Main Forms In Place

FTLComm - Tisdale - May 25, 2001

At eight-thirty this morning (above) this is how the construction site looked as the two workman and a handful of volunteers are making the final shoring up of the forms so that they are ready for pouring on Monday.

Thursday afternoon (above) the forms and rebarb had been put in place as the full structure of the Golden Age Centre is now taking shape. Just as in the case with the centre basement portion of the building the forms are made of foam insulation that will be sealed in place to produce an energy efficient base for the entire building. Early this week Chupa Excavation had installed pilings to provide a solid base for the building's foundation then Wednesday work began installing the forms on top of the pilings. Using the foam blocks is a bit like assembling a "Lego"

project as they are fastened in place with plastic links. The picture on the right shows the interior of the forms and solves this observer's puzzle. As the crew began getting ready to begin erecting the foam forms a huge palette of cardboard boxes was delivered to the site and quickly disappeared. Well, at the bottom of this form you can see the boxes. The concept here is that these boxes, biodegradable material, is used to fill in the spaces between the piles. The cement foundation is poured over these creating a solid structure that rests on the concrete piles that reach deep into the surface material. In time the boxes will disappear and the buidling will be sitting on its foundation atop the piles allowing variations in the ground to occur without disturbing the building. Tisdale's clay changes its size with the variations within the year and from year to year as it swells and shrinks according to the water content in the ground. With the use of these piles and boxes this new structure will be immune to these variations. Little Redi-Mix is very busy this week and unable to pour the cement today but will be on the site Monday morning to lay the foundation for this new building. Also on Monday the town is ready to open up the street and dig the water and sewer line in from the North side up the middle of what will be the entrance street into the complex. The progress on the building is steady and the very dry weather is making the building process move along without delays for rain.