KEC Week 15

[foundation wall at greenhouse transition]

Over the past few weeks good progress has been made on the building foundations.  Building foundations are now complete with the exception of one of the basement walls which was left open to allow trades access to the basement slab area where under slab piping is being installed.  Greenhouse foundations are in progress.

[basement foundation walls with area left open for access to basement; electrical conduit and underslab plumbing in progress]

Underslab plumbing work is in progress.  Here you can see waste lines which drain the floor drains in the basement mechanical room.

[underslab plumbing]

On the outside of the foundation frost walls, dampproofing and rigid insulation is being applied.  The dampproofing and rigid insulation help create an energy efficient high quality indoor environment that keeps conditioned air in, unconditioned air out, and unwanted moisture out, preventing issues with mold and air quality.

[damproofing and insulation on frost walls]

The details at the basement foundation walls are slightly more involved because the area inside of the basement walls is an occupied space as opposed to the frost walls which are completely below grade on both sides.  So because the basement is an occupied space you must do more to ensure no water finds its way through the basement walls or up through the concrete slab floor.  On the exterior a waterproofing membrane  is first applied to the foundation wall.  This prevents groundwater from permeating through the foundation. Next a drainage board is installed. This gives groundwater that is up against the foundation a way to drain down the face of the foundation.  Finally the rigid insulation is installed over the drainage board to provide a thermal barrier between the conditioned indoor space and the unconditioned outdoor space.  Prior to backfill, a foundation drain will be installed so that water running down the face of the foundation wall via the drainage board is collected by the foundation drain and brought away from the foundation and tied into the stormwater management system.  The waterproofing and dampproofing products help contribute to LEED points on the project because they contain both recycled and regional (within a 500 mile radius) materials.  Here is a sample letter from Grace and how its products contribute to LEED points.

[basement walls with waterproofing membrane, drain board, and insulation]

Outside of the building there is a lot of activity on site as well.  Materials for the Earth Duct have arrived onsite and we are getting ready to start this installation.  The geothermal well driller has mobilized and has started drilling.  There will be a total of (25) wells each 400' deep.  Each well will take between 1 and 2 days total, so the entire drilling process will take about 6 weeks.  The location for the new timber pedestrian bridge to connect the visitor parking to the KEC site over the stream is being laid out with selective clearing to allow for the installation of the bridge.  The bridge installation will start in August.  New utility services have been connected at East Main Street and run to the building for stormwater, electricity, water, fire, and sewer.

[earth duct stockpiled on site]

[underslab duct stockpiled onsite]

[geothermal well drilling has started]

[location of new pedestrian timber bridge]

[steep slope work for new utility connections at East Main Street]

[water and fire service to building from East Main]

[electrical primary service from East Main]

[electrical distribution between East and West wings, under courtyard]

[onsite material stockpiles for topsoil and subgrade materials being stoed onsite for reuse.  Topsoil pile was temporarily seeded to prevent erosion and airborn dust]