crew was on the Dent School roof and took this picture looking towards the Capitol and Washington Monument. Capitol Hill Day School is located in the most beautiful of Washington's neighborhoods is it not?

Photo Credit: Mark Bellingham

Dent Building Framing -- October 19, 2011

Today is a "mark your calendar" kind of day -- the project takes a giant step from destruction to construction with the delivery of the studs to frame the interior walls.

Seeing these huge vehicles navigate our alley on a near daily basis is fascinating. Once they get to the School parking lot the beep-beep-beep of their backup warning system seems of indeterminable length as they maneuver back and forth to come as close to the building as they can to offload construction materials.

214 South Carolina Avenue, SE -- October 19, 2011

The 214 South Carolina Avenue, SE bathroom project is now complete. This bath is on level 2 of the townhouse and is primarily for the 8th Grade homeroom and humanities students.

The design and installation was completed by Stephen Mercer, Mercer Contracting, LLC.

Stephen realigned and added weatherstripping to the building's exterior doors.

Seasonal Greetings from Monarc Construction -- October 19, 2011

The men of Monarc Construction added seasonal touch to their sign in front of the Dent School.

Demo and Steel Wrap-up October 19, 2011

Monarc Construction has finished nearly all the demolition work planned for the interior of the Dent Building. Wow! Do we now have space! Most of the steel has gone in to replace the brick and mortar infrastructure. Today two very long I-beams are being installed in the loft -- one runs from the northeast corner of the building to the center of the great space and the second runs from the southwest corner of the building to the center of the great space. With this installation we can remove several of the former wood supports making the 4th Floor area "support free." It will no longer look like a reconverted attic.

As I have mentioned in several posts over the past few months the most dramatic enhancement to the Dent Building is to the core structure inside the front door running from Level 1, the former Reception Area, through the entrance foyer, stairs to nowhere, and to the Rose Window Room.

The vision is taking shape as you can see in the following pictures:

This picture is taken from Level 1 looking towards the existing front door. The structural steel will support the new entrance foyer and reception area. The structural steel at the higher elevation supports the flooring for the Head of School and Registrar's Offices.

The foyer area is framed and ready for concrete to be poured. The two vertical plywood panels protect the front doors from construction damage. We plan to replicate the terrazzo flooring that was in the original Dent Building.

Looking up towards Level 3 you see the framing to support the Rose Window Room. The space between the steel beams, below, and the wood joists, above, will be offices for the Head of School and the Registrar.

Et Voilà! The Rose Window Room is now level with the rest of Level 3 and the foyer area is substantially wider.

This shot is from the landing in the rear stairwell looking down to the entrance to Level 3. Note all the different patching that has been done over the years as this entrance has been modified. We have moved it again in this project.

This is the west chimney as seen from the library. It is a little wobbly right now and has some temporary support.

With the steel in and the walls buttressed the concrete trucks are delivering load after load to complete the footings and level the floors.