A Killer Kitchen

Tim Samuels sent me the following pictures tonight. The kitchen is really starting to come together! Check it out:

August 21 Workday

Chad Sutkay, who currently serves on the Oak Society Board of Directors, sent the following E-Mail to Kappa Omega Alumni on Wednesday, August 18. We are looking for assistance from family, friends, alumni and brothers to assist with a Mini Workday on August 21, 2010. Here are the details:

I am pleased to report with all of the challenges associated with a project of this magnitude, we are progressing well on the renovation. This coming Saturday the 21st we will require all of the help we can get from 8am-12 noon! There are several inside and outside projects we need to get buttoned up prior to move in and PIKES House needs all the PIKES it can get for these 4 hours. We are almost there, I hope you can make the time to stop out to help!!

Projects are:

Interior Painting of new walls

Yard clean up/grass planting

General cleaning

Thank you for the support and sorry for the short notice!

- Chad

Parking at the Pike House

Tim Samuels sent the following pictures of our new parking lot. It looks like the parking spaces were painted, including the ADA compliant space that was constructed. Check it out!

A shot of the parking lot from the fence located on the north side of the property, looking towards McGraw Hall and Anderson Library on campus.

The ADA compliant parking space, located right by the ramp which leads to the front entrance of the house.

The new ramp which was constructed which allows the first floor of the property to be ADA compliant.

Video Tour as of August 6

Check out this video tour of the chapter house project as of August 6:

Fundraising Update

The projects underway at the chapter house come with a price tag. For those of you who are not familiar with the construction industry, you may find it surprising that the cost to dig a hole in the front yard for a pipe is $17,000. Or the cost to have a sprinkler system installed is about $16,000. And then you have things like upgraded electrical services which allows our facility to be conducive with safety codes, costing over $13,000.

These are just handful of the many projects that need to be completed by the start of the fall 2010 semester. The total price tag to complete all projects on schedule will come at a hefty $150,000 price tag. Rest assured - the Oak Society, Kappa Omega’s housing corporation, has been working aggressively to keep costs as low as possible. The mini workdays in June and July saved the chapter thousands of dollars in labor costs. Furthermore, the chapter is fortunate to have alumni who are connected to individuals working in construction vocations that benefit the projects we are trying to complete on time and within a budget.

The housing corporation began an aggressive fundraising campaign in March seeking to raise $36,000 in capital over the next year. Not only will these funds will be used to offset the cost of life safety projects already in progress, it will allow the chapter to further improve the living conditions in the house. Items such as kitchen appliances, exterior cosmetic improvements, additional common area space and luxury furnishings are NOT covered by loans that the Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity is providing to the Oak Society to fund current projects.

I am happy to report that at this time the Oak Society has raised $10,238.66. We are almost a third of the way to our goal thanks to generous alumni who’ve laid a solid foundation for our fundraising efforts and set the course for the remainder of this campaign.

If you’re anything like me, you don’t have a thousand dollars lying around waiting to be mailed to the Oak Society. That’s ok, because even a little bit of money can help us achieve our goal. The men of Kappa Omega have over 400 alumnus members. Imagine how much money we could raise if just a 100 of these alumni each donated $100 a piece? Although I may suck at math, I know 100 times 100 equals $10,000.

Ten thousand dollars would bump our overall fundraising efforts to over $20,000. Do you think we can do it? I think we can. In fact, I am so confident that we will get 100 alumni to donate $100; a few members of the Oak Society Board of Directors have volunteered to put our money where our mouth is. This weekend I will be posting a video of these individuals each making a $100 donation to the capital campaign.

Hopefully – 98 more of you will follow.

The Waterboy

Digging for gold? Not really. Rather, digging for a pipe. Tim Samuels sent me these pictures of contractors installing our new water main. As stated in a previous post, in order for the sprinkler system to function properly, a 4" water main had to be installed to replace the existing 2" main. The larger water main allows for the sprinkler system to fully charge in the unfortunate circumstance that there is a fire in the house.

Wondering how much the new water main cost? About $17,000. You can help us pay for it - we accept cash, check and soon we will be accepting Paypal donations online.

Chapter Excellence Award

I recently learned that the undergraduate chapter received a Chapter Excellence Award last week at the International Convention in Austin, TX. What follows is copy from an E-Mail that Justin Buck, Executive Vice President and CEO of Pi Kappa Alpha, sent to alumni on his contact list announcing this prestigious honor:

I am pleased to announce that Kappa Omega Chapter at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater was recognized earlier today when chapter representatives were presented with the Raymond L. Orians Chapter Excellence Award during the opening session of the 2010 International Convention in Austin, Texas. This award recognizes outstanding achievement and overall excellence for 2009-2010 in several areas of operation. The Smythe Award winning chapters will be selected from among the Chapter Excellence Award winners. That announcement will be made on Saturday. I will keep you posted.

If you would like to send a message to chapter members, you can contact Kevin Delie at deliekm23@uww.edu.

Justin A. Buck
Executive Vice President & CEO
Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity
8347 West Range Cove
Memphis, TN 38125
901-748-1868
pikeinfo@pikes.org

Congratulations gentlemen - you make us proud!

Fire Safety Improvements

In a previous blog post, I gave readers an in depth look at ADA compliant projects taking place at the house. These projects include raising the floor in the first floor kitchen, the construction of a ramp at the front entrance of the house, the addition of a ADA accessible bathroom and a handicap parking spot. I am happy to report that these projects are progressing nicely - the structure of the ramp is beginning to take shape, the bathroom plumbing has been installed and the first floor kitchen floor has been completed. I've included a few pictures below reflecting progress made.

Concrete for the top area of the ramp and the stairway was completed.

The ramp will begin at the corner of the house, located on the right side of this picture.

The kitchen floor, which has been raised numerous inches, nears completion.

I wanted to take some time to discuss the fire safety improvements taking place at the house. In addition to updated electrical wiring, a complete fire suppression system is being installed on all floors of the house, including the basement. In addition to the sprinklers, an electronica fire detection system is also being retrofitted into the house. These two systems will work hand in hand to provide tenants with state of the art fire safety measures, improving the quality of life and safety of the chapter house. The pictures included below provide you with narrative on the progression of these projects.

A new water main connecting service from the street to the house was installed.

The water main seen above allows for additional water pressure to accommodate the sprinkler system.

The crane displayed above digs a trench connecting the water main to the street.

Most of the first floor will be retrofitted in much the same fashion as the example displayed in the above picture, which was taken in the chapter room.

Wiring for the fire alarm system is nearing completion.

Ramping Up for Future Brothers

A cornerstone of the UWW Pike House renovations is the addition of an ADA accessible ramp. The ramp is being constructed to the front door of the house, allowing for brothers at Kappa Omega to welcome new members needing wheelchair access. For those of you familiar with the house, the ramp will begin near the back entrance of the house and wrap around to the front door. Construction of the ramp began last week. The following pictures reflect progress that has been made on the ramp project.

The two pillars supporting the awning were removed to make room for the ADA accessible ramp. After construction of the ramp is completed, the pillars and awning piece will be rebuilt.

The ADA accessible ramp will begin at the front door and wrap around the north wall of the house, ending near the back door and future location of the parking lot.

Pictures of Progress

The following are some pictures of progress taken by Tim Samuels. I will be heading out to the house to shoot another video on Saturday morning. A detailed fundraising update will follow on Sunday. Have a great weekend and be sure to check back for more updates!

Plans Galore

Many of you may be wondering what the house will look like when the dust settles in late August. I've included copies of the planning documents in PDF format below. These plans were approved by the City of Whitewater Planning and Architectural Review Commission on August 17, 2009. Struc Rite Design worked with the Oak Society Board of Directors for state approval, which was granted on June 3, 2010. A special thank you to Joe Freville, Tim Samuels and Chad Sutkay for all of the hard work, blood, sweat and tears that went into this process.

View Exterior Plans

View Interior Plans

View Carpentry Detail

View Sign Plans

Picasa Photostream

I posted an album of pictures on Picasa that archives the progress of construction projects taking place at the house. A stream of these photos can be found on the right hand side of the blog, directly under the "Recent Posts" gadget.

You can also access the photo album at the following URL: http://picasaweb.google.com/112680277178851007451/UWWPikeHouseBlog#

I take a majority of the pictures for this blog. If anyone has any past or current pictures of the house, feel free to contact me at jwiedenhoeft@gmail.com and I will be sure to post them.

Cheers,

- Jason

Backyard Before and After

It's been a week since I last visited the chapter house. Relatively few things appear to have changed inside, though I'm sure much of the work that was completed was done behind the scenes. As for the outside, that is a completely different story. I'll let these pictures do the talking.

Before...

...After

Before...

...After

More to come later in the week. Stay tuned!

Video Tour As of July 11

Check out this video tour of the chapter house project as of July 11:

More About the July 3 Workday

So apparently, I didn't stay at the Mini Workday long enough to see some real chainsaw action. Chad Sutkay sums it up pretty well. I am including a copy of an Email Chad sent on the Kappa Omega Alumni Listserv earlier in the week that sums it up pretty well. If you are a Pi Kappa Alpha Alumnus and you not on this listserv, we'd love to have you join us! You will find each Email as equally entertaining as the Brett Favre saga. Just Email Adam Wehling, Kappa Omega Alumni Association President, at bigadam22@yahoo.com.


Here is a copy of Chad's Email:

Mini-workday 3 went extremely well! Lets just say there is a lot more sun in the back yard now. 4 large tree's were removed and cut up along with many branches run through the chipper. You can see the progress in a few pictures Weedy has put up on our blog. It is a lot of fun intentionally dropping large logs and tree branches on a garage roof by the way!

This was a huge undertaking with a small but hard working crew. I would like to give a very special thanks to the following individuals who put a lot of hard work in on a HOT Saturday to get ready for the new PIKE House Parking Lot!

• The Masked Tree Samurai and his faithful sidekick
• Tim and Jennifer Samuels
• Joe Freville
• Zak Helmeid
• Ed Wargolot
• The wonderfull Katie Van Eperen of Sigma Sigma Sigma
• Ryan Peasely (thank you for the cold water and Gatorade!)
• Tyler Southern
• Chad Sutkay
  

A very special thanks again to Katie Van Eperen and Jennifer Samuels for contributing their muscles to a chapter/cause that isn't even theirs to work hard for! (hope I didn't miss anyone) Lots more to do but a tremendous step forward! We will keep you updated Thank you for the continued support and donations!!

ppka - Chad

Chainsaws, Chippers and Destruction

The Mini Workday on Saturday, July 3 was a huge success. A handful of alumni and actives showed up ready for destruction. Two major projects were completed: four large trees in the backyard were cut down and a wall was removed on the first floor. Zak Helmeid can't get enough of the chapter house; he decided to begin tearing down the entire garage on his own! Thanks Zak. Pictures of chainsaws, chippers and destructive men follow. Cheers!

Four trees were removed to make way for a new parking lot.

Trees were salvaged for wood chips and firewood.

A wall was removed adjacent to the study room.

Work that axe dude.

If anyone is free over the next few days we can use some help cleaning up.

Zak Helmeid spends his free time tearing down our garage; we don't turn away free labor!

Volunteers Needed on July 3

We will be holding another Mini Workday on Saturday, July 3 beginning at 8:00 AM. The projects that need be completed at this workday are crucial; they must be finished before contractors can continue their work. We hope to have the house finished by 2010-11 academic year for tenants to occupy. We hope to complete the following projects:

• Removal of remaining insulation in the first floor kitchen.
• Demolition of the garage.
• Removal of three large trees near the garage in the backyard.

We appreciate any donated time or supplies needed to complete this work, including:

• Chipper rental
• Lift rental (working on finding one)

• Gloves
• Ear protection
• Chain saws

• Dust masks

• Hand tools

• Ladders

REMINDER: The Supplies you donate will count for fundraising if you can provide the Oak Society with a receipt!

Freaks With Crowbars

Some freaks with crowbars went to town and completed more demolition work on the garage and in the kitchen. These freaks included JJ Arnold, Joe Freville, Zak Helmeid and yours truly (aka - weedy). We tore two to three layers of insulation out of the attic (a special thank you to Chad Sutkay back in his youthful days as an undergrad for completing that job.) JJ even got his hands (and hair) dirty on Tuesday night, diving right into the balsawood-based insultation and taking a deep breath (many minutes of coughing followed, all of which was cured by a run to Jimmy Johns.)

Contractors have started to frame new ceilings in the study and chapter room on the first floor. This will allow the plumbers and electricians to lay new conduits without having to tear the old ceiling out. I've included pictures so that it makes more sense. Cheers!

Layers of insulation laying on the kitchen floor.

Framework for the ceiling in the chapter room.

Framework for the ceiling in the study.

Contractors Begin Work

Contractors began working on the house on Monday, June 26. J.G. Samuels Inc. of North Prairie, Wisconsin, will serve as the general contractor for the remodeling projects. J.G. Samuels is owned and operated by Tim Samuels, an alumnus and special initiate of the Kappa Omega chapter. Tim will be working with many subcontractors including carpenters, electricians and plumbers.

A major advantage to having Tim serve as the general contractor is that he is allowing volunteers to complete much of the demolition work. This allows the housing corporation and the chapter to save money on construction costs. We are thankful for this cost savings, as it will ensure that projects can be completed on time and within our target budget, which will be discussed in a future post.

Thank you Tim for your loyal and selfless service to Pi Kappa Alpha.

Mini Workday: Saturday, June 5

The second Mini Workday took place on June 5. We were able to get most of the demolition done in the hallway bathroom. The bottom part of the tub is the only thing that remains and will be removed later in the summer. We also continued demolition in the kitchen, removing remaining pieces of drywall. Any door opening that will have work done to it had trim pieces removed. All demolition materials from the previous week’s effort, as well as this week’s efforts, were deposited into a dumpster for removal. We also emptied the garbage area to the right of the garage, and the garbage cans in the garage will be placed on the curb.

Brothers who volunteered at the Mini Workday include:
Zak Helmeid
Tyler Southern
Tony Schmidt
Nick Dahl
Tim Samuels
Chad Sutkay

Mini Workday: Saturday, May 29

The first in a series of Mini Workdays took place on Saturday, May 29. We were able to complete demolition work on first floor kitchen; removing all of the cabinets and counters, the kitchen sink and some drywall. We also pulled up and disposed of carpet tiles in the back room. In addition, we started to remove some of the trim work around the doors.

Brothers who volunteered at the workday included:

Zak Helmeid
Chris Lamsam
Tony Schmidt
Tyler Southern
Tim Samuels
Jason Wiedenhoeft
Joe Freville

The following are some pictures of work that was completed. Enjoy!

Breaking Gound

Welcome the UWW Pike House Construction Blog! This site is intended to keep you connected to construction projects at the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity house located at 164 N. Prairie Street at the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater.

After six years of planning, projects are underway to bring the house up to city, state and federal building codes, and to improve the quality of life for members of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity - Kappa Omega Chapter.

Highlighted projects include:

• Life safety improvements, including the installation of fire alarms and a sprinkler system.
• The creation of a handicap accessible tenant room, bathroom, and kitchen.
• A parking lot allowing each tenant to have his own space.
• Improvements in landscaping and general outdoor appearance.
• The installation of a permanent outdoor sign.

Stay tuned for updates including descriptions of work completed, pictures, and ways that you can assist the chapter throughout the scope of this project. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about the blog or housing projects, don't hesitate to contact me at jwiedenhoeft@gmail.com.

In the bonds of brotherhood,

- Jason Wiedenhoeft (Kappa Omega, 2000)