Construction Update 08/24/2020

New Tower. There is lots of activity on the tower rooftop where curbs are being set around the periphery and roofing is being installed to prevent incursion of water. In the sub-basement and fifth floor plasterboard drywall is being installed. This has had to wait until now because drywall and dampness are a bad combination. Last week a large air conditioning/dehumidifying unit was temporarily located on the east side of Daniels along Mills Street to dry the lower floors of the tower. From across University Avenue, none of this activity can be seen, and our new building is an imposing but handsome new addition to campus architecture.

Construction Building Update

Chemistry Learning Center. The CLC is now ready for business in the Medical Sciences Center (MSC). Office supplies needed by the CLC staff have been moved to the MSC location and plans have been made for access to the new CLC space that will allow students to enter and leave the area safely. It is not yet clear how many students will be able to interact in person with CLC staff this fall, but the facilities are now ready for the staff to work there if and when their work can be done safely.

Construction Building Update

Fire Protection. Sprinkler installation on Mathews first floor is complete and the Mathews first floor is now open. Work will begin in the Daniels sub-basement on August 31 and continue through September 23.

Work required by a mid-course improvement in the fire-protection design involves brief closures of certain floors in Daniels, Mathews, and Shain. On these floors labs must be prepared for work on the fire alarms (not the sprinkler pipes). Here is the schedule for this work:

8th floor Shain               August 19 – 25:
7th floor Shain               August 26 – September 1
5th floor Shain               September 2 – 8
6th floor Mathews         September 9 – 11
5th floor Mathews         September 14 – 16
4th floor Mathews         September 17 – 18

Preparing labs for this work involves removing hazards:

  1. Remove chemicals, glassware, and general clutter from lab benches
  2. Remove all items from drying racks
  3. Remove clutter from aisles

The mid-course improvements have already been incorporated in fire alarm work done on the sixth floor and floors below the fifth floor of Shain, so no further work is required on those floors.

Stairwell Construction. A construction crew has completed drilling holes in stairwell landings so that they can install vertical riser pipes for the fire sprinkler system. Drilling and riser installation are both complete in the north Daniels stairwell. Work has already begun on riser installation in the west Mathews stairwell and will move to the east Mathews stairwell (floor SB-7) and south Daniels stairwell (floor 6-9) as soon as possible. Riser installation is expected to be complete on lower floors before undergraduates re-enter the building and on all floors by September 11. The southeast Daniels stairwell connecting floors B,1,2 and stairwells in Shain tower are not affected.

The construction crew will work inside the stairwell, although it may be necessary for them to be in the corridor immediately outside the stairwell from time to time. Please do not use a stairwell if the crew has posted notices / cones / hazard tape.

Construction will disrupt the pattern of ‘up’ and ‘down’ stairwells imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. You may need to use an alternate route or use the elevators. If you must use a stairwell in the direction opposite the preferred direction, try to ensure that someone isn’t coming in the opposite direction during the time that you are in the stairwell, or step out of the stairwell, into the corridor, to allow someone to pass.

In an emergency, avoid the stairwell under construction and use any other available stairwell, regardless of direction.

Loading-Dock Area. Storm sewer work in the loading-dock area is now complete and did not require any Interruption of deliveries.

This information is up to date as of Monday morning. Email bulletins will be provided as needed.

We are indebted to Gerald David and Miron Construction for photographs in this report.

John Moore and Bob McMahon