With progress rapidly rolling, the roofing showed up on site today.  The green shingles, which is a mainstay color of all the projects, is a stark contrast to the neutral of the lumber.  The tower framing is nearing completion and the main transformer is getting fed today.  With windows and doors scheduled to complete this week, we should be able to start interior drywall as well as having progress meetings in the building.  That’s nice, because the job trailer is getting a little crowded.  Enjoy the pictures.

I love the repetitive look of wood framing.  The angles and move together in harmony and the shadows they create are wonderful to watch.  I’d leave the framing just that way, if I could, just because it’s cool.  Meanwhile, the building continues to take shape.  The framing crew is doing a remarkable job bringing the building to life.   When I built the first of these, I thought it was gigantic.  Now?  It looks normal.  Beautiful spring days are upon us and the pace continues.

Around the building we have the final grading for the asphalt base course in the front parking area.  Light pole bases are in and the all underground utilities have been run to the building.  The transformer is set and the building will be electrified when it’s “dried in.”  Sheathing will continue through the next day or two and the roofing, both flat and shingles, will follow.  Windows and doors aren’t far behind.  Meeting Wednesday.  Keep checking back for updates!

Okay, it might be a little hard to imagine right now, but with framing moving along at a blistering pace, despite the recent rains, the building is starting to take shape.  The limited amount of steel we do employ was being set today to give “bones” to the entry tower.  Porches are starting to grow from the classrooms and the pad for the transformer is poured.  It’s easy to to get a sense of the scale of the indoor play space and the amount of sunlight that will come streaming through the large west facing windows.

Large volumes are always fun and I wish more often than not, that they wouldn’t be covered with mechanical systems and lay-in ceilings.  Sometimes, though, just knowing what they used to be is enough to smile on the inside.  If you get a chance to drive by, please do.  It’s a wonderfully fast project to watch and the restaurants in the area are full of good, authentic Mexican food.

Sometimes wood framing doesn’t seem very dramatic, but it’s a superstructure anyway!  Our project schedule is flowing along nicely now and the framers are doing a “bang up” job giving the building it’s legs.  Verticality is always exciting to watch and the foot traffic by the site, especially by the children at the library’s day care next door, is growing daily.  I have several pictures but the ones that are most interesting are of the wood framed storm shelter.  While not being FEMA approved direct impact storm shelters, they are nevertheless hardened rooms that have a wall section construction that protects the occupants from flying debris.  You can see in these series of pictures the decreased dimension between wall studs and ceiling joists.  You’ll also notice anchor bolts at 12″ on center as well as uplift straps at each doubled stud/joist intersection.  I wonder how much these particular room weighs in reference to materials, to the standard building wall section?

Lastly, who can tell me the name of the piece of equipment shown?

We’re moving right along at 2665 N. Arkansas.  The slabs are poured and the framers have taken over.  Being an all wood structure (with the exception of the tower, which we’ll see later) it goes up very quickly.  The job site is clean and roomy and the neighboring child care program the Library operates loves having a front row seat!