Building Together, Issue 21

&C O N S T R U C T I O N P R O F E S S I O N A L S

Building TogetherUnited Methodist Retirement Communities

HFA Expansion

Construction Update NewsletterIssue

www.elzinga-volkers.com

September2014

21

Executive SummaryA new road and a new path...As you walk past the HFA expansion project these days, you may not notice a lot of activity, but one step inside the building, there’s a whole other world of activity. Crews are busy at work on the final interior finishes of the building including flooring, wall paper, wood trim, cabinet installations and in the installation of light fixtures. The entire building is lit up and most of the ceiling tiles are installed. Just the installation of these two items dramatically changes the look and feel of the space. It is no longer a construction site and soon it will be someone’s home.The biggest transformations are happening in the massive enclosed courtyard. Over the past three weeks, a fish pond has been dug, a large covered seating area has been built and massive boulders have been arranged all around the space. On Wednesday of last week, crews from Creative Cement installed over 5,000 SF of concrete paving that was all carefully placed to ensure accessibility by all the building residents.

The courtyard will feature an array of activities and quiet sitting spaces, but that’s all I will share for now…we need to keep some things a surprise for the final issues of our newsletter! Lastly, if you have taken a walk on campus this week, you can’t help but notice the dramatic change happening on the Chelsea Retirement Community road system. We have undertaken a large campus repaving project that will be completed as we complete the construction of the HFA expansion. These two projects will dramatically change the look and feel of campus. The excitement never ends on the project site and these last few weeks are no exception. Thank you to all the residents and staff for their support and assistance in these last few weeks of this major project!

- John Parker, Project Manager [email protected]

Upcoming Milestones » Painting Complete » Handrail and Wall Protection Complete » Local Building Inspections Complete

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Safety SpotlightPaving new roads requires very heavy equipment and skilled equipment operators. During the campus repaving, you will notice that a variety of safety procedures are in place to ensure that the residents, staff and visitors at the Chelsea Retirement Community are protected during this work. We are using high visibility clothing, flagmen, traffic control signage and, of course, the orange barrels that we are all used to seeing on the highway to keep the campus safe. Be careful as you walk campus in the next few weeks, but even if you forget about the work going on, we certainly will be watching out for you!



Courtyard pond and landscape boulders set

Millwork columns set at the dining room

Quality ControlAsphalt paving is only as strong as the soil and “base” that it is installed on. Because of this, a significant amount of attention is paid to the layers of sand and gravel that are installed underneath the driving surface of a roadway. Layers, or “lifts” of soil and gravel are installed and compacted in a very specific manner to ensure that they do not settle or move under the constant weight of vehicles and the stress of the freeze thaw cycle. So, next time you see a crew paving a road, know that most of the work in making that road strong has already been done…the paving is just the final step.

New curb placed along the drive to Towsley Village

Project Progress Photos

Project Progress and Major Milestones



In this issue, we would like to thank ASI, Inc., our asphalt paving contractor. The HFA expansion project was not a large paving contract for this major paving contractor, but they gave us great services and quality. When we decided to take on the campus repaving project in addition to our building expansion, ASI assisted in planning and coordinating the phasing of the work so that campus operations could continue during the major road repairs. Thank you ASI for your hard work on the project!

Two Week Look AheadAs John mentioned in the executive summary, the HFA expansion now known as Glazier Commons is starting to have the feel of a home. Over the next two weeks finishing touches will be taking place with installation of kitchen equipment in the serving kitchen, counter tops throughout and the major focus will be on flooring. Commercial Interior Resources will begin installation of the corridor carpeting which will be the last major finish component that takes this “cold” construction site to a warm and inviting home! Although the carpet installation is the last major task of the construction phase there will still be testing, inspections and miscellaneous installs such as signage that will need to take place. In order to protect this final finish during the closeout phase, contractors and guests will be required to wear “booties” similar to those found in hospitals over their shoes. As construction activities push toward completion inspections will begin. Final inspections of the work have been performed by the local building authority and now we are preparing for the Fire Safety Inspection which will be followed by the State of Michigan Health Inspection. We thank all of the trade contractors for assisting in preparations for these inspections! - Jordan Gougeon, Asst. Project Manager [email protected]

Casework and countertops set in the utility room

Carpet installed in the new conference room

SUBCONTRACTOR SPOTLIGHT

Foundations Complete

Building Enclosed

Steel/Wood Framing Complete

Drywall Complete

Interiors Complete

Ready for Move In

Casework being set in the dining room

Documents

Building Together, Issue 21