A STRONG FOUNDATION

While parents were dropping off their young ones at the interim facility, we were pouring the foundation for the additions at Abrams Road. If you have never seen a concrete pumping truck inaction it is quite a sight to behold.

The concrete truck backs up to the pumping truck's hopper and pours the material in. The powerful pumps move this thick and very heavy material far overhead through a boom.


Concrete enters the hopper.

View of the hopper at the rear of the pump truck. As you can imagine, the weight of this vehicle and the material is extraordinary. Hence the heavy axles and the balance struts you see extended here.

The boom then extends far overhead to place the concrete in the furthest part of the forms. It takes great skill to do this. If you imagine being able to calculate the amount of material in the boom and being able to start and stop the flow of the material.

These images were shot after the first concrete truck had fully discharged the material and pulled away. Once the truck is empty we pull in another one and start again until the entire foundation has been filled.

Here is the completed area in the rear where the Guide Resource Center will be located as well as the restrooms for Miss Jeanne's class.

Today's work started extraordinarily early in an effort to miss the coming rains. We really do appreciate the tolerance of our good neighbors.

While the foundation is proceeding, the steel work continues. Our windows were delivered to day and have been stored in our on-site container. The roofing contract has also been signed effective today so that we may proceed with the weathering-in of the existing structure as quickly as the roof framing is completed. We will not be installing the shingles, but will do the underlayment to keep the interior dry so that work may continue.

BEFORE THE STORM

All of us that were raised on the Gulf coast are very aware of the weather at this time of year.  The forecasters are telling us that we are in for a major show even this far north.  As we prepare for the upcoming rains, we are moving to get as many things buttoned up before they hit.  

Another load of cabinetry was delivered today.  Cubbies, cubbies and more cubbies!

The overhead steel framing for the existing building is also moving ahead.  

The termite pretreatment was completed today in anticipation of the foundation pour.  Here's hoping the rain holds off long enough to let it happen.  The City of Dallas, the concrete material, the concrete pumping truck, the engineer for testing, field supervision and a whole lot of labor are all critical parts of the pour.    

RAIN RAIN RAIN

While the rain is preventing us for doing much with the new foundation, we are continuing with the work inside the existing building.  Partition walls are going up and it is exciting to see the shape of the actual classrooms.  It is hard to imagine the scale of the spaces without any furniture or young MCHS students around but taking a walk from one side of the classroom to the other makes it pretty clear.

  The steel for the foundation has been inspected by the structural engineer that designed it.  It has also been inspected by the City of Dallas and has passed inspection so we are set to pour our concrete as soon as the weather allows.  The rain effects not only our project but hundreds of others as well.  This plays havoc with the concrete suppliers.  Needless to say, we are looking forward to having the building "'weathered-in" to minimize the impact that the weather will have on our schedule.

  We made our final choice of interior doors today and have placed the order.  We are now going to be able to personalize each door to each classroom with a color that relates to the space. 

  The Library is framed and we can now see what a great space that will be.  The bookcases are also in the works.

  A final determination has been made regarding the placement of the lovely blue leaded glass that was formerly installed in the front doors.  This will now be installed in the double doors leading to the BAC Wing and provide a handsome backdrop for the Library.

  Preliminary color selections are moving forward and the project is becoming more real every day.  We hope that you are as excited as we are.

Alex Dahlgren

The Ancon Group

Introducing Alex and the Project To Date

Good Day!

To those who do not know me, I am Alex Dahlgren, the design/builder that has been working with MCHS for the past two years on the development of the school project. I have been invited to participate in the MCHS blog so that it may be easier for the many interested folks to follow along with the work and progress on the project. Check back often for updates and photos of the work. I would remind everyone that construction sites are by their very nature dangerous places. As such, we must request that no one enter the job site without a board member as an escort.

Now on the to fun part.

As you can see below the steel has been installed in the trenches and is ready for the inspection by the City of Dallas Building Inspectors. That has been requested for Monday 9/8/08. Fingers crossed, we will pass and be ready to pour concrete mid-week. You may click the thumbnail to see the full sized image.

We have also completed the rough plumbing (everything that goes below the ground) and it has passed the city inspection process. This has been done for the addition as well as the complete reconfiguration of the school interior. All the old plumbing has been removed from the system so everything the school will be using is brand new. Once that was complete inside the existing building, we doweled the concrete slab and poured new concrete.

In the image above you can also how great the windows are in the walls facing the Nature Area. With a little judicious trimming, that view is going to be spectacular.

The exterior windows (yes there are interior windows) have all been ordered as have the exterior doors. The cubbies for the class rooms are well underway with one classroom's set being completed. These are being built by our cabinet maker and once they are complete, we will have him begin on the cabinetry for the classrooms, offices and the library.

The heavy steel is ordered and we will be doing some serious steel demolition this week. This will make the interior of the existing building easier to imagine when combined with the interior wall layout and construction that is also now occuring

That's all for now. More later.

Alex