The CMU you see going up will form most of the interior walls and these walls are structural, load bearing walls.  Most of the structural steel has been placed.  The steel subcontractors are working on installing and welding in place the supportive "bridges" and securing the roof trusses and beams to the metal ledger.   

You will notice the metal framing has also begun.  The walls will be sheet rock on the inside and the exterior walls will be EIFS, which looks like stucco but wears better and a brick veneer to match the existing campus buildings. 

The pitched portions of the roof will be standing metal in a color called "galvalume".  The areas you see being covered with metal right now will have insulation added and then the galvalume will be placed on top of this.  The classroom area on the north side (highway side) are being roofed first with a substance called tectum.  This is like a "roofing material sandwich" and the pieces include the interior ceiling finish (white, sound absorbing fiber), insulation, and then the basic roof decking.  On Tuesday, March 2nd, we will have the roofing pre-construction meeting and then the roofers will begin installing the roofing material.

The area of the gym space will have a TPO membrane roofing material.  There will be few roof penetrations, only those necessary for ventilation and such, and the heating/cooling units will be located on the ground in most cases.  The insulation under this TPO membrane roof will have some slope, so it will not "pond" when we have rain. 

The tower is completed and will be a design focal point of the Fort.  This will have windows in it to allow light to enter.  You will also notice the clerestory windows in the hallways to allow light as well. The targeted completion for the Fort is the first of October 2009.

 

We are entering the general design overview for Phase II, which is the remodeling of the high school, replacing the HVAC in the New Gym and addressing some of the other facility updates in those buildings.  The scope of work for this is completed and we've issued an RFP for the selection of a construction manager at risk. This is a the second of a three-step process to select a general contractor who will work with the school staff, architect, and our regional manager from PSFA (Ovidiu Viorica) to get the construction documents completed.  This next week, on March 5th, we will conduct interviews with contractors who are finalists. This Phase 2 construction will take about $3,000,000.  We are optimistically planning on beginning the remodeling of the High School building in July of 2009.

 

This spring we will be providing an update to the Public School Capital Outlay Council (PSCOC) about our use of Phase I and Phase II funds and to request additional funding for Phase III.  The final construction phase will be to address the needs of the middle school building, elementary building, parking lot and bus drop off areas, and the demolition of the Old Gym. 

 

Mrs. Miller

3/1/2009