Why is this Blog so old?

This Blog is so old because like many things, we start with many ideas and then make choices. We chose to suspend the Blogging and focus on the building. We still have thousands of photos of the progress and may be able to post more here, otherwise, please read more at http://www.sloanslakedenver.com/ or come see the project in person.

Merry Christmas

HVAC Closet

Due to the lack of basements, we are taking an innovative approach to locating the furnace and hot water heater utility room by building a small utility closet on the side of the third floor. These photos show the flooring for these areas.

Wall Raising and Hot Tub Decks

Wall raising is always fun. This video clip shows the middle unit east wall going up. Behind, framing of the rear decks continues. These decks are sloped for drainage and engineered to hold up to a 5,000 lb Hot Tub.

Just for fun

My dog Jayna likes to watch the construction progress by jumping to the top of my six-foot wooden fence.

Framing Status

Sunday was sunny but cold! The crisp air made for clear viewing from the third floor in the afternoon sun.

Window Shopping

I went to see some Amsco windows being installed at Stapleton. I'm considering the Artisan Series which provide the stylish appearance through the use of colors (not shown) otherwise only founds in wood, aluminum and fiberglass, and combine it with the maintenance freedom, durability, thermal performance and competitive pricing of vinyl. I also like the low-profile frames, allowing for more glass. But I have not chosen yet, so stay tuned.....

Insulating and Fire Separation

In this photo you can see us insulating the wall channels and the One Hour firewall.As noted before, in between the Units are a two-hour fire-wall. On the exterior portions a One-hour firewall is used and this rating is achieved with a drywall-like material (yellow in this photo). In addition, these areas will be covered by brick. Good protection!

You will also notice insulation (pink) going in the corner. There are places in the framing that become inaccessible from the inside after the sheathing is applied. So, we insulate now. Insulation is not required in those areas but its a heck of a good idea.

Sun and in the 40s!

The weather forecast was right. The guys had a great day working high up on the third floor. They completed the decking and actually put up a few walls (I'll have pictures tomorrow). For now you can see the beautiful day and phenomenal views. That roof deck will be spectacular!

Working through the weather

Building in Denver in the winter is really not too bad. Today was overcast and just above 30 degrees, we had about 1/2" of snow, but the framing crew kept working. Tomorrow calls for sun and in the 40's.

Cold!

Today it was -6 at 8:00 AM and only warmed to +6. We did not work outside.

Third Floor View

Today it was sunny and almost 60 degrees so I spent a few hours poking around the construction site. I picked up trash and organized some lumber and supplies in anticipation of coming snow. I also climbed up to the unfinished third floor to take in the view. Mountains, Lake and Downtown. The fourth floor roof deck will be spectacular!

Moving right along

The second floor walls are almost complete. I have already slightly changed 4 windows and a closet. It is amazing to see thoughts on paper materialize in3D.

The Second Floor

With careful checking at each step of the way....The street scene is changing ...
As the second floor goes up on a beautiful 55 degree day ...
The views are good here and we have one more floor to go.
On the first floor it looks hectic:

Framing Begins

Its a big day when the first walls go up.

The framers carefully lay out the walls on the slab, nail it all together and up they go.

(We got the pipes lined up in the walls too)

Good Morning.

Never a dull moment. I looked out my window at 9:00 AM to see a load of shaftliner fall of the crane. Most important, no one was hurt. I don't think I have mentioned that I live across the street from my project. That's an aspect I really like. So, after putting down my coffee, I went to talk to the delivery guys. They were not happy. We rejected 9 pieces and noted damage to others. Not too terrible out of 90 pieces. Now, back to that coffee....

Timber!

Today we trimmed off the nails and PT Tendon tails and got a load of wood!

A quiet day

Monday was quiet, as we prepared to start framing. Just look at that slab!

A STRESSFUL Morning

Funny how words create reality - A STRESSFUL day is a very good thing when you are talking about stressing tendons in a PT slab.

Our sub-contractor came out and hooked a small hydraulic ram to the stressing tails and applied about 30,000lbs of tension under the watchful eye of our Project Engineer. As you watch the videos, bear in mind that this is 1/2 Steel cable being stretched.

After just a day of curing our contractor came out and 1/2 stressed the tendons. In these photos you can clearly see the "stressing tails" sticking out of the side of the slab. The close-up is the pocket and if you look carefully you can see how there are two small wedges that grab the cable. You will see more of this in later posts.

Caution: Wet Concrete

Its time to pour the slab. If you like big machinery, this is a cool day.
In the last photo that's me in the middle with Site Supervisor Derek on my Right and Designer Anchen Wang on my left.