Gravel Fill, Duct Bank Work

Stone back fill was poured around the five storm water septor tanks. The stone allows the water to disperse slowly back into the ground.



This is a view from above looking down at the tanks. In the forefront of the shot the rebar located at the southwest portion of the pavilion. A concrete slab will be poured here for what will become the pavilion floor.



Additionally, electrical duct bank work was done this week. This provides electrical service from the street to the transformer pad located at the south side of the building under the future parking deck. Concrete will be poured between the Styrofoam forms seen here to encase the electrical conduit.

Water Tanks Installed, Mockups Fabricated

This week, five storm water septor tanks were installed on site. The tanks will collect drainage from the roof and parking deck so the run off doesn't super charge the water system in the street and cause flooding. These tanks, by design, will slowly disperse water bank into the soil.




Form work for stairwell at the North end of the building continued. The hole seen here is from the original structure and will be filled in with concrete. The carpenter seen here is working on the forms.



12x16 Mockup panels were fabricated and are on display for the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) to display samples of the Alucabond Panels that will cover the exterior of the building as well as the windows. The mock ups will give the BRA an idea of the look and color of the completed building. They will be stay on site for the duration of the project.



A view from Dorchester Ave.

Stairwell Formwork

Crews completed the water proofing and ground insulation (seen here in blue) on the pavilion foundation and foundation wall of the first floor.

The concrete seen in the foreground of this picture (bottom right) is a retaining wall, which will carry a section of the parking deck and will retain backfilled earth.

This week, carpenters worked on additional forms for a future stairwell located at the front of the building (Dorchester Ave.)



Here is a shot from the front of the building before construction began.



This is what the front of the building looks like today:


In the coming week, crews will continue formwork, specifically at the site of the future loading dock.

Photo Slideshow - Concrete

Formwork, Concrete Pour Continues

Placement of concrete continued this week and will continue next week.



Crews continued concrete work in the pavilion section of the Carpenters Center.


The laborer on the left in this picture is pouring concrete (from the pump truck slightly visible in the background) into the forms.


Carpenter Sean Patrick Abraham, Local 275, works on the forms.

In addition to the concrete work, the plumber has started the under slab drain lines and will continue into the coming weeks.

Water proofing of the new foundations and back fill will begin next week. Other projects scheduled to begin are the installation of brace frames on the first floor and added steel to the under side of the second floor in preparation for construction of the second and third floors.

Video Update

Formwork and Concrete Pour

With the crushed stone poured and the ground graded, crews working for S. & F. Concrete began form work this week. Footings and steel reinforcing bar, also known as rebar, were put in to place (pictured below).

If a material with high strength in tension, such as steel, is placed in concrete, then the composite material, reinforced concrete, resists compression but also bending, and other direct tensile actions. A reinforced concrete section where the concrete resists the compression and steel resists the tension can be made into almost any shape and size for the construction industry. (Wikipedia.com)

In this picture, Foreman for S. & F. Concrete Gifford Lawrence, Local 624, works on the support system for the concrete forms. He uses the sledgehammer to drive a strongback, which helps maintain vertical alignment.



The forms, the red steel in the picture above, have plywood faces. The plywood is sprayed with a releasing agent. When the concrete is set, metal clamps are released that keep the structure in place and the forms are removed, cleaned and reused.

The concrete was poured this afternoon.

For an interesting article on developments in concrete check out this NY Times article.