Posts Tagged ‘On-Site Engineering’

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.

This weeks’ 100 year storm broke all records and brought devastation to much of Rhode Island.  We were concerned about what would happen to our site with open foundations and no way to channel the water.   How did it look?   Great!

Thanks to the careful work by Morrone Excavation the grading and gravel base was sufficient to handle nature’s worst.  Look at the pictures – no standing water, no mud, no problem.  And, as a bonus, the existing package store, which always flooded after a heavy rain, was dry as a bone.

Of course, once we build the building and install the driveway and parking areas we will have to channel the water and make provisions for it to be absorbed back into the ground.  We are committed to handling all of the water and runoff on site.  Our site plan, developed by On-Site Engineering, calls for an underground detention area to handle the roof drains and for permeable pavers in the parking areas and on the side walks.   The permeable pavers will allow the water to penetrate into the underground gravel base and be absorbed into the earth.

Preparation of the base is critical as the pavers are set in small stones (no cement to hold them in place) and can’t move or shift with the weight of cars and changes in temperature.   We asked Matt Foley, of Unilock, to meet with Mike Morrone, and Steve Richardson of New England Hardscapes.  We want to take advantage of Unlock’s experience and make sure that we are installing the pavers as per the manufacturer’s specifications.  Our plan calls for a 6″ subbase of 2 1/2 stones, then a 6″ base course of 1″ stones, and a 2″ bedding course of 3/8″ stones.  Morrone Excavation will put down the base and subbase and New England Hardscapes will lay the bedding course, install the granite curbing, and set the pavers.

Will our plan handle the next hundred year storm?  We hope so!

After a year of work designing the building, developing the site and landscape plans, presenting the project to the Charlestown Planning Commission, and securing state and local permits we are staring to build.

Our plan calls for removing the house next door to the current Package Store, building the new store, and then, once the new store is open demolishing the existing store. First we stripped everything of that could be reused out of the building – all the plumbing fixtures, lights, switch plates, doors, interior trim was removed and saved for future use.

Once the house was gone we started clearing the land, leveling the site, and making preparations for the foundation. Tony Nenna, of On-Site Engineering, is the civil engineer and Mike Morrone, of Morrone Excavation, is the excavator.

The Big Cats go to Work

Tony Nenna and Mike Morrone