projects
CCMHS New Principal’s Office
Existing Media Room Office
During the construction of the new vestibule entrance at the Culver Community Middle High School, we were asked to duplicate the existing office in the former Media Room for a new Principal’s Office. This was a change order to the original project, but the goal was to keep it on a similar time line. The old office, shown to the right, was constructed using a block lower wall with hollow metal window frames in the upper area. The wire glass windows in the existing office are mostly obsolete technology at this time. Appropriate for the long term and reasonable to do during new construction in 1991, this proved to be an expensive add-on with long lead times and multiple trades involved.
New Aluminum & Glass Principal’s Office
We worked with the School to provide a better solution. The new Principal’s Office, shown to the left, has been constructed with a wood stud and drywall lower wall, dark bronze store front aluminum framing and an aluminum & glass door. It mimics the layout of the old office, but gives a more modern look. As a bonus, it was something that could be constructed quicker and at a savings of thousands of dollars. The office as pictured is nearly complete, lacking only the installation of a few of the window panes to wrap it up. We were pleased we could help with this solution.
Damore Amphitheater Completion
Ginny Munroe, Town Council President, making a dedication speech at the Ribbon Cutting for the Damore Amphitheater
July 12th Culver held a dedication ceremony and the inaugural concert at the Damore Amphitheater. This is a project that we completed earlier in June. This Spring was challenging, with our pre-construction meeting being held with snow on the ground, but despite that, we were able to complete the project with minimal delays. FH Deck and Landscaping did great work placing the stones and completing the landscape work. In house we completed wiring and assembly of the pergola structure. The site was designed by Mike Reese with Troyer Group.
Inaugural Concert at Damore Amphitheater
The cold start this year made it difficult to get the plants in place as all of nurseries were behind. The original design called for hydroseeding parts of the site, but again, they were behind so we ended up donating additional sod to the project. Then it turned hot just as everything was completed. It was a challenge going forward to keep things watered, but the except for a few brown patches of sod, everything looked good for the grand opening.
This was one of the projects from the 2016 Stellar Communities application that Culver was able to move forward without Stellar. This is a project that received funding from IHCDA and Marshall County Community Foundation. That made room for other things in the 2017 application. The separate funding of this project and the advancement of the Sand Hill Farm apartment project, both outside Stellar, contributed to our Stellar Designation in 2017.
Hopefully the Town will be able to start scheduling performances here and make the site a destination. We’re proud of our part in bringing this project to fruition.
Damore Amphitheater – Boulders Arrive
Some of the boulders arrived on site last week. Here are a few of them staged and ready to place. Unfortunately there are four truckloads waiting for trucks to deliver them. The quarry is struggling to find transportation to make their deliveries. Our supplier is chasing options and we hope to have the rest of the materials on site soon. FH Deck has already completed most of the demolition on site. We have completed the electrical demolition in the Beach Lodge in preparation for connections to the new pavilion too. We should be ready to rock and roll (pun intended) once the rest of the stone arrives.
Young Amphitheatre
This isn’t the only outdoor amphitheater project Easterday Construction has built in Marshall County. In 1995 we built the Plymouth Performing Arts Center which later became the William and Mary Young Amphitheater on Randolph Street in Plymouth’s Centennial Park. That facility has become instrumental in bringing live entertainment to Plymouth and has been an enhancement to the Blueberry Festival. No doubt the new Damore Amphitheater will have a similar effect on Culver’s summer performing arts offerings and should be an enhancement to Lake Fest each year.
Damore Amphitheater – Preconstruction Meeting
We had the preconstruction meeting for the Damore Amphitheater this morning. We had all the staking completed and the tiers painted on the grass… but the paint didn’t show up too well through the snow! (See Right) Happy April!!! Not exactly the way we wanted to start the project…
The timelike on this calls for completion by Memorial Day. Despite the snow fall Mother Nature so rudely dropped on us today, we should still be good to go for that. There may be some plantings that stretch that date if the nurseries can’t open, but it’s too soon to be pessimistic about that. We have most of our orders placed and should be good to go with all of the hardscape.
Conceptual Drawing
FH Decks and Landscaping, Inc. will be our major subcontractor on this project, completing the earthwork, stone work and landscape installation. We wanted to keep this project local and were happy that it turned out that way.
This project was part of Culver’s Stellar Communities application in 2016, but through fundraising and other grants, Culver was able to move forward on this project without Stellar. This was done through IHCDA’s Patronicity program. That made room for other project funding in the 2017 Stellar application. Thanks go to the Damore family stepping up as the lead sponsor. Their leadership was invaluable.
Simple Sound Proofing
I’ve been remiss on posting tips lately. There has been a lot going on! With the construction underway on the Sand Hill Farm apartments, I thought I would share a few simple sound proofing solutions we are using on this project. Most of these are green solutions as well as sound proofing.
2′ Stud Spacing:
First, we have used 2′ spacing on studs wherever possible. On the green side, every stud removed from the project is a savings of cost and and material. Literally hundreds of studs were removed from the project through this reduction of studs as well as doing things like using California Corners. Sound travels more easily through hard surfaces. By eliminating the number of studs we’ve eliminated the sound transfer points. On the exterior, this has the other benefit of allowing more insulation. Just as the studs transfer sound, they are more efficient at transferring heat. Every stud removed is one less heat transfer point as well. That stud space is filled with insulation. We are using 2×6 exterior wall framing which allows for additional insulation.
On the inside, it is more directly sound transfer. We have continued to use 2′ centers wherever possible. This helps sound transfer throughout the building.
Staggered Stud Walls
In the walls between the units we are not only using 2′ centers, but we are using a staggered stud wall. This is done by using 2×6 top and bottom plate and then staggering the studs from one side to the other every 12″. In the picture to the left, you can see the green (treated) 2×6 base plate and the staggered 2×4 studs attached to it. This effectively give you 2′ centers on each side and reduces the direct connection for sound transfer to the top and bottom plates. We will then weave sound batt insulation between the studs for additional sound deadening. There are a few exceptions where a 2×6 column is required, but in the majority of these adjoining unit walls, the staggered stud configuration is continuous.
Open Web Floor Trusses
The floor trusses between the first and second floor are open web trusses. Using open web trusses reduce those hard service transfer points that you would have with standard dimension lumber or even with I-joist. The other advantage to the trusses is we can increase the spacing from the standard 16″ spacing used for solid wood to 19.2″ on centers. Sound batt insulation will be placed between the trusses to further reduce sound transfer.
Sound Channels
Before the drywall is installed on the ceilings, we are installing sound dampening channels. These are Z shaped channels that run perpendicular to the floor trusses. The changes the hard surface connection to just the 3-4 square inches at each channel to truss connection. The Z shape of the channel allows some minimal flex which again will absorb some sound.
5/8″ Drywall Walls
Normal residential construction would have 1/2″ drywall on the walls and 5/8″ drywall on the ceilings. We are using 5/8″ drywall throughout. The additional mass will not only provide a more durable surface when spanning the 2′ stud spacing, but it will also help reduce sound transfer.
Sound dampening Underlayment
All of the floors on the second floor will be laminate. This was chosen after talking to several realtors. The number of people having allergy issues has increased and this has increased the popularity of hardwoods and laminate floors. Hardwood floors tend to transfer sound though. Laminates reduce that. We have chosen a laminate plank flooring that will simulate a hardwood look, but absorb more sound. In addition to this, using this material allows us to put down a sound dampening underlayment beneath the laminate planks adding one more layer of sound protection. This system has the added benefit of being nearly impermeable to water.
