Parking Garage 03-04-2010

Quick observations on the Parking Garage.

Above: Site Progress as of 2:30 pm

I noticed waterproofing had begun two weeks ago then abruptly stopped. After paying closer attention to the area that had been completed (below left) I came up with a possible reason why work had stopped. The waterproofing had been added to the precast wall and beam members from the ground floor to the top. I thought it was odd that they would coat the architectural grade precast, but pushed the thought out of my mind and figured they were running exterior stone to the top.

Today the waterproofing resumed on the other precast wall, only it remained only on the precast concrete walls and NOT on the architectural precast. Hence, lesson learned. Confirm area to be waterproofed before allowing sub to execute work. The waterproofing was delayed at least two weeks, which could be due to inclement weather, or due to the error in coverage which led to time being used to find a solution. Notice the waterproofing on either side of the precast wall at the lower-right. I think there was some sort of chemical product used to remove the waterproofing. I would be interested to learn how the issue was trully resolved.

Above: Bituminous waterproofing error

Containerized Disaster Relief Housing

A couple of years ago I did a competition for emergency housing relief. The central idea was What if a Katrina-like storm surged on the coast of New York City. I put this small proposal together after work and on weekends, submitting it just for fun. A couple of weeks later I got an email that I had gotten an honorable mention for my proposal. In light of the current situation in Haiti, I think this proposal is even appropriate for any disaster relief situation.

The structure is composed of a variety of functional containers. A commercial or community space sits at the ground level. The roof level is composed of half-size containers filled with rubble and soil which can provide a small space to raise food.

Above: Isometric View of one unit composed of two containers.
Below: Isometric view of assembled structure.

The rest of my entry, the other honorable mentions and winners can be found at the What If NYC competition site. Look forward to comments or questions.

You Tube Video Test

You tube video about crane lift

ScreenToaster Test Run

I have just tested a newly discovered web-based program called ScreenToaster. I recorded a short video in preparation of a presentation I am supposed to give on Monday (I am going to try it out again in class if I can).

Free online screen recorder

I have the option to load the video either to ScreenToaster website or to YouTube. From ScreenToaster I am able to embed the video here.

Monday January 21 2010
8:30 - 9:50 am
Windy with scattered showers (Heavy rains previous evening)

It has been several weeks since the last update to this blog. According to best practices I am not meeting the frequent update quota of 1-2 per week in order to be a successful blogger. That will change. I am going back to the one-a-week or more postings.

Last night we had sever rains and some flood warnings. There appeared to be de-watering taking place in several locations. The main collection area is at the center of the southern area. The eastern part of the site is being prepared for panels while the western part seems to be finishing. The project appears to be divided into four major sections.

This mornings erection of the precast panels was slowed slightly when a JLG lift had to be pulled out of the mud by the crane.

I watch the crane from about 8:30 to 9:45 while it lifted a panal in place and then lifted the JLG out of the mud.

8:36 am: Crane positions for hoist (2 min)
8:38 am: Crane connections are made to panel (2 min)
8:40 am: Liftoff + hover
8:45 am: Panel is walked toward set location and held (approx. half way)
8:53 am: Panel is hoisted to final position
8:54 am: Panel inserted and adjusted
9:32 am: Cables unhooked from panel
9:37 am: Rigging of JLG lift begins
9:41 am: JLG liftoff from mud
9:44 am: JLG lift set

The job seemed to lose about 10 minutes of time by having to relocate the JLG lift. While it may seem minor 4 workers were needed to rig and coordinate the movement. I'd like to think this delay could have been avoided if the lift had been left on the sidewalk in advance of the previous night's storm.




In addition to this delay the crew for the lifts appeared to comprise of:
1 crane operator
2 riggers
1 welder

More to follow...