The Addition Takes Shape!

The crane arrived early, the roof trusses arrived on time, the first lift was at 9:45 am, and the last one was at 11:45 am.  By 3 pm all the roof trusses were up and in place, and what a difference it made in the look and feel of the addition.  Now it really begins to look like a building.  The crane parked between the library and the Victorian and lifted the roof trusses over the library and placed them on the framed walls.  Tony, Bruce, and Carlos  shifted and tacked them into place.  Spacers, trimming, and bracing will take place over the next few days.

The first of 31 roof trusses is lowered into place.

The roof trusses and crane blocked the driveway for the day.

Some of the rafters are in place, too, over the former solarium and librarians' room.

The ceiling gives a feeling clastrophobia.

The last roof truss is in place.

The Framing Continued This Week

Demolition and framing continued this week.  The remainder of the walls around the librarians' room was demolished as well as the roof over it.  The framing focused on the new librarian's office.  The next step will be to rebuild the roof over the old librarians' room and solarium.  That work will start next week.  Click on this first image to get a panorama view of where we were last week.

This will be the new librarian's office.

It sure is going to be a big addition!

Compare this one with previous views from the same position.

Now the Progress is Vertical!

During this week after Thanksgiving, the Contractor says we can expect to see major progress on the Sahyun Library addition, but first, see the images below for what has been done already.  The framing for the walls is almost completed!  Up we go!  
   
The remainder of the Solarium walls will be demolished together with the rest of the roof also over the Solarium and librarians' room.

Here is our new floor slab with a growing pile of lumber on Nov. 23, BEFORE Thanksgiving.

And here is a ground view of the green concrete slab on the same day.

And now AFTER Thanksgiving, Nov 29, we have walls!

This is the ground view from the same point of view as the second one above..  Note the 2"x6" studs!

What you see in this view, and then some, represents just one day's work on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  "No big deal for an experienced framer" said Bruce, our experienced framer.

And here is Bruce, a worker in perpetual motion, making a short board out of a long board.  Just don't get in his way!

Now We Have a Slab Floor!

The first cement truck arrived at 7:30 am sharp and started pumping "mud" to the old solarium area.

This crew has worked together for years and really knows what it's doing.

By 8:30 am the slab was half poured.

The crew also poured a footing in the old librarians' room, a footing for a wall at the street near the bus stop, and a footing for the air conditioning unit.

Almost done by 10 am.

Then the sun came out on the completed slab!  Next step?  Start raising walls!

Ready for the Next Pour

The plastic membrane has been lain, the sand has filled in the squares, and the reinforcing steel has been plunked and tied.

Now we are set to pour the floor on Thursday, November 18.  This will be the biggest and most comprehensive activity of the entire construction.  For that reason, the library will be closed for the day, because many cement mixers will be going in and out of our gate and turning in our parking lot.

Got Concrete?

This was a banner day for the construction of the extension to the Sahyun Library - the pouring of concrete for the building's foundation.   Eight big cement mixers pulled into our library parking lot, one after another, delivered their loads into a pumper, which pumped the mix through a hose to the site of application.  A crew of eight guided the hose, smoothed out the cement in and around the forms, adjusted foundation bolts, and removed form supports.  It was an impressive operation.

Here the entire crew is at work.

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This is hard work and must be done carefully.

You would not have been able to drive into the parking lot on this day.

Click on this one to see Concrete Pour at Sahyun Library

Almost Ready for First Concrete Pour

This is the  foundation pattern required by the structural engineer  for the new addition.  The purpose of such an extensive foundation is to resist liquefaction that may occur in the event of a large earthquake.

The electrician has added a plethora of conduits for eventual power outlets inside the building for our computers.

The foundation will be poured, more steel is added to squares between the forms, then a second pour will take place.  The inspector is due on Monday to be sure everything is OK before the first pour.

Last One To Leave, Please Turn Out The Lights

Jim Friestad with the last class in the Fireside Room, 24 Oct. 2010

An hour later, all is clear for reconstruction.

And this is what the Fireside Room will look like in a week or so.

Time to Build Foundation Forms

The next construction step is to build forms in which reinforcing steel will be placed, followed by pouring of concrete.  All of this will require 3-4 weeks to complete.  Please pray it does not rain in that time period.

Four men build the forms.  One cuts lumber to size, two install the cut pieces, and the foreman, who is kneeling over the plans in the center of the picture.  He oversees, helps, and makes sure everything is done "perfectly".  This is exacting work and must be done perfectly, because upon the foundation will rest the entire building. 

Trenches for the Foundation

Once the ground was thoroughly compacted, chalk lines were drawn for the positions of foundation and utility trenches, and the backhoe went to work!

The position and extent of the trenches indicate the footprint of the extension to the existing wing of the Sahyun Library.

That's Mike, the foundation foreman, studying the plans to determine if the trenches are the correct depth before he and his crew begin to build forms.

And while Mike was planning the next stage for the extension, John DuBois and Jim Friestad were busy indoors removing bookcases and display cabinets in the librarians' room, which is scheduled to be demolished on or about October 18.

Art & Jim Building the "Memorial Parkway" October 1, 2010

Here Backhoe Bob is tamping down the soil.  Hopefully he is done because the noise was horrific!

Bob even gave Art & Jim shirts so they could advertise for him. Bob is doing such a great job.

 

Backhoe Bob is moving soil around in this photo.

This sheet of plywood will become part of the boardwalk Jim and Art will build to navigate through the mud between the old wing and the storage sheds.
 

What is this, guys,  a coffee break?

The completed sections of the boardwalk.   Try pushing a cart through that mud without the having a Memorial Parkway!

The Backhoe Has Finally Arrived

We always said the beginning of construction of the extension to the Sahyun Library would be marked by the day when we saw the first backhoe out there digging dirt.  Now the backhoe has arrived with its dump truck, and so construction has begun!!   Well actually, the first step is destruction, and  a little orange tree was the first thing to go, but asphalt, concrete block, sidewalk, and other plants followed shortly afterward.

    For now the destruction is limited to the area where the new extension will be built; the existing library itself will remain intact for several months.  Thus the library is open for business as usual – for your research, meetings, and even for you to watch the work.  Parking may be a little tight, but come on down and see what’s happening!

 

Now if you happen to see this fellow lurking around the premises, don’t call the police, but instead, go out and say hello to him.  He is Tony Suhrer, our genial and expert contractor.  The sub contractors have been telling me how fortunate we are to have him because he is a “hands-on” guy, so we expect to see a lot of him.