Well, after many, many trips to Holton, Kansas, the Southview Apartments of Holton renovations are complete.  There was so much work and the repairs were so extensive, I thought it’d take forever.  We’re grateful to the General Contractor for keeping a timely schedule and we’re happy with the relationships we’ve built along the way.  Look for pictures soon to appear in our portfolio!

This one photograph shows the difference between old and new.  It’s a dramatic difference!

Moving through the phasing of the project, we’re quickly approaching the end of the project.  The first building to approach completion is the 300 building.  A single story, two bedroom arrangement, the 300 Building sat empty for the longest period as the tenants dwindled and the project got started.  Because of it’s vacancy, it was in the worst shape.  As you can see from this weeks photos, you’d never be able to tell!  This building is beautiful and ready for occupancy.  We plan to have this one ready for move-in at the beginning of August with the 200 and 400 Buildings following closely behind.  The finishes are bright, the kitchen is new and the building looks great, inside and out.

Well, summer is finally here and the exterior work is well underway.  We’re heading toward being done with the 200, 300 and 400 buildings first.  The 300 Building, being only one story, is completely sided and is finishing up the trim work.  Inside, the walls are painted and some of the flooring is starting to be installed.  The new mechanical and plumbing fixtures are in and hooked up.  Windows are clean and the doors are ready to be hung.  Interior hardware was chosen and confirmed yesterday, too.

You’ll notice on the exterior photo of the 400 building (2 story) a comparative view of the new siding profile and trim dimension as opposed to what’s being replaced.  The wider dimension and stark contrast is really making quite a difference.  At the horizontal band, we’ll be moving from the darker color to a lighter color, so actually, the photo is a fairly good example of what’s going to happen with the color.  You can see the change in color at the eave end of the 300 building in the other picture.  Be looking forward to seeing some finished interiors by this time next month!

Visiting Southview Apartments today was good. We’ve finally crossed the threshold of “moldy” and entered “construction.” In the 200, 300 and 400 buildings, there is no mold smell anymore and that’s amazing compared to where we were just six weeks ago.  When we had  the exterior wall finishes off, you could really see how wet the framing had been. There were also signs on the exterior boxing of wood rot at window corners and wall intersections. We have patched all those places with new boxing.

The 200 building is the furthest along and the first floor exterior walls have their blown-in insulation installed as you can see in the pictures above. The insulator was in the 300 building today and it was interesting to watch him work. He first covers the stud space with a fabric and staples it profusely from sill plate to bearing plate and to each stud in between.  The fabric comes in rolls that are cut to fit.  Next the insulator creates a small slit at waist height just large enough for the hose to be inserted and he blows-in the fiberglass first toward the bottom and then from the top to meet again at the fabric opening.  It’s an interesting process and they’re pretty quick.

Lastly, all the sump pumps and dehumidifiers and their associated alarms have been installed in 200, 300 and 400. The alarm units are place in the commons closet on the first floor of each building.  They are all direct plugged to electricity but have battery back-ups in the event of power failure.  It’s clear they’re doing their job!

On the horizon, we will be seeing the drywall hanging and finishing in the 200 building as well as some vinyl flooring installation.  The siding representative from James Hardie, Inc. will be on-site Friday for a pre-installation conference with the General Contractor.  Carpet has been ordered.  Cabinet layout and finish is being finalized.  Everything is moving along for the 200, 300 and 400 buildings.

Lastly, the 100 and 500 and buildings, which are still partially inhabited, are going to be the last units completed along with the Clubhouse.  More to come.  Please follow along and feel free to comment!

The alarms have been installed in the 200 and 400 buildings as they are completed.  The alarms, part of the waterproofing contract, are an auditory alert to the building tenants and management that one of the sump pumps have failed.  These alarms are plugged into 110v outlets in the main storage closet under the stairs at each building.  They have a back-up battery system in case the electricity should fail.  They sound much like a residential smoke alarm would.

By the way, the plywood backer is temporary until the closet gets finished out during the rebuild.

You’ve heard the expression, “what a difference a day makes.”  Well let me tell you, we may have taken more than one day, but the results are amazing.  The 200 building is nearing it’s completion. It’s a transformation that I just couldn’t picture before the work started.  The membrane is in and it’s a white wonderland!  The sump pump alarms were being wired in today and the dehumidifiers are on their way.  Three hundred building is finally drying, with the additional tile and gravel in.  Four hundred building is next to complete.

The next couple of weeks will see the Clubhouse getting it’s makeover started and the 300 building finishing up.  We have above ground work gearing up and you’ll start to see pictures of the demolition of exteriors and interiors as that process takes off.

On the bright side, spring is edging it’s way closer and closer each week.  Three visits now have seen sunny days.  All the snow that Holton has gotten this winter (average annual snowfall is 20.7 inches) is starting to melt and give way to the first shoots of fescue.  We might even see the 60’s again for the first time since November of 2009!

This Wednesday’s site visit saw the completion of one of the crawlspaces with another following closely behind.  When looking under the floor, the super white membrane offers a very clean, bright environment.  All the seams are triple taped and and sealed against the concrete wall.

We also met with the General Contractor and Superintendent to schedule the continued work after the crawlspace encapsulation is complete.  In the coming weeks, we’ll start to see the progress on the interior and exterior of the apartment buildings.  Stay tuned…

Today’s site visit saw the beginnings of the insulation and encapsulation installation.  Whew!  Big words.  Anyway, using a bubble-type closed air insulation material, the sub-contractor is installing the perimeter stem wall insulation that drapes down onto grade while, at the same time, counterflashing the installation with the membrane.  This will all be covered and sealed with a final layer of membrane that will complete the installation.  These pictures are from the 200 Building.