Campus Construction Update, February 3, 2022

Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and Operations Matt Dull chats with University Communications' Dave Blanks about the construction progress for App State's New River Hall.

Transcript

Dave Blanks: Hey folks, how's it going? I'm Dave Blanks from University Communications back with a campus construction update. Matt Dull's back with me. Hey Matt.

Matt Dull: Hey hey, back in the studio.

Dave Blanks: Yep. It's good to have you back in the studio as always glad you're here on this very chilly January day.

Matt Dull: That's right.

Dave Blanks: 2022. It was like 11 degrees this morning.

Matt Dull: Yes.

Dave Blanks: Very cold.

Matt Dull: Yeah.

Dave Blanks: I'm not sure how things were out you way.

Matt Dull: About the same, yeah.

Dave Blanks: Probably similar. How's things on the construction site?

Matt Dull: Same thing, a little cold. There's a few things that we've kind of put a little pause to for a few weeks, if we get a little warmer weather. But for the most part, things are moving forward nicely. The hardest thing right now is roofing, right? We had a delay on this roof insulation material and just like everybody else, construction delays or material delays. The insulation is on site, we just got it last week. So great. That was kind of like the last big item we were kind of waiting on and not sure when it was going to come in. It came in last week, which is really exciting.

Dave Blanks: Great.

Matt Dull: But trying to do that roofing membrane, you put on top and fastening that and adhering that to that insulation, just these temperatures are just almost impossible to do that. So that, that process of actually putting on that roof membrane and really sealing up that at roof envelope system, that's up there. And that's probably going to be a couple weeks out just based on looking at the temperatures in the next few weeks. I think we've got snow coming this week, still in kind of the twenties and teens for a few weeks ahead.

Dave Blanks: Yeah, no heat waves on the horizon.

Matt Dull: No big heat waves on the horizon. So we'll be continuing to maintain a temporary roof up there, and then hopefully when we see a few warm weather days coming up, like we do get up here. That is the nice part about being in Boone. Yes, it gets cold, but you have those weird, "Hey, it's a random week in February and it's in the forties every day or fifties every day."

Dave Blanks: Yeah.

Matt Dull: Fifties every day. So looking for one of those weeks, coming up to be able to start doing the roof membrane up there.

Dave Blanks: Sounds good.

Matt Dull: That is a little bit on pause with this cold weather. Most of the things are really moving forward.

Dave Blanks: Where are they as far as inside the building and finishing it out in there?

Matt Dull: Yeah. Inside the building on the A wing that's that side of the building that's closest to Rivers Street.

Dave Blanks: Of course we're talking about New River, I think you said that.

Matt Dull: New River Hall, yeah.

Dave Blanks: I'm pretty sure.

Matt Dull: But the A wing really working from the top, working down. Really wrapping up most of the work on the top floor of that building. So most of the units are kind of done in that building. That's really basically ready for punch list. We'll start doing kind of a punch walk of that top floor and the A wing, I think in two weeks. The order that they do is they work on the rooms, get the rooms totally wrapped up and then work their way out into the corridors, into the hallways and get that kind of finalized. So once you've got everything kind of pulled to the rooms, the electrical, the plumbing, and all that. Then they work on putting in the ceiling grid. Where they're really working on the corridors on that top two levels of the A wing and really actually all the way down to the very bottom floor, really working. Really focusing now on the corridors and then doing kind of the contractor punch, if you will, right?

Matt Dull: They need to go through and do their own kind of punch list and get things really ready for us, as the owners, to walk through the building and make sure everything's in good shape. So that's really most of the A building is fairly far along and really ready over the next month to month and a half for a punch walk with the university to walk through and do a walk of that building. So that wing of the building is fairly complete. Of course, as you move down, there's a little bit more work that has to be done in terms of getting it ready to do for that final walk.

Matt Dull: On the B side of the building. That's the side that's up towards where Gardner and Coltrane was, we're really wrapping up work at the top floor. As you go down, they're really working on more of the finishes in the restrooms, bathroom areas, toilet rooms, showers, putting in countertops sinks. Some of the flooring in the units that LVT flooring that goes in there. As you get all the way to that bottom floor on that B wing B they are getting ready to put in drywall.

Matt Dull: So everything is really drywall from the second floor all the way up that bottom first floor of the B wing. They're doing cover up inspections this week. So that's where they're going through. And before we start putting drywall up everywhere, making sure you've had the electrical and plumbing and all the mechanical inspected before you start covering it up with the drywall.

Dave Blanks: Right.

Matt Dull: So that's going on this week. Drywall installation will start next week. So really in the next two to three weeks, all of that significant drywall work will be done across the whole building. And they'll really focus kind of that drywall work at the very common area in the bottom floor, the core of the building. They work kind of both wings, the residential part, and then they finally kind of all merge on the common spaces, the offices, and that kind of stuff that in the building last. That'll be kind of towards the end of February working on there.

Matt Dull: We've got most of the windows in. We've got about 16, 17 windows that we're still waiting on glass. Again, talking about construction delays.

Dave Blanks: Right.

Matt Dull: Those windows are totally framed up, now we've got insulation board in there so we can kind of keep working on the rooms, but still waiting on the glass to come in. So probably another few weeks out from getting the last bit of the glass into the buildings. The Burke Masonry is about 75% done on the building. So good part of the way is done on that building. Some of the brick cleaning is going on as weather kind of warms up, you have a warm day to kind of get in there and pressure wash and get the brick cleaned up. Really trying to get focused on getting that front facade or front elevation of the building that is closest to river street, make sure really making sure all the details and everything is done on that.

Matt Dull: Right now, there's this almost like driveway that goes around the front of the building, we're using the lifts and that kind of stuff to work on the building. That actually will go away, and that whole front slope will get re-sloped. And there's not going to be that big flat area like there's there now. That'll get res sloped all the way down from the building down to that retaining wall that's right next to Garwood Hall. So it'll get really more sloped there instead of stairstep down like it is right now.

Dave Blanks: Gotcha.

Matt Dull: So really trying to get everything finished on that wall so that way they can start taking out that driveway and really getting that grade final. Then that is really ready for landscaping and that kind of stuff when the weather kind of mellows out.

Dave Blanks: Yeah.

Matt Dull: Gets a little warmer than what it is right now.

Matt Dull: There's four elevators in the building. Elevators one and two are pretty much complete. They'll move into a testing phase as we get closer to opening the building. But they're pretty much complete. Elevators three and four, which are on the B side of the building, they probably have another six or seven weeks worth of work. Still pretty good schedule wise. But most of that is moving along nicely.

Dave Blanks: They won't be approved by Cherie Berry.

Matt Dull: They won't be approved by Cherie Berry.

Dave Blanks: It's Cherie actually. Did you know that? Did you know that's how you say her name? I saw interview with her talking about her name, or she was just like, "Hi, I'm Cherie Berry." And I was like, "What? No way. You are not. Ma'am. Excuse me." No, but there's the new-

Matt Dull: There's the new department of labor secretary in town.

Dave Blanks: That's right.

Matt Dull: It's not Cherie Berry.

Dave Blanks: I don't know, but maybe he'll give his approval.

Matt Dull: That's right.

Dave Blanks: I'm sure he will.

Matt Dull: Yeah. I mean, for the most part things are moving along nicely. Most of the electrical work is done throughout the building. The fire pump, which pressurizes the sprinkler system and that kind of stuff in the building, that's mostly wrapping up. Our steam room that helps provide, we use steam for heating the building and heating hot water in the building. That room is shaping up nicely and work continues there.

Matt Dull: So yeah, things are moving along nicely. A lot of the mechanical systems are now getting to where they're actually being installed. Things are moving along well. And now that that roof is here, there's not really any significant material supply delays left. There's a few smaller things that we're waiting on, but for the most part, things have really kind finally gotten here. So we're able to kind of keep moving forward and still have plenty of time to get things finished.

Dave Blanks: Most excellent. Thanks for coming by Matt, we'll do it again.

Matt Dull: Absolutely. Thanks Dave.