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.