Clarification

As I observe the whole construction process at our school, I describe what I see happening in layman's terms.  I presume those in the industry would shake their head and smile.  I ask questions because I really want to know but cannot quite grasp the whole process.  So I just report what I see and hope the photos will explain what is happening at our school.

In my last blog, I shared this photo and said I didn't know what the pipes were for.  Well, here's an explanation from Bob Purdie who is with the DOE Facilities Branch.

The silver pipes are air ducts.  The pipes in the ground are electrical and telcom conduits.  Pipes are vehicles for fluids, compressed gas, light and rails.

Isn't if funny how the technology of the trade impacts our ability to describe the work and changes our perception of its reality?

In reality all ducts, conduits, and pipes are directing movement of energy, and or matter.  Their common bond is that they are closed.  We might as well just call them "closed movers" and then have a unified field theory for all. 

Thanks, Bob, for the clarification!  I'll try not to mangle the terminology in the future, but I'm not promising anything!

Update - April 24, 2014

Yesterday, the grant folks from the Department of Defense came by to check on the progress of our school project.  The last time they visited in December, most of what was completed was the infrastructure.  They were surprised at the progress of our buildings!  We are keeping our fingers crossed that everything will turn out as we hope and that we will move to the new building in June. We got to go inside the administration building (with our hard hats, covered shoes, and safety vests), but I didn't take too many photos.  Here are a few photos with the description of what they are.

Okay, don't ask me what those pipes are because I forgot what they told me.  This is the inside of the administration building.  You can see the insulation on the ceiling.  

It's hard to tell right now, but that's actually my office!  There will be a sliding door which will lead to a conference room.  Presently, my office is quite small and having meetings in there is pretty challenging !  

This trench was dug just this week and those pipes will lead to the new classroom building.  Workers actually moved the project manager's trailer earlier this week so they could dig this trench. Whenever I think they're done digging, they start a trench somewhere else!  

This is a side view of the new classroom building.  Shortly, workers will be pouring the concrete for the wall.

This is actually the special education class; it's quite large and we look forward to having our students participate in lots of hands-on projects.  After years of insufficient space for these students, it will be wonderful for them to have their own classroom!

A panoramic view of the classroom building from the back of the school.  It's amazing how quickly that building is progressing!

April 20, 2014

Things are moving quickly as we approach summer in about 1 1/2 months.  Teachers whose rooms will be renovated this summer received boxes and are packing their things.  Those who are familiar with educators realize that it's hard for us to throw things out.  We always think we'll find a use for something later on, and we are the ultimate packrats.  Now, with limited space for storage, teachers are making hard decisions on what to keep and what to throw out.  Once the renovated classrooms are completed, we hope there will be more flexibility for room arrangements.  21st century education is about providing flexibility for teaching and learning through collaboration and project-based learning.

Very shortly, workers will be preparing classrooms for the Cisco wireless system which will be installed throughout our school with the hub located in the MDF room in the new administration building.

This is the back view of the 10-classroom building.  They are building up the first floor which will be 13'4" tall.  There will be some concrete panels (where the wood is) as well. 

The crane is dropping the chill box into the building which is located in the back of the administration building.  This is the area which will be controlling the air conditioning for the buildings.

This is the chill room which came up in the last week or so.

April 13, 2014

We have about 2 more months before the completion of the administration building and another few months for the classroom building to be done.

The roof is now airtight, and rainwater is dripping through the drainage pipe the way it's supposed to. Workers are doing work on the interior of the building.  We can see the walls getting done, and insulation was delivered the other day.  I'm curious to see how that works.

It's hard to see what is happening in the administration building.  We are amazed that the building will be ready for occupancy in late June which means construction would have taken about 1 year from start to finish.  (Our groundbreaking ceremony was on July 1, 2013.) We are keeping our fingers crossed that everything will work out and we'll be able to move in by the targeted date!

As you can see, the classroom building is taking shape!  In fact, at our meeting last week, we learned that the building is now 13' 4" tall!  It will be two stories tall and so will the library-media/student center when that building is complete. 

Workers are completing the roofing for the custodial building.  The custodians should be able to move in this summer.  Next school year, students will be able to use the restrooms in this building when they are in the cafeteria for lunch or other activities.

April 4, 2014

Workers are working on the roof of the administration building.  Yeah!  We were waiting for the roofing material to come in; the interior cannot be completed until the roof is done.

The classroom building is progressing well. We are looking at the building from the front; the elevator is the square area in the front, and the entry to the building is to the right of the elevator.  I am amazed at how quickly the workers can complete the exterior after spending a lot of time with the infrastructure!

I'm looking forward to see how much more progress there will be next week!