Archive for the ‘Site Work’ Category

Mike Morrone, Megan Moynihan, Mike Morrone

The shell is complete.   Most of the big equipment (cranes, well drillers, lulls, and lifts) is gone.   We are back working on the site and beginning the exterior of the building.  We are committed to handling all of the water on site through careful grading to channel the run off and the use of permeable paving stones.   Mike Morrone, Megan Moynihan, & Mike Morrone meet to go over the grades while Joe Morrone loads the dumptruck with fill we are taking off site.

Kerianne and Ginny Garston

………………………… Earlier in the day Kerianne’s parents visited and we took them for a tour of the site.  Kerianne Garston, from Pratt Institute, is working with us as an interior design intern and is doing wonderful work on the look of the new store.

Family resemblance?   We didn’t see it at first.   But, after we offered Kerianne an internship position, we found out that Mike Morrone is Uncle Mike – Kerianne’s mom and Mike are sister and brother.

Uncle Mike was gone so Kerianne and Ginny decided to climb up on the Big Cat.

The Charlestown Package Store will be heated and cooled by a geothermal system drawing water from three 450 foot deep wells.   Today we began drilling the first of the wells.

The first phase, until we hit bedrock at about 125 feet, involves digging the hole and keeping the hole open with drilling mud.   Once we hit bedrock we will set an 8 inch pipe into the hole and pump the mud out. (Yes, this is similar mud to what is being used to try to stop the runaway oil well in the Gulf of Mexico).   After we pump the mud out, we will attach a 6 inch bit and drill down through the bedrock to 450 feet.

The constant temperature of the water we pull from the wells will allow us to heat and cool the building efficiently and without using any gas or oil.   We will have more on the design and workings of the geothermal system in a future post.

Below ground there will be a maze of pipes and wires and we are working to get some of the lines in place before the timberframe arrives and construction starts next Monday.

We will have pipes leading into catch basins for the roof drains, a pipe bringing well water into the building for domestic use, pipes bringing water for the geothermal heating and cooling system, pipes for the septic system, wires for the electrical service,  and wires for parking lot lights and signage – not to mention three 450 foot deep geothermal wells and a separate well for domestic water.  The yellow plastic in the foreground is a stormwater detention tank; the aqua-blue pipes will channel the water collected in the gutters to the tank, and the cement column  is a base for a parking lot light.

All of this requires careful coordination and precise work with heavy machines.   Tony Nenna, of On-Site Engineering, is responsible for the site plan.   Morrone Excavation is doing the site work.  Brendan Friend levels a light pole base while Tim Place applies a gentle touch with the backhoe.