By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
By the end of October, students of Mona Elementary could be enjoying the new classrooms built in the new addition to the school.
However, for all of the jobs to be done, the builders will need until, at least, Nov. 1.
Architects and contractors were asked to give a report to the Juab School District Board of Education at the meeting held on Wednesday.
Present were Norm Wall, representing the district, Gary Bruschke (AIA), Naylor Wentworth Architects; Chris Houghton, Westland Construction Vice President, and Trent Huntsman, Westland project manager.
Jim Ealey is serving as superintendent of the project.
“We are doing well with the project, in fact, we are doing splendid,” said Bruschke. “Oct. 5 and 6, the temporary trailers will be pulled out and the following Monday the asphalt will be laid.”
The asphalt can be laid at the site as long as daytime temperatures are warm. It doesn’t matter if the evening temperatures are cool because that just helps the material set up. Daytime temperatures do need to be warm, however, and that may or may not create a problem.
“We plan to tear out the existing asphalt, then compact the soil and lay the new asphalt all in one week,” said Houghton.
The Utah State Fire Marshal, Mark Burton, had insisted that a one-hour fire rated wall be built around the media center, said Bruschke. In addition, the fire marshal had also required an updating of the fire alarm system.
“After the school breaks, Oct. 10, on the 11th the crew will do the sheetrock and taping, then it will be ready to turn over to the painters,” said Huntsman.
A level 5, high-end finish for the walls, is planned, he said.
“One we get the trailers out,” said Bruschke, “the students will need to go into a portion of the new section.”
The gym will take more time to finish but the bulk of the construction should be done somewhere around Oct. 15.
The expense of the school had climbed because of some change-orders that were required, said Bruschke.
One of those had been the addition of $17,000 for a fire alarm system upgrade. There had also been the addition of one fire hydrant, the relocation and rerouting of roof drains and waterproofing of the roof.
One-hundred feet of fascia had been hanging and was replaced.
“The soils are very good in Mona at the school site,” said Bruschke.
Drainage at the school was able to capitalize on that fact with a positive slope away from the school and the placement of perforated pipe with a small French drain at the end.
The transformer had to be relocated and a vault had to be constructed. Since the same transformer could be used, he said, the cost was $16,764.
In addition, there was some trouble with the gas line at the school in that the person who does the gas line placement for the city was not able to perform the task for the school district. Therefore, an added expense was required for the job to be done by a commercially-licensed gas line construction firm.
“The old line had to be moved so that it would be away from the transformer,” said Wall.
The bottom line, was that the school building addition expense added up to more than $75,000 above the planned cost of construction.
