| Most of the communities
in this area know that we do things right and that we research
things properly. They have a high degree of confidence in
our firm and I think that had a lot to do with the cooperation
that we received.”
Vig agreed that the reputations of Yops & Wilkie and J.S.
Vig were important factors in securing the cooperation of
the inspectors. She also pointed out that the inspectors were
motivated by a strong desire to see the project succeed.
“They knew that whatever we were building would be a
quality product,” she said. “The project completely
changed the ambiance of that area. There hadn’t been
any changes on that stretch of Eureka Road in many years.
Now if you drive by, you see this beautiful greenhouse and
a lot of other new development nearby.”
Ray Hunter Florist is best known for flowers but a growing
retail corridor is also taking root around the new greenhouse.
Although the presence of a cohesive team greatly simplified
the construction of this structure, the challenge of phasing
the project remained.
SPLIT
SECOND TIMING
Precise timing would be required by all of the trades, but
the tight schedule would have the most profound effect on
Cincinnati-based Rough Brothers Greenhouses, the greenhouse
contractor. Fortunately, the exacting schedule needed for
this project was nothing new for the company. Because of the
nature of the finished product, greenhouse construction is
quite seasonal.
“Timing is very critical with almost every project that
we are involved with,” said Bob Madsen, account manager
for Rough Brothers.
Ironically, the precision timing on this project was ideal
for Rough Brothers. Spring and major holidays are busy times
for greenhouses and popular times for greenhouse construction.
During these busy times, aggressive construction activity
would have been detrimental for business at Ray Hunter Florist.
At these same peak times, Rough Brothers was free to divert
resources to other projects.
In addition to timing around predictable |
|
peaks and valleys in the floral
industry, the construction team also had to plan around the
greatest unpredictable construction element, the weather.
Michigan contractors have learned from experience to avoid
scheduling certain types of work during winter. With this
project, the team would have to disregard those hard-learned
lessons to keep on schedule.
“We put in footings for the greenhouse during the wintertime,
which made the job a little more difficult,” said Vig.
Although the footings could be installed in inclement weather,
other portions of the project could not be completed during
the winter.
“We took the timing of when we would be able to do things
into consideration when we phased the project,” said
Vig. “We knew that we would not be able to do any of
the asphalt until after April 15th. We made sure that everything
was taken care of so that when it was time to lay asphalt,
we were ready to go.”
To ensure that work could commence when scheduled, the construction
team had to bring in materials shortly before they were needed
and place them in the limited lay-down areas which were available
on the site.
“We knew up front that we were going to phase the project,”
said Vig. “That helped us figure out how to get situated
with the materials. We had to come in, look at the site, and
make lay-down areas for portions of the building. We had to
do this at each stage of the project so the other trades could
work.”
Usually all of the prefabricated components of a greenhouse
the size of Ray Hunter Florist would be shipped at once. However,
Rough Brothers shipped the greenhouse materials in two phases
to conserve site space. The space saved by this approach proved
very valuable, since all new sitework would be needed to tie
the new greenhouse into the existing utility services.
Teamwork and precise phasing |
