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Archive for the ‘mechanical systems’ Category

Doors, carpet, trim – oh my! 14 days left!

Posted in 3rd new, 3rd old, basement, building codes, carpet, insulation, kitchen, mechanical systems, Uncategorized on August 4, 2011|

Carpet, doors, and trim – the chapter house is starting to look like a home.  The next two weeks are going to be a flurry of activity to finish by August 17.  This week carpet is being installed in the hallways of the 1931 building and in the rooms of the 1964 addition.   The living room and housemother’s floors are being sanded and finished.

New solid core doors are being installed throughout the house.   A master-key system will be installed that will allow the house corporation to have a single key that will open all doors.  Each student’s key will unlock their study and assigned sleeping room door.

Next week’s highlights include firing up the air conditioner for the first time, installing the wireless internet system and rest of the finishes. FIJI is hosting all the UNL fraternity and sorority house corporations next week during the greek house tour.

If you haven’t done so already — mark your calendar and plan to attend Pig Dinner on Friday, October 7, 2011.  The chapter house dedication ceremony will take place on Friday at 4.30 p.m. with the 106th Norris Pig Dinner starting at 7. This year’s keynote address will be by the Honorable J. Robert Kerrey (Nebraska 1965), Former United States Senator and Governor of Nebraska.

Painting starts in the kitchen.  The kitchen will get a new stove and refrigerator.

The old ice room will house a new residential refrigerator, microwave and new ice machine.  Late plates and extra food will be stored in this room for guys to have access to in the evening.  The kitchen will remained locked when the cook is not present.

The 1964 stairwell has been painted and new railing installed.  Code requires new railings in both the 1964 and 1931 stairwells.

New hallway carpet in the 3rd floor of the 1931 building.

New doors have been installed.

The 3rd floor bathroom in the 1964 addition is ready for its final finishes.

New main electrical service panel — this feeds each of the subpanels on each floor.

All of the heating and cooling plumbing was redone.  The boiler room ceiling is almost fully covered in insulted pipes.

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We’re open…well…soon to be: the final month

Posted in 2nd old, 3rd new, carpet, dining room, drywall, fire sprinklers, livingroom, mechanical systems on July 14, 2011| 1 Comment »

The fire sprinkler main is open

Lots of progress this week – with dorm room furniture scheduled to be delivered on Friday, July 15 for the 1931 side.  The crews have been busy installing the fire sprinkler system (the item that started this entire project), HVAC equipment, carpet and paint.  Based on all known information at this point, the project is scheduled to be ready for the undergraduates to move in on August 15.

Inspections were approved to start finish work on the 1964 addition.  Drywall has been hung in the dining room, foyer, 2nd floor ceiling and 3rd floor.  Work continues on the bathroom.

The entire building will now enjoy central air.  The cooling equipment sits in the corner of the parking lot – where the ‘new’ and ‘old’ houses meet.  While this location is not ideal, it is the best solution that could be developed given the multiple factors that needed to be considered (including distance from the mechanical room and costs).  We were able to continue to use the boiler that was installed in 1997 for heat.

An individual ‘make-up’ air unit was installed for the kitchen.  This will provide both additional heat and air conditioning for this specific area of the chapter house.  The guys are going to have some cool cooks.   In addition, a new stove and refrigerator are on order for the kitchen.

The new AC has been installed on its pad.  While not ideal, this was the best of many not-so-good options.

Make-up air unit for the kitchen.  This will provide additional heating and cooling.

The living room has been primed with tinted primer.

The dining room has had drywall hung.

The housemother’s bedroom. Due to changes to the women’s restroom (will now be an ADA complain unisex restroom), the housemother’s bedroom gained much-needed, and I’m sure apprecaited, square footage.

Room 200 (formerly 200 and 201) carpet has been installed.  The camera continues not to do the actual colors justice.

Room 302 (formerly 303).

The 1964 addition has a little ways to go — this is taken in the study room of the new 309 (formerly 310 and 311), standing on the south wall — looking to the north.

The poor back lot took a beating and is scheduled to be paved next week.  The cement pad at the top of the photo is the location of the new transformer that will be installed next week as well.

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Carpeting starts

Posted in 2nd old, carpet, dining room, drywall, fire sprinklers, insulation, livingroom, mechanical systems on June 23, 2011| 1 Comment »

Carpet installed in room 300.A

The 1931 building final finishes continue – carpeting is being installed in sleeping rooms, the living room and basement drywall should be finished this week and the painter is scheduled to return next.  The plan is to refinish the 1st floor original hardwood floors after the painter is done.

As noted last week, the 3rd floor and roof of the 1964 addition did not meet current building codes.  A plan has been developed and approved to  install additional support beams – framing should begin next week.

Ceilings will be installed next week in the dining room and 2nd floor of the 1964 addition next week.

The project is on target for an August 15 finish date.

2nd ‘old’ bathroom — standing in the southwest corner (where the showers use to be) looking to the northeast.  Each bathroom will have two private shower stalls.

Drywall work continues in the living room and should finish this week.  Insulation was installed in the exterior walls.  The cove above the 2nd set of windows conceal the heating and air conditioning systems for rooms 200 and 201.

Workers install the ceiling system in the dining room.  The drywall can not be screwed directly to beams as that alters the structural integrity — so instead they screw the drywall to these channels — which also helps reduce sound transmitting from floor to floor.

The new fire sprinkler shut-off valve.

Doors will be installed to the 1964 addition fire escape. In addition, any window within 10 feet of the fire escape must be a fire-rated window. These non-operable windows have a wire mesh imbedded in the glass.  In the event of a fire, this would delay the window from breaking under — thus allowing the residents to safely exit the building using the fire escape.

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Is FIJI building a pool?

Posted in 2nd new, 2nd old, 3rd new, building codes, drywall, fire sprinklers, mechanical systems, paint, plumbing, tile, windows on June 16, 2011|

Passersby on R Street may be wondering what FIJI is doing with all the digging?  Is it a pool?  Nope.  Is it a ditch? Nope. Is it a moat? Nope (but I wish). It’s the primary reason this entire project started – fire sprinklers.  A dedicated water source is required for fire sprinklers and was installed this week. The fire sprinkler equipment will be located in the old bomb shelter.

The 1931 side of the house is nearing completion. The drywall crews moved to first floor and basement this week and painters have been to work on 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors.  The tile crew has finished the ‘old’ bathrooms.  The side of the house should be finished in the next few weeks.

The 1964 ‘new’ side – that’s another story. Third floor framing is currently on hold while the architect and structural engineer address existing structural concerns based on the original construction.

Next week ceilings will be installed on 2nd floor, new electrical service is being brought into the building and hopefully, the 3rd new framing will begin.

New windows have been installed in the 1964 addition.

Ceiling is up in the basement.  Fire code required the old exposed beams to be covered.

2nd ‘old’ bathroom — tile work is complete.

The entire house has new plumbing — this is take in the house mother’s living room — looking up to the plumbing for the 2nd old bathroom.

1931 building hallways have been painted.

Plumbing rough-ins have started on the 1964 addition — this is taken in the 2nd new bathroom — looking at the west wall (where the trash can use to sit). This will now be where the sinks are located.

Our trouble child – the 3rd floor of the 1964 addition — Now, I’m not a structural engineer – but it appears that the quite a bit of the roofing structure is resting on the interior walls.  This has caused challenges as the House Corporation changes the layout to the new suite style floor plan.  Stay-tuned on this one…

 

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Fire-rated windows arrive

Posted in 2nd new, 3rd old, basement, building codes, mechanical systems, plumbing, windows on June 9, 2011|

1st floor fire-rated window -- contains a wire mesh to prevent the window from breaking

When you start an extensive project – you expect there to be issues that will have to be addressed.  Sure, we knew there was asbestos that needed to go, fire sprinklers had to be installed even a few ADA issues that would need to be addressed – but, we did not know that we would have to install special windows on the fire escape. These fire-rated windows are specially designed to contain a fire inside the building. In addition to the new exit doors on each floor, these help ensure the safety of our Brothers in the event the building would need to be evacuated. Let’s just say, they cost a pretty penny – but, like the asbestos, it had to be done. 

New windows were installed in the 1964 addition on 2nd and 3rd floors. With these energy-efficient windows and all the new insulation, the chapter should save hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars each year in energy bills.  Last school year, the electricity bill ran between $1,000 to $1,400 a month and gas was $600 (without the boiler) to $3,000 (with boiler). It will be interesting to see how much these decrease.

Painting started on the 1931 side of the building this week.  All rooms are being painted the same color. To help keep the property looking nice for years to come, the house corporation is making several changes to the rental agreements – one of them being that undergraduate brothers will no longer be able to paint their room. 

The tile is down in both ‘old’ bathrooms and rough-in work continues in the ‘new’ bathrooms.

Rooms will be heated and air-conditioned using fan coil units, which arrived this week and will be installed on the 1931 side over the next few weeks.

New windows installed in the 1964 addition.  The 1st floor windows will go in next week.

A fire-rated window is ready to be installed in room 209 (was room 210).  Any window within 10′ of a fire escape must be fire-rated.

Painting has started in the 1931 building. This is room 300.A (north side of old room 300) and will be a sleeping room.
 
New windows in room 310 (was room 312).
 
Tile work is nearly done in the 3rd ‘old’ bath.
 
Rough-in’s continue in the ‘new’ bathrooms — this is 2nd new — standing at the door — looking to where the toilets use to be located.
Boxes of fancoils are stored in the dining room.
 
Bye-bye old door out of what was room B1 — it has now been bricked up. The stairs are scheduled to be removed when the new pad for the air conditioning equipment is poured.

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Finish work starts on the “old” side

Posted in 2nd new, 2nd old, 4th floor, history, kitchen, livingroom, mechanical systems, tile, windows on June 2, 2011|

Tile floor has been installed in the 3rd old bathroom

Finish work started on the “old” side of the build – old is in quotes, because after this project is compete both the old, 1931 building, and the “new,” 1964 addition, will be virtually the same.

Tile work started in the 2nd and 3rd old bathrooms, ceilings are done and painters should move in next week to start painting walls on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors of the old side of the chapter house.  Windows are also scheduled to be installed next week in the 1964 side of the building and the fire escape windows of the 1931 building.

The City of Lincoln will install a new water line to the building tomorrow for the fire sprinkler system.  The air conditioner compressor unit has arrived.  The 1964 chiller equipment was removed as part of this project. The old chiller has not worked for at least 20 years. The chiller room, located under the kitchen, will be used for storage.

Special thanks to Walter Gerlach (Nebraska 1958) for helping solve the mystery of the brass “More Phi Gam, Less Self” plaque that was found during demolition last February.  Brother Gerlach made two of these plaques (one for each door of the second and third floor bathroom) in the foundry located in the basement of Richards Hall.  One of the plaques has been mounted to an exterior column for the Undergraduate Brothers to see as they leave the house and to remind them of this fraternity creed. Thank you again Brother Gerlach for helping solve this mystery.

Windows will be installed next week on the 1964 addition.

Living room ceiling has been installed and will be finished next week.

Patch work will need to be done in the kitchen. Thankfully, the entire ceiling did not need to come down, just select areas to gain access to the heating system. The kitchen will also receive new appliances. If anyone wants to buy the old fridge (heck, if you want to get it out of there) drop the house corporation an email. It works fine, however, the bottom is starting to rust away.

Study area of room 200. The ceiling is done.

Room 210’s (formerly room 212) study area.  This room has two sleeping rooms of this shared area.

New windows in room 400 (formerly known as 4-North).

The study area of room 401 (formerly 4-South).  This is looking at the south wall of the chapter house.

Walls are going up in the new basement study room (formerly B1). The old stairs will blocked off.

All kinds of new pipes and pumps in the boiler room.

And, the new air condition compressor unit. This will be installed in the next few weeks.

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We’re rockin’

Posted in 2nd old, 3rd old, 4th floor, building codes, green building, insulation, lighting, mechanical systems on May 5, 2011|

Changes in the boiler room

As the undergraduates draw another year to a close, the project made progress this week. The insulation crews have been in and drywall is being installed. The project is slightly behind schedule as the City of Lincoln required and handfull of structural changes to bring the chapter house up to current building and safety codes. However, the project is still on schedule to be completed by August 15. Demolition begins on the 1964 addition on Monday, May 9.

The City required updates of the 1931 roofing structure. To accommodate the changes, the project was either going to have to remove and rebuild the entire roof to address venting issues or fill the roof structure with spray foam insulation. The second option was selected, even though it was a cost overrun of several thousand dollars, it was significant less than rebuilding the entire roof.

Insulation is also being installed on the second and third floor exterior and interior walls. The interior insulation will help keep the sound down between rooms, while the exterior insulation (including the spray-foam in the roof) will save the chapter funds on utilities for years to come – not to mention, make our building a little greener.

Recessed lighting is being used throughout the entire project. As these lights are recessed into the ceiling, it will be less likely they will be damaged and there will be no globes to break. For fire safety, the City required fire-proof covers to be installed around each fixture. These arrived and are being installed this week.

The mechanical contractor has stripped the boiler room of all the old pipes, tanks and pumps. The current boiler (installed in 1998) will be reused for the new fintube heating and air conditioning system using hot and chilled water. The old system used steam heat for the 1931 building and hot water for the 1964 addition. Switching to hot water for the entire system means it will cost significantly less to heat the chapter house, in addition to being simpler to operate.

Drywall has gone up in 3rd old. 

Interior and exterior insulation is being installed. This is a photo of standing in one of room 300’s bedrooms (approximate location is old 301) looking into the new room 301 (old 302). The interior insulation will help cut down on the sound transmission between rooms.

Spray foam insulation was installed in the attic last week, as required by the building codes. This photo is taken from south wall of the 4th floor looking into the room 401 (formerly known as 4-South).

Fire proof tents were installed around the new recessed light fixtures.

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Rough-ins nearly complete!

Posted in 2nd old, 3rd old, mechanical systems on April 7, 2011|

1964 electrical service -- will be replaced as part of the renovation

Most of the electrical, plumbing and fire sprinkler rough-ins in the 1931 building are complete. Unless you are into photographs of wires and pipes, there isn’t that much to see. Inspections, insulation and drywall should start next week.

This project will completely update all the electrical service in the building. The existing service of 600 amps is not sufficient for modern needs. The large electrical panels in the back of what was room B2 will be replaced, along with the sub panels on each floor.

Shower stalls have been installed in the 2nd and 3rd old bathrooms. The bathrooms will have a new layout. Each bathroom will have two private showers stalls with private dressing areas. The 2nd floor bathroom will have two private toilet stalls and the third floor will have a private toilet and urinal. The 1964 addition will have two showers, two toilets and a urinal in each bathroom. These will be done over the summer.

Taken in the southeast corner of what was B2 – this will become the buildings electrical service room and a new study center/computer lab.

3rd old bathroom — the showers stalls have been installed. 

Taken in the northeast corner of 2nd floor — looking into the new room 200. The electrical and plumbing rough-ins are nearly complete.

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Permit in hand!

Posted in 2nd old, 3rd old, basement, Demolition, mechanical systems on March 31, 2011|

Late last week we received our building permit from the City of Lincoln. This week the contractors are finishing up the electrical and plumbing rough-ins to allow for insulation and drywall can start next week.

More demo in the basement – what was known as B2 is now gone – the wall between the living area and the beds has been taken down. The far back part of the room will become the new electrical service room. The front part of the room will be a quiet study area and possibly a computer lab. The basement bathroom was cleared and will be replaced with new water-saving fixtures.

Individual shower stalls will be installed next week in the 2nd and 3rd old bathroom. Each bathroom will have two private shower stalls and a small dressing area.

The electrician has been busy installing can lights. The Board decided to use can lights in the rooms and hallways instead of traditional light fixtures. This will avoid the constant battle of replacing broken fixtures.

What was Room B2 — standing in the living room — looking to the south (the old electrical panels are on the wall).  A new wall will be put up in the back to serve as the electrical room.  The floor will be leveled where the beds use to be and this will be a new study/computer room.

Basement bathroom has been gutted.

New shower stalls.  These will be installed next week.

Can light in the new room 200.

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Windows are wonderful!

Posted in 2nd old, 3rd old, 4th floor, fire sprinklers, livingroom, mechanical systems, windows on March 24, 2011| 4 Comments »

New windows on the old side of the house.

Dramatic changes this week – new windows were installed on the north, east and west side of the 1931 building.  The new windows will significantly improve the energy efficiency of the chapter house.  The existing windows were installed decades ago and had outlived their useful life.  Many of old window vinyl tracks had degraded to the point where it was a battle to keep the windows closed.  New windows are being installed in the entire building – from the 4th floor to the basement.  

The windows on the south side have not been installed. Fire code requires that any window within 10 feet of a fire escape be fire-rated.  These windows cost nearly four times of what the regular windows cost.  And, because it is an old building, everything is a custom size.

In addition to fire-rated windows, openings were cut into the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floor to accommodate exit doors. Current fire code requires doors be used instead of the existing windows.

Fire sprinkler rough-ins have been installed.

Sleeping room furniture will be ordered this week.  The order includes 28 extra long twin bunk beds, 6 single beds, 3 lofted singled beds, 30 wardrobes, 30 dressers, 65 mattresses and 25 desks.  The items are built locally and will be delivered and installed in August.

Next week includes inspections of rough in electrical, mechanical and plumbing; insulating; and, starting drywall.

New windows on the east side of the building — next door to ATO.

West side of the house — new windows (and the old windows in the red dumpster).

South side of the building (like the bathroom?) — all of these windows will have to be fire-rated. On the left side of the photo — opening have been cut into the walls to accommodate new exit doors.

New windows in B2.  This will be one of the few three men rooms.

FIJI graffiti – it has been interesting what has been ‘found’ under the walls – including a “More PhiGam, Less Self” bronze plaque. This is in the area formerly known as B1.

2nd floor — will be room 200, looking south into the future room 201. 

New layout for the 2nd old bathroom — the metal walls will house individual shower stalls. The stools will be to the left.  This is taken standing on the south wall (where the sinks will be), looking north (the stairwell is behind the wall).

Standing in the educational area of the future room 300, looking north.

Laundry will move from the basement to 2nd and 3rd floors.  This is where the old sauna was located and will house a washer and dryer.

 The item that started this entire process — rough ins for the fire sprinkler (red pipe).  The Board of Regents has required all student housing (including greek housing) be sprinkled by 2017 — Phi Gamma Delta will be well ahead of the game on this issue.

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