Ground Prefabrication Phase III

On Friday, May 13th, the decking sections for the market floor began to be moved from our prefabrication facility to the site of the Covington market.

Once the groups of sections were lifted from their original stacks, we had to guide them out to the loading area while the forklift carried the sections out.

Sections were carried and loaded three at a time. Straps were wrapped around the width of the section to hoist them into the air as they were guided onto the truck bed.

We were able to load twelve ground sections onto the truck. The twelve sections will make up six of the fifteen ten foot by approximately 30 foot sections used to make the market floor. An additional load of frames and deck sections were transported on Saturday.

Site Preparation Phase III

On Thursday, May 12th, the steel columns were delivered and installed on site in Covington. These steel columns will support the roof sections over the market portion of the site. Our on-site contractor worked to get the columns assembled and installed as soon as possible, so that it would not delay the progress of the rest of the project.

A view from the market manager's office to the site, before and after column installation.

Columns being installed to the concrete footings on site.

The columns installed on site at the end of the day Thursday.

Ground Prefabrication Phase II

In order to line up the decking pieces, finishing nails were used as spacers between rows of locust to keep consistent spacing throughout. Some of the wood was bowed or warped, so we had to use bow wrenches, ratchet straps, or clamps to line the pieces up properly.

Once the wood was aligned, we had to pre-drill holes in the locust to prepare for screws. Since locust wood is so dense, it was too difficult to screw directly into the wood without any preparation or guidance.

We used a screw gun to insert the screws into each decking piece. The screws attach the market floor to the joists beneath.

One of the final widths of decking pieces. Due to restrictions on transportation ability based on size, each market width had to be divided into two sections, which we framed and decked together for instillation on site. The market floor will consist of fifteen two-deck sections from Main St. until the Alley at the end of the property.

Building Prefabrication Phase III

On Monday, May 9th, the three building sections were transported from the prefabrication site in Blacksburg up to the Market site in Covington. Preparations had already been made on site for the building's arrival. The slab was poured to support the building as well as provide the flooring.

Each building section was build and loaded onto the transportation truck separately, and later hoisted into place over the prepared slab. Anchor bolts were installed during the pouring of the slab to properly attach each building to its location on the slab. We had to adjust the rooms as they were lowered so that the holes drilled aligned with the bolts already included in the slab.

The storage room of the market building installed properly on site.

A view from Monroe St. of two of the building sections after being installed on site. All three buildings are on site and ready for the finalizing of interior details.

Roof Prefabrication Phase III

JENFAB, Inc. came to our Blacksburg facility Tuesday and Wednesday to begin loading, transporting, and unloading completed prefabricated sections of the market roof up to Covington.

Because many of the roof sections were parked throughout the site, we had to move and prepare the sections for departure before they could be moved. Once they were relocated to an appropriate site for the forklift to be able to lift and maneuver each truss section onto the flatbed truck. Straps were pulled through the trusses and used to lift the section up for its movement.

Once each section was lifted, we had to guide it to a space where the truck would back up for loading purposes. Because of the many buildings in the area, much caution was used in the movement and guidance of the prefabricated pieces.

The section was then lowered onto the flat bed, where we used blocks to accommodate the unique angles of each piece.

Sections were then separated from the fork lift and strapped down to the bed to secure the pieces for limited movement in preparation for the trip up I-81 to Covington.

Due to the size of the load, as well as regulations for highways, appropriate safety precautions were taken and signage was used to make drivers aware of the larger size of the truck's cargo. Two trusses were able to be sent up at a time on the truck.

Building Prefabrication Phase II

The first step after constructing and erecting the three building sections was to apply the plywood to the building. Once the buildings were square and level, the plywood helped us to maintain the square status of the building, while creating an interior and exterior space to each individual room.After the plywood was put on the building, we added tar paper to the exterior in order to help us keep water off and out of the building. Although tar paper is not water tight, it is water resistant and was very helpful in preparing each building for its final exterior material.

With the application of the tar paper on the building finalized, battons were then mounted to the building so that cladding could be added to the exterior.

Using the battons on two walls of each building, the cladding was mounted to the necessary sides using a drill, a screw gun, and when needed, a clamp or ratchet strap. The screws were screwed into each batton to ensure a sturdy exterior rain screen for the building sections. The design for the buildings was to have the wood cladding wrap up and around the entire exterior in one direction so that continuity of the ground plane's direction was maintained. The seams on the buildings will align with the seams in the deck on site.

Once cladding was applied to all of the appropriate walls, any excess was trimmed to create a smooth seam between roof and wall.

Roof Prefabrication Phase II

Joists were placed between each of the trusses that makes up each section. Once all of the josts for the entire truss were framed out, we added battons to the top of the roof section. These battons will be used to add the metal roofing to the structure once the roof sections are placed together on site.

Thanks to the high base space's pully system, we were able to separate and lift the roof sections off of their original supports once completed. Each roof section is approximately 2,700 pounds.

In order to begin working on the ceiling of each roof section, we had to use the pully system to lift and rotate each roof section upside down.

Tar paper was then added to the roof sections to prevent moisture from accumulating inside the section. We used a combination of white pine and repurposed heart pine salvaged from the Tire Warehouse in Clifton Forge to create the market ceiling.

The last step of the process is to apply waterproofing so that the wood would not get wet. Once each roof section was finished we were able to use the same pully system to lower the section onto dollies to move the sections out of the work space. The whole class would then work together to move the trusses out to locations where they could be "parked" until transportation up to Covington.