Masonry Magazine September 2001 Page. 40
precast with masonry. Nearly 20 bricklayers and 10 laborers worked seven days a week, 10-hour shifts and installed 160,000 brick and block on the 25,000 square foot Bunche Elementary School. They completed the project in nine weeks, even having dealt with nearly 10 days of rain. In fact, the masonry work progressed so quickly that F&V's crews had to wait for demolition teams tearing down the precast concrete panels.
The masonry work had to be delayed until the demolition crew could begin tearing off the old, warehouse-looking, precast concrete. But once a small section of the precast was gone, the masonry crew began laying the brick and and block back up. In fact, the F&V crews pushed the demolition crews so fast that the demolition contractor was forced to tear off the precast, stack it on site and have it removed well after completion of the demolition.
F&V attempted to manufacture items, such as window templates to speed the construction process, but discovered that the building's irregularity from the precast did not make the template experiment a success. In fact, the templates actually slowed the process. Relying on old tried and true methods, the hard-dedicated work of the bricklayers and laborers, and supportive union officials is what delivered the project on time and on budget.
To keep things rolling along, the Vacala's (of F&V Construction) actually coordinated most of the project and did not rely solely on the general or demolition contractor. By short-circuiting the process and being proactive in handling problems, the F&V crew was able to keep pushing.
"We were working with the architect every step of the way. In fact, many decisions were being made in the field and agreed to by the City's architect. That trust factor was one of the most important elements in us delivering the Bunche School on time", said Tom Vacala.
"When we began the project, we really didn't know what to expect", said Tom Vacala, Project Manager for the Bunche School. "We knew that if we were going to achieve our goal of completing the renovation in time for the new school year, we would need a great deal of cooperation, especially from the architect and the city." According to Vacala, they got just that. The architect for the project knew it would be fast-paced and he expected bumps in the planning process, with many decisions to be made with recommendations from the field as the project went along. But cooperation from all the project participants helped in getting the new Ralph Bunche Elementary School to open on time, much to the amazement and pleasure of the students and parents.
"We were very pleased with the speed of the project. Yes, we had some favorable weather to help us, but we also experimented with some different techniques that we thought could save us some time and money on future school renovations. Even though our test techniques were unsuccessful, we still finished early", said Larry Vacala of F&V Construction.
"We didn't deliver this project alone, we had a willing owner, a supportive architect, union officials that worked with us and a block supplier that worked weekend shifts to deliver product on time... it was a real team effort", Vacala stated.
"The school system and the architect really wanted to use masonry, but our systems false image of being slow gave
Demolition crews began the work of tearing down the old concrete precast as school let out for the summer.
them cause for concern", said Larry Vacala. "We showed them that with a cooperative owner, masonry could actually out-perform our competitors."
Architect, Chris Bednarowicz of SWWB stated, "Masonry was chosen for a couple of reasons. The first reason was the ease of detailing using a cavity masonry wall. Also, the brick veneer gives the school some character and is more representative of the homes in the area."
"The new brick building has turned our school into a striking landmark on South Ashland Avenue. I've also noticed that our school has spawned a wave of rehab and new construction in this area. The community has rallied around our school and has taken a renewed effort to improve the rest of this area", said Patrick Kenny, Principal of Ralph Bunche.
According to Chicago Public School officials, 27 schools are slated to be renovated using masonry.
40 MASONRY SEPTEMBER, 2001