Construction photos

St. Augustine School photos for the week ending December 13, 2014.


Shoring tower being lowered down to Level 1 west at totem area that will support the roof deck forms.



Level 1 west has the forms and shoring removed and clean up being done.



Lowering electrical switch gear panels that arrived earlier than expected down to basement level.



Electrical switch gear is being placed into basement awaiting housekeeping pad placement next week.



Steel stud framing and door frames are being installed on Level 1 east.



Radiant manifold cabinets being installed to walls on the Level 1 east area as framing progresses.



Laying out and setting base form plates for the skylight block out on east side roof. Embeds being installed and clean up prior to oiling deck. The deck is nearly ready for rebar to commence.



West end of east side slab edge band being worked on and just past is the west side roof that was previously cast.

Faithful supporters and new families

came to school after our 9:00 and 11:00 am Masses for a 'visual tour' hosted by our Nick Maile.  The contractors had pulled down the screening to allow for a better view. Nick explained how some key decisions around construction were made, and highlighted some of the exciting features of our new school.

This weekend, we were blessed to have three families tell their compelling stories about their connections to our Parish and School - and those of us in the congregation were again inspired to pray, commit our time, and offer anew or again our financial support of this amazing project.

Thank you to everyone who supported our FALL CAMPAIGN - we couldn't have done it without everyone's concerted efforts.

A view from the top

shows how high up the new school will be ... just take a minute to look back at the past three week's blog entries, and the progress on our site is so evident!

From the top, and inside

so much to see... Tuesday, October 21, much more concrete was poured on the upper deck.  We all think that it was a bit of a miracle that the big rains in the forecast held off till the pour was completed.
Nonetheless, into the night and during the day on Wednesday, big machines helped to level off the concrete in preparation for future smooth flooring installation.

Once inside the building, the split level design of the school becomes abundantly apparent as the 'visitor' chooses to go up  l/2 floor or down l/2 floor. The five classroom spaces on each level are becoming more obvious, and huge spaces await the installation of future windows. 

(If you take a minute to go back into blog photos over the past six weeks, you can readily see the progress that has occured recently.)

The children continue to pray for the safety of all those workers spending their days to build us a 'school all bright and new'.

View from the 3rd floor deck...

shows us the upcoming height of our new school site.  Both the steel and the hosing for the radiant flooring are filling up the space, and over the course of the coming weeks, will be covered with concrete. 

Because we cannot see...

'inside' our growing up buiding, it was very exciting to receive these photos from Yellowridge which show the framing for stairwells for our new school.  The design allows for a split-level 3 floor arrangement, and these shots show both interior and exterior stairwells under construction.

As well, the west side of the site continues to be developed, making way for what will be our drive-through lane.

Let a couple of days pass...

and look what happens!

When we weren't watching, a big digger moved onto the site last week - and it has begun working on the far west section of our site - preparing to make way eventually for the back lane that will provide our parents with a 'school drop zone'.  As well, the exterior walls for floor 3 and its floor are being prepared for another big concrete pour.

It continues to be delightful to have neighbours, parishioners and friends walking by and offering their positive and encouraging comments to us.
Our children continue to hold the safety of the workers on our site in their thoughts and prayers in our mass intentions each month.

Up, up and away ...

captures what is rising up from the second floor foundation. The accompanying photos show us the erection of the walls of floor two. This coming Wednesday, September 24, we expect another day with a big pour of concrete.

We want to continually keep in our prayers the workers on our job-site, while celebrating that those of us close to the site each day get to witness the demanding details that go into making such a large school building

From the 'roof' of the first floor...

you can see what a whole floor of poured concrete looks like!  These most recent photos were taken Friday, September 5 when the second floor was being poured.  It was quite the day, with side-by-side concrete trucks on the site, having their contents being pumped over the course of long and a busy day.  The intricate coordination of work coincided with an absolutely gorgeous sunny day in Vancouver and an audience of parents, staff and children who were so excited!

Watching the crane move items around on the site has become a 'new favourite' for all of us - from moving the porta-potty to the roof, to relocating the 'shed' where workers assemble goods (and maybe even seek some protection from the sun), to lifting extremely big and heavy bundles of steel - to relocation framing materials - it is amazing!

Of course, now that the 2nd floor is in place, the walls to that floor will soon appear - and up we go!

Occasionally, you will find matching photos on the front page of the website - we are hoping that this increased coverage will help everyone keep abreast of our project's progress.

Have a peek...

Being inside the construction site tonight was an opportunity provided by our leadership team and Yellowridge Construction.  It is the first time that we had been able to see first hand the breadth and depth of the work that is happening.  Also, it was our new pastor's introduction to our project - and to the team that has been leading the project over the past number of years.

We thank our photographer for capturing some shots that show how big and complex the site is from the inside.  We've been told that Friday, September 5 marks a BIG CONCRETE pour that will see the about nine hours of concrete coming on our site and being installed for the roof of first floor/and ground of the second floor.  When asked what will happen after that, we were told it's vertical walls on the second floor, the roof on that floor, and up to the third floor.

Keep coming back to the BLOG for updates and more photos. 

Summer's almost over...

September is just weeks away, and construction has reached the second floor!  The complexity of our school's new site, the volume of concrete and steel and the hum of equipment is evident everyday and we can now see exterior and interior walls, corridors, frames for future windows, and steel supports to begin floor 2. 

There is now a large crane on our site, tonnes of materials and crews working on steel, installing concrete and a great deal of movement onto the site in the form of transportation trucks delivering materials.

Now that the school office is open again, you can expect to see many more blog posts over the course of the year, and we hope that you choose to keep track of the work being done by reading the blog on a regular basis.

Summer is here...

Summer is here - and this writer is going to be away from our construction site for a couple of weeks. If you are in the neighbourhood, you'll continue to see the progress that is being made, and upon return, our BLOG will be updated with new photos.

Have a wonderful couple of weeks!

Progress photos:

Principal's Blog

These past four weeks have found us so involved 'inside' our little school, that this BLOG has been neglected.
Our new school is rising out of the ground, and the exterior walls for the first floor and spaces for the corresponding windows are evident throughout the site from east to west. On any given day there are cement trucks, pumps, delivery trucks loaded with steel and a wide collection of workers all combining to help build our new school. Every week, both big and little things are happening - and now with the children gone for the summer, teachers and support staff away on holidays we expect that progress will continue at a good clip.


We'll get more photos to share on the website in the coming days - in the meantime, we do expect that over the summer there will be some days when cement pouring and pump cleaning will go later in the day. We'll do our best to give our neighbours warning - and we certainly want to express our gratitude for their support of what we are doing.

You can see from the front page of our school website that we've been a bit busy 'inside' our school…  The final weeks of school are always wonderful, and this year is no exception: Field trips, Spring Musical, celebrations, final assemblies, welcoming new kindy parents, and preparing to say goodbye to our departing Grade 7's and their parents.

There is evidence on the site that the surrounding walls on the exterior of the building are going up... and as we stand inside our little school, it's hard to believe that the view that we see of the trees on 7th Avenue will disappear over the coming months. There is much cement being poured, and I have developed a whole new appreciation for the complexity, and physicalness of setting a building on its foundation.

Photos courtesy of Yellowridge Construction.

Line A ready to place concrete

Forms up and ready to place on A line

Electrical future underground work in basement

Walls in place at D8 corner

Mechanical and Electrical office storage area

So much going on...

Last week, May 20-23 all the intermediate students and staff, a big group of great counsellors and the staff of Camp Jubilee were away - and while our primary children were here busy working and having their own fun, much went on over at the construction site.

These photos are compliments of the team from Yellowridge Construction.  We are so excited to see the work that is happening, and over the course of the coming three month, huge changes will continue to take place.  Stay tuned…

Placing concrete to stairwell #1 Thursday, May 22nd.

Pumping block filler to masonry walls.

Masonry walls at basement area.

Back fill stock piles between forms.

Base compactions completed and more footings and reinforcement in progress.

Basement walls being stripped and cleaned so more walls can be constructed.

 More basement walls standing and ready for reinforcement to commence.

Walls along side of old gym now being formed.