District Construction Update

Through much of June, and even into early July, at times there weren't abundant signs of construction going on in the district. If you have driven by the school in the last couple of weeks, it has become very obvious that the district is a construction zone right now. Inside and outside, there are few places not being impacted by a construction project.

We are excited to see the progress being made in and around the building, and are thankful for the dedicated contractors who are making this possible.

The roofing contractors continue to make great progress on the reroof of the building. Areas that have been completed as of last week include: high roof above large gym, mid roofs over the small gym, tech ed space, maintenance storage, and performance center, and the low roof over the middle school wing. This coming week will see the contractors continue working on the low roof over the elementary wing.

Contractors from MUZA Sheet Metal began installing the new horizontal steel siding panels last week. Not only will the panels provide additional water protection, but they will give an updated and modern look to the building. The panels will be installed on all four sides of the building where the stucco once existed.

Installers from La Crosse Glass began installing the new windows last week. All ground floor and second level windows will be replaced in the building. The new windows will be a two panel aluminum window with horizontal slide. The new windows will be much more energy-efficient, as well as giving the building a more modern look. Not to mention the amount of natural light the windows will give the classrooms.

The locker room renovations are currently on hold as we wait for the flooring contractors to begin pouring the new epoxy floors, which will also be used on the shower walls. Once that is completed, the plumbers will return to the district to finish installing fixtures and hardware.

The walls have been built in the new restroom facilities. As with the showers, we await the flooring contractors to begin pouring the epoxy flooring, after which the plumbers will finish installing fixtures and hardware. The installation of the new bathrooms will give our students and visitors additional restroom options, as well will bring the district up to code and meet all state and federal laws.

The NC Maintenance crew wrapped up cabinet installation last week. The cabinet makers, Foggy Bottoms, will be on site in the coming weeks to install countertops, and to make sure all the doors are hung and spaced correctly to give a final finished look. Once the countertops are installed, Strange Plumbing will be onsite to install the new classroom sinks and fixtures. We're excited for the additional storage space the new cabinets will provide, as well as providing a fresh new look in the elementary classrooms.

Demolition is complete on the old flooring. Crews from Kraemer Bros. Construction have removed the tile flooring in the Commons, Commons bathrooms, hallway behind the large gym, maintenance hallway, art hallway, middle school hallway and bathrooms, cafeteria, and Commons area outside the Performance Center. The old tile floors will be replaced with a new epoxy resin floor with colored paint chips. This will be one of the last projects in the buiding to be completed this summer.

The Library renovation project has seen the completion of new paint in the entire space, as well as new carpet tiles being installed in the entire space. We installed new Luxury Vinyl Tile in one small space which is used as a Makerspace in the Library for students. Later this summer we will see the installation of a new circulation desk, and new shelving and furnishing will be added throughout the school year. This is an ongoing project that likely won't be fully completed until later in the school year.

We are excited to be able to expand our district daycare this year and add two additional classrooms. This will give us a total of four daycare rooms, allowing us to better divide the age levels, as well as increase the number of children and families we can provide care for. The daycare renovation project includes renovating the bathroom space to create a second bathroom, carpeting the two new infant and baby rooms, and installing a hallway door divider for continued noise reduction and privacy.

The sidwalks in the courtyard have been torn out, and regrading began in the courtyard area. An additional manhole has been installed in the courtyard, the entire area will be regraded, and a new concrete sidewalk will be poured. This project will allow water to drain properly, preventing any leakage into the building from water runoff.

Contractors from Milis Flatworks, along with Croell Concrete, began the process of pouring new concrete parking lots last week. The front parking lot, the lower half of the student parking lot, and areas in the back of the building have been completed. Work will continue this week on the back and side parking lot. All parking lots are not accessible at this time to any visitors to the building. Visitors will need to park along County Road X and walk around the parking lots to access the building. Kraemer Bros. Construction have also begun installing new concrete sidewalks.

A small section of the Small Gym that received water damage last summer has been removed. In the coming weeks, new flooring will be installed in that area. The entire floor will be sanded, repainted, and refinished, resulting in a new Small Gym floor.

Resurfacing of the large gym floor has been completed. We were happy to welcome our athletic teams back into the gym this past week for open gym. Stalker Sports Floors did a remarkable job of giving us a beautiful gym floor that we can be proud of for years to come. Work on the Small Gym will begin this upcoming week.

Several projects will be kicking off over the next few weeks. Those projects include:

• Refinishing Small Gym Floor
• New Epoxy Resinous Flooring With Colored Paint Chips
• Outside Water Drainage Work in North Parking Lot
• Installation of Concrete Pad for New Greenhouse
• Renovation of Upper Maintenance Shed
• Installation of New Circulation Desk in the Library

Much of our building is still accessible to staff, students, and the public. All of our parking lots are currently not accessible to visitors. Any visitors to the buidling will have to park along County Rd X and access the building by walking around the parking lots to the building. Currently, the Commons, the hallway behind the large gym, all locker rooms, the maintenance hallway, the middle school hallway, cafeteria, and are outside of the performance center are off limits to the public. Yellow caution tape identifies the areas that are closed off.

We're proud to partner with Kraemer Bros. Construction as the school district's General Contractor, managing the selection of subcontractors, timelines, and project completion. The district previously worked with Kraemer Bros. in the construction of the new school in 1990-91, and the building addition in 1996. We proudly support a successful business based out of southwest Wisconsin (Plain, WI).

The district has been working with FEH Design out of Dubuque, IA for the past year on the design, architecture, and engineering of our projects. Kevin and his team at FEH assisted the district through the pre-referendum process, facilitating several community meetings and a community survey. They stayed with us through the referendum, and continue to work with the district on any design or architectural changes as construction is happening.

We are happy to support and partner with several Wisconsin subcontractors to complete work on our projects. Several of these subcontractors are from right here in southwest and western Wisconsin. Contractors and subcontractors on site this past week included:

Kraemer Bros. - Plain, WI

Higher Ground Roofing - Kewaskum, WI

MUZA Sheet Metal Company - Oshkosh, WI

Zimmerman Plumbing - Portage, WI

McCormick Electric - Gays Mills, WI

Winona Heating and Ventilation - La Crosse, WI

Foggy Bottoms Woodworking - Muscoda, WI

Showen Excavating - Gays Mills, WI

La Crosse Glass - La Crosse, WI

Zander Solutions - Verona, WI

Luther & Weber Painting - Spring Green, WI

Email: bmunson@ncrawford.k12.wi.us
Website: www.northcrawford.com
Location: 47050 County Road X, Soldiers Grove, WI, USA
Phone: (608) 735-4318
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057263208876
Twitter: @northcrawford