As they say in the game of cricket, quite often as it happens, “rain stopped play” and so it was for much of this week on our construction site. Those in the know, and thanks to getting “Soil 101 Introduction” training this week, even I’m on the very cusp of understanding, you don’t mess with wet soil...for not only does compacted wet earth do weird things when it dries out, but also the “tracked” monsters quickly turn any wet patch into a quagmire, as I found out to my cost (this coming week I’m investing in a smart pair of wellies!).
However, even rain was not enough to stop Ryan, the site superintendent, (he is the gentlemen with the fine whiskers) and his intrepid band of construction workers from making progress. At the back the pipe laying task is all but finished and Higgerson, Inc. (site contractor) has made a start in preparing the area for the new rear wing’s concrete pad. Meanwhile, the Precision Pipe gang have been assembling all of the plastic milk crates into even bigger plastic milk crates, and have created what is possibly the world’s biggest milk crate! Who would have imagined when we set out on this endeavor that we, with our giant milk crate, could rival Cawker City’s World’s Largest Ball of Twine as an attraction? Sadly for our prospects as a tourist attraction the giant milk crates are, of course, part of the storm water treatment tank system that will remove pollutants and nutrients from our storm water run-off before discharging it into the Chesapeake Bay’s water catchment area. In the coming weeks Precision Pipe will be digging two of what will eventually be three treatment tanks and installing filtration material and the giant milk crates. I couldn’t end without mentioning the big yellow Tonka toys that are now in abundance on our site. As reported, the big excavator is now back in operation and has not only been joined by a smaller version of itself, but also by very large, heavy roller – something, that for some reason lost in my distant childhood past, I have always wanted to drive!! I hope you have a safe and healthy Memorial Weekend. Go with peace and courage! David
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Some great milestones achieved over the past few days! Where shall I start…with the drains, where else?
It has been the week of the “drains.” By midweek, the new storm water drain, the 24” concrete pipes with service covers that look like tank hatches, was completed and cut into the existing system so future storm water will rush into the Chesapeake water catchment area via this new pipe. The next accomplishment was to re-route the small courtyard drain so it won’t discharge water into the new rear wing and last, but not least, to re-route the drains/sewer lines from Alfriend House (AFH) and the Day School to wherever drains and sewers go, bottom line is the toilets work again. With that Precision Pipe, Inc are ready to hand over the area to Higgerson, Inc for soil grading, but that’s for next week. Meanwhile many milk crates, aka “storm water treatment system,” have arrived on site. These are for the storm water settlement tanks that will be dug alongside N. Witchduck Road. This will be Precision Pipe’s next task, so more to follow on that next week as well. As you may recall, AFH is undergoing a much-needed makeover, and this week the AFH curb appeal improvement project was completed by the planting of 30 Suwanee River Ligustrum shrubs that will be cultivated into a fine hedge. The AFH exterior maintenance project is also in full swing and should be finished early next week. The projects have made a huge improvement to the look of both the house and the curb and whilst the property might not be quite as grand as its neighbors it certainly doesn’t look too out-of-place. Two more items to report. Whilst Gretchen and I were walking the site mid-week, as I recall I was trying to resolve a major query on the location of the porta-loo (UK vernacular for the USA’s porta-john), one of the Precision Pipe guys rushed over and, with no small degree of sincerity, presented us with a root in the shape of a cross that he’d dug up whilst removing some old pipe work. It’s about 18” by 18”, covered in caked mud and to be totally honest a complete surprise! Both of us were lost for words beyond a rather mumbled “thank you.” What do you do when you are presented with a cross in the shape of a root? Easy, pop it outside Father Bob’s office! Last item, you will no doubt be delighted to know Higgerson’s excavator has been put back together, is now fully “tracked” and looks ready to make a significant contribution next week. Stay safe and stay healthy! David The work laying pipes of various dimensions on the construction site continues (sewer line today), the AFH exterior renovation project will be finished by next Monday, and the Alfriend Trail “curb appeal” project will be done and dusted by the end of today. So with that update, I thought I’d step away from the ongoing construction to give you a sense of “what happens next!”
First a disclaimer; I’ve already proclaimed my lack of construction knowledge, so although what I report results from a project discussion with our General Contractor and fellow parishioner Scott Crumley (a man who is well-versed in construction and the many “building foibles” that abound on the ODEC campus) I could get it very wrong so if I err then the fault is all mine! In the next day or so the pipe laying work behind the rear of our buildings will be completed, and then Higgerson, Inc will take over that part of the site to grade the soil and prepare the ground for the new rear wing’s foundation and concrete pad. Once prepared, a surveyor will mark out the structure’s walls etc, the ground will be compression tested to make sure it can support the buildings weight, and if that’s all good then the building works, as opposed to site works, will commence. Could all kick-off by the end of next week! Meanwhile Precision Pipe’s attention will switch to the area running beside N. Witchduck Rd as they start to dig the holes for the new storm water tanks, which will eventually connect to the new storm water drain to form part of our storm water management facility as per City code. The first tank will be in the area where the herb garden used to be, and the second in the corner between Tucker Hall and the fence around the neighbor’s property. The third tank, between N. Witchduck Rd and the new Great Hall, will be installed once the Great Hall is built so don’t think we will soon be saying farewell to Precision Pipes; they will be back!! The storm water filtration system components that go in the holes have arrived on site and I must say I was expecting something that looked highly technical but, in any event, I’m staring at what I can only describe as slightly oversized, recycled milk crates! I can’t end without mentioning Higgerson’s broken-down excavator. Today repairs are ongoing, one track is (almost) back in place and another is ready to be installed. So it’s good news, the disabled excavator looks like it will be back in action in time to play its role in preparing the site for the new rear wing. Stay safe and go with peace and courage! David Here I am with a blog “fresh” from the construction site, and able to share what I’ve learnt about storm water pipes and sewer lines.
The big excavator is still sitting forlornly on its running gear without tracks, but fortunately it doesn’t have an immediate role. It will come into its own once the pipes around the back are all laid, and it’s time to grade (to the layman that means smooth) the soil in preparation for building the rear wing. What of those pipes around the back of the buildings? The big concrete pipes are all in place and connected, so now the storm water drain arcs around what will be the rear of the new wing. In laying the pipes there was an unexpected conflict with the existing sewer lines to the Day School Wing and AFH however, a solution was found, and the fix to route the sewer lines away from the storm water drains was being installed today. With luck, the Day School and AFH will have back the use of their toilets by the week’s end. Staying with the back of the site and AFH: the house’s external makeover is in full swing and this morning work started on improving the curb-side appeal by clearing and cleaning up where we removed five trees that were either dead, or their roots threatened the house’s foundations. Once the site is clean, topsoil will be laid and 30 Suwanee River Ligustrum bushes planted that will eventually form a hedge running along Alfriend Trail. Stay safe and healthy, David. Although I was in information technology for the last 30 years of my working life I am nevertheless what we called in the profession a “digital dinosaur,” an endearing term that basically means born well before the digital and social media age. Why do I start with this statement? Well this is my first ever attempt at “blogging” so please bear with me, by the time the new building is finished I might be quite good at “blogging,” time will tell. So why a blog and what is it going to be about?
At just about the same time as COVID-19 social distancing started Scott Crumley announced he had the last permit we needed to start the construction in his hand and we were, at last, into the construction phase. Things moved quickly after that, as I wrote in the April Bell Ringer it was the story of the trees and for me there was no more telling confirmation that construction had begun than the felling of the white oaks, sycamores, pines and cedars that once adorned the property along Witchduck Road and gave us shelter in front of Alfriend House. Much has happened on the “construction site” since that April Bell Ringer article was published so Father Bob, no doubt assuming I was experienced in the blogger’s art, asked me if I would be willing to write a blog to keep the ODEC family up to speed on the project. I, of course, agreed and now you, my friends, are my blogging guinea pigs (I hope that means the same in the USA as it does in the UK and that I haven’t started my blogging career by insulting my prospective readership!). So here’s what’s in store, I will try and give you a short running commentary on the new building project “hot from the construction site” and when I get better at blogging I’ll even try to include some pictures, but in the meantime you can go to the ODEC Frickr page (https://www.flickr.com/photos/olddonationchurch/) to see my pictorial record of the construction - but be warned my photography skills aren’t exactly stellar. So first, like all good television series let me tell you the story so far. The trees that needed to be felled, their stumps and roots are all gone and carted off the site. An interesting aside on the trees, the heartwood in nearly every tree was decaying to the point where the tree was structurally weaker and therefore more prone to breaking in high winds so maybe we dodged a bullet there? With the trees and debris removed the site contractors (the earth movers), a company called Higgerson Inc, brought some impressive equipment on site and basically cleared and cleaned the construction site being particularly careful to move the Grace Sherwood stone to safety. With erosion control in place it was now the turn of Precision Pipe the pipe laying contrcators. Now I am not talking small pipes, these are nearly 24” in diameter concrete behemoths that will reroute the storm water drain behind Tucker Hall around what in the future will be the new rear wing. More large equipment on site, more construction workers, construction materials, concrete pipes and the carpark to around Tucker Hall to the space in front of Alfriend House all now a construction site. The earth, quite literally, started to move, go to the Flickr page if you have a moment, the earth works, the pipes and the construction workers are all featured. That brings you up to date. Today was a veritable hive of activity on the ODEC campus. At the back of the building Precision Pipes were finalizing that leg of the storm water management culvert. Out the front a man from the Higgerson Inc was contemplating their excavator that broke down early in the week and is now waiting for two new tracks and tension springs (doesn’t sound a cheap fix). By the main entrance Scott Crumley (the Crumley Group) was holding a social distancing meeting with reps from Higgerson, the civil engineers (MSA) and our architect (Ionic Dezign). At Alfriend House our maintenance contractor, JOHNCO Services, was wrapping the external woodwork in aluminum sheeting as part of the building’s renovation project having power washed the whole building earlier in the week. Over in the back field and around the Old Church our new ground maintenance contractor was doing the weekly grass cut and property tidy up having also significantly trimmed back the azalea bush “jungle” that separates the grass parking area from the back field, there are pictures on Flickr. It is quite an impressive example of pruning that should create a cacophony of azalea blooms next year. Well that is my apology for being your blog writer, the rationale for the blog and a general “get you up to date” piece written. I promise future blogs will be a bit pithier but for now, stay safe and go with peace and courage. David. |
AuthorDavid Beach is our Building Project Manager, and has been an active part of our parish family for more than a decade. He is retired from NATO and the British Army and is a joy and blessing to all of us. Archives
July 2021
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