Campus Construction

[Boomer]

Any projected time for the finishing of the latest dorm area???? What about some sketches of the Village area and the student union------How cool ---get on your bike and go to Work out at Bourgeois Hall going along the bike trail---finish up and bike back to the dorm and walk on over to the Union for whatever in the different restaurants, cafes, and coffee houses or bars I guess!!!! We need to have a Massive recruiting effort this Spring for all high school, JUCO, and even college transfers----its gonna be nice!!!!

[locoguano]

Time for me to quit teaching and go back to school!

[HelmutVII]

Finishing touches on Huger Hall are done furniture is moved in and waiting for Students to move in for the spring Semester. Landscaping continues along with construction of the common area.

View of Huger from Taft Tulane intersection. Landscaping along Taft and Tulane is finished.



Common area construction. Baker is on the right Hamilton Hall is to the rear.




More Common area construction. Huger is to the left, Hamilton is to the rear.



Orphaned PhD.



Typical Aluminum downspout on Huger Hall



Typical ALL COPPER DOWNSPOUT on Hamilton Hall. If the average person knew this was copper it wouldn't be there long. Copper was the typical gutter and downspout material when the WPA buildings were built.

[HelmutVII]

Some examples of waterproofing in new construction.

This is how they are waterproof the below grade foundation of the new buildings. The bricks will be placed on a brick ledge at the bottom of the black membrane. The membrane is continuous up the wall an on to the bottom of the OSB sheeting of the exterior wall. Any water that may penetrate the brick does not go into the foundation and then into the wall. Any trade that needs to penetrate the exterior wall needs to do it above the black membrane. I saw a guy cutting the material and applying it today Jan 1, 2012. The red pipe to the left is a fire line Post Indicator Valve for the fire sprinkler system. It indicates open or closed and should never be closed unless the fire line is being tested or maintained. (It's connected to a fire alarm and the alarm should go off it it's closed)



This is a weep hole above a typical Window on Huger Hall. Any moisture that accumulates between the brick and the wood stud wall has a chance to evaporate through this hole.



Caulking, below sill weep hole and below sill flashing under a window on Huger Hall. Any water or moisture that enters the wall around the window is forced to exit at the weep hole by the flashing (the white material showing at the first brick course below the window sill). The sill is a one piece precast element as apposed to a brick rowlock.



An at grade weep hole in the brick wall of Huger. There are hundreds of these around the building and should be at or about the level of the high point of the black membrane shown in the first photo above.

[HelmutVII]

Second floor framing continues on the first Rose Garden residence Hall. The concrete slab and foundation of the second Rose Garden residence hall can be seen in the foreground.



First floor framing of the second Rose Garden residence Hall has started.



Concrete slab and foundation of the second Rose Garden residence hall was placed on the evening of December 27 into the morning of December 28.




A "pull gap" for the post tension concrete foundation. The short rods are standard No 4 rebar while the long rods are not rods but steel cable. They will attach a hydraulic jack to the cable and pull them tight to force the concrete into compression. The tension is placed in the cable "post concrete placement" hence a "Post tensioned concrete slab and foundation". They have to have a pull gap because the foundation is too big.

[Turbine]

HelmutVII you are the best.

Thanks

[njustice]

I love reading this thread. It's fascinating!

[CajunAmos]

I can follow most of your descriptions, but what's the purpose of putting tension on the concrete slab?

[HelmutVII]

I can follow most of your descriptions, but what's the purpose of putting tension on the concrete slab?

As concrete cures (hardens) it shrinks for various reasons. In a foundation, the footings are thicker than the slabs and as a result the footings don't move. So as the concrete shrinks the only place for it to move is in the slab because it's thinner (typically four to five inches) resulting in cracks. This is objectionable for many reasons and it is best to keep the cracks to a minimum. The post tension cables are anchored on one edge of the concrete while the other end has a wedge shaped thimble cast into the edge. The cable is in a plastic sheath to keep it from bonding to the concrete. After the concrete has set for a few days they will place a hydraulic jack on the thimble end of the cable and pull it tight. They then force a wedge into the cast in place thimble to grab onto the cable. They then release the cable. They do this twice to get the full benefit of the cable. (if they did it all at once or to soon the concrete would not be strong enough to withstand the force of the cable). The result is that the concrete slab and foundation are pulled together by the tension in the cable. When this happens any cracks that may have developed are pulled together. Imagine a very strong rubber band pulling the concrete together. The result is the cable is in tension and the concrete is in compression with a net result of minimizing cracks that have developed and eliminating any future cracks.

If you watch it being done, and don't know what they are doing, it is quite perplexing. The number one thing to remember if you are in the area when they are doing this is to not stand in line with the cable. If the cable or the anchor would happen to break, that cable will shoot out of that concrete like a cannon ball. This is one of the main disadvantage of post tension foundations. Imagine a plumber or electrician breaking into the floor to make a future repair and unknowingly cuts one of the cables. It could very well kill them at worse or at best scare the hell out of them.

I hope this answers your question.

[CajunAmos]

Thanks

[HelmutVII]

Students started to move into Huger Hall today. Some were relocating form Harris and Randolph. One girl was not to happy about moving out of Randolph as you could see it on her face.

They have trimmed and mulched under the oak tress along Tulane Avenue. They look much better. Huger is to the rear. Hamilton is to the right and Tulane Ave. is to the left.



The common area between Baker and Huger. Huger is to the right and Baker is to the left. Hamilton Hall is to the rear.



The rear of Huger Hall. Baker is to the rear of the camera.



The rear of Baker Hall. Huger is to the rear of the camera.

[RedTails]

Looks great, thanks for all the pictures Helmut.