2/18/12 - Stone Mason in a Cocoon

All endeavor calls for the ability to tramp the last mile, shape the last plan, endure the last hours toil.  The fight to the finish spirit is the one ... characteristic we must possess if we are to face the future as finishers.

Henry David Thoreau

As the earth turned and the sun crept higher and closer to the horizon, you could just tell it would be a beautiful day ... no matter where you were in Central Massachusetts.  But especially on the summit of Mt. Wachusett.  And today I was presented with a new sight within the construction site:  a large white cocoon wrapped half-way around the base of the new tower!  Who would have though it possible in the middle of winter?  But there it was.

Giant Cocoon Wrapped about the Eastern-Northern Wall

I walked around curious, knowing that a plastic tarp was left hanging last Saturday, now it has taken on a life of its own - a head, a body, and a tail.

Head - To the Left

With the Head facing south, it wrapped about the base until ...

 

The Blue Tail - Western Wall

Old Glory Not Disturbed by the Cocoon

And, believe it or not, this creature breaths and speaks... listen.  You can hear two sounds ... the wind flapping the outter skin of the creature, and from within, a deep hollow sound like air being pushed from a bellows.   Hummmm???

Cocoon Head - Detail

Feeding the Cocoon

 Soon after I did my site inspection, a worker appeared to "feed the beast."  And indeed, that's exactly what he was doing!  I entered the open gate and wandered over to speak to him.  He was filling what looked like a small gas tank with fuel so that they could continue heating the monster!  Inside the cocoon, he reported temperatures of up to 70° F, warm enough so that Mick, the Stone Mason was working in shirt sleeves yesterday!  The hissing from inside the skin was a butane tank! 

We talked a bit as I pressed for more details on the schedule and the tower.  First, I asked about the lack of a staircase for the bottom third of the tower.  His answer makes perfectly good sense:  It will be a retractable straight ladder apparatus - so pedestrians like me can't climb to the top from the observation deck!  But the steel as not yet arrived.  That should be in a couple of weeks.

Inside the cocoon, warm temperatures will allow Mick to finish his work sometime this coming week.  And I might add, the forecast looks very good indeed.  He should have no trouble.

And with a few finishing touches on the railings, the external work would appear to be complete.

He did admit that they are so far behind schedule now that they just want to get it over with ... I could hear the disgust and disdain in his voice when I spoke the word schedule.

I asked about landscaping and some type of grand opening that might be planned.  He said that landscaping is pretty much what it is now... "it has always been dirt so that's what it will remain."  He claimed no knowledge of any grand opening or celebration ... once again, his tone spoke of a project that did not go to plan!

[I must add parenthetically that, as reported in The Landmark (2/16/2012 edition)[local weekly newspaper serving Princeton, Holden, Paxton, Sterling, and Rutland, Ma.] by reporter Phyllis Booth, the folks who are paying for this job are not real pleased, to say the least.  There exist a couple of major problems, the first of which, I have not yet observed.

The drainage on Administration Road has caused problems with run-off into wetlands areas.  The road and the drainage area will evidently have to be redesigned and of course, reworked.

Of more obvious note are delays which have continued with the Tower.  Delays have become such a problem in administration of the contract that "they are working without a contract right now," stated DCR Project Manager, Walter Mulligan.  The prime contractor, Construction Dynamics, have evidently performed only about 15% of the work, subbing out the balance.  I know myself that the design was contracted out, the masonry work was contracted out, the painting was contracted out, the electrical was contracted out, the antenna work was contracted out, and most obviously the manufacturing of the ladders, railings, and superstructure was contracted out.  Therein lies the problem.  Steel has been late - essentially the ladders and the railings.  When that failed to arrive as scheduled, a constraint was placed on all follow-on work; the dominoes began to fall out of schedule.

From my surveys, everything was moving along until steel delays came into play.  The masonry work was delayed when supports for railings were not available.  Eventually he worked around that, but still came to a stoppage early in the winter.  There was only so far he could go.  This weeks cocoon-like structure is certainly an unplanned effort to move ahead now that the railings have finally arrived!

According to the individual I spoke with this morning, the balance of the material should show up by March 9th.  Hummmm?  While the lack of a retractable ladder to the floor of the observation deck has probably not impeded much other work, it is still a project delay.  It should have been in place right after the stairway structures went up, but of course, they were late to begin with.  Continuing reports to follow.]

East Side Cocoon - Detail

New and Old

The Old NE Corner

Coastal Survey Mark

Surrounded by bales of hay, the Coastal Survey Mark has remained protected for the past 9 months.  I worried about it from the beginning ... so given there was no snow on the ground as my past forays inside the fence, I took a picture just to be sure.  Passing a rock-pile as I left the site, I also picked a small stone from the leftover facade stones and tucked it into my pocket.  Some time in the future, on a high mountainside in northern Spain, I will place it on a pilgrims cairn along the Camino, the Way of St. James.

Vent on Cab

I noticed some type of vent on the roof of the cab.  Prior pictures don't show it, but that doesn't mean it wasn't there.  Perhaps I just missed it with the camera.  Still missing from the top of the cab is the aluminum cage for the antennas.  It remains on the southern edge of the construction site.

Southern Wall Escapes the Cocoon

SW Wall

South to Worcester

Time to leave for the day.  And yes, they were open for the skiers today - a beautiful day to be on the mountain.  Too bad they have only man-made snow to play with!  The woods are filling with buds on the tips of the branches. the cawwwww cawww of the crow and the rat-a-tat-tat of the woodpeckers high in the treetops are now accompanied by the song of birds newly arrived from the south.  Spring is in the air.

 It is not enough to be industrious; so are the ants. What are you industrious about?

Henry David Thoreau -  letter to his friend, H.G.O. Blake, on 16 November 1857

The forecast this morning called for 2" - 4" of snow and what we got was 2 - 4 flakes!  The atypical winter season continues.... I hiked up in the afternoon about 2pm ... temperatures pushing 40°F.  They are still skiing on the north slopes, but as before, it's pretty much all man-made snow.

And so does the push to complete work on the Tower project.  I could see that this past week has been one of preparation for the return of the Stone Mason, Mr. Mick Litterio of Litterio Landscape Design & Construction.  We have not heard from Mr. Litterio since late in the fall for two reasons:  the temperature dropped below the 35° F limit below which he is not allowed to work, and also because the hardware for the railings was not yet installed.  He did all the stonework possible, leaving windows for the openings where the railings would be attached to the cement walls.

And now that the railings have arrived and the attachments for the railing support are in place, the hope is that the stonework can continue.  To improve the chances of that happening, a plastic shroud has been placed over the ramps where they will do the stonework.  Work is expected to begin this week.  

Will it work?  You decide.

Framework for the Shroud

NE Corner

The wooden frame is set up along the eastern wall and it comes to a tapered end just around the corner in the top right hand corner of the picture above.  If it works, they will continue along the northern ramp.  One advantage of the eastern wall will be the possibility of a bright sun shining on the plastic and creating a greenhouse effect.  That might create extra warmth for the mason.

North Wall Throough the Ramp Fencing

Notice the grey hand railing that has been set in place (look on the wall at the tip bracket).  This is set to see how it will be when finished.  However, this is just temporary.  The railings cannot  be fixed in place until the rock facade is completed.

We Need a New Flag

NE Corner With Frame For Plastic

West Ramp

NW Corner Detail

The wooden railing is not yet in place although you can see what it will look like by viewing the upper railing that has been placed about the observation deck.

 

West Wall, Brackets and Ramp

On the West Wall, the brackets are in place and await the stone mason.  I did notice a couple of sections of fence that are damaged.  That is why they are on the ground and not in place.  With the fence in place, it would appear as if the stone will have to be carted up the ramp from the East Wall or dropped through the opening in the fence from the cage lift.

Long Awaited Railing Brackets - Detail

The Stars of the Show

West Wall With Damaged Fence Section

SW Corner

Now we see not just one, but two damaged fence sections!  I hope it doesn't take as long to replace or fix them as it did to get the hardware delivered the first time.

South Wall in Winter Sunshine

And now, lets swing around back to the East wall and the ramp.

Ground Entrance to Ramp

Here we can see the concept in the plastic sheeting.  I expect that Monday morning, the plastic will be lifted over the outside of the ramp and the wooden framework.  Inside the tunnel, the stonemason will be busy at his craft.

Ramp, Plastic, and Frame for the Tunnel

 While cloudy at times, the sun did poke through the clouds to light up Leominster!

The Road Home

Have a safe week.

2/04/2012 - The Railings Are Taking Shape

Perfect sincerity and transparency make a great part of beauty, as in dewdrops, lakes, and diamonds.

Henry David Thoreau - Journal (6/20/1848)

Another beautiful "spring-like" winter day!  No snow and none in sight!  Unbelievable.  We have had years past with little snow and not much in the way of winter-like conditions, but it's always something to talk about when it happens again.

Sunrise - 6:59 am

But, let's head on up and see what has happened relative to the new Fire Watch Tower this past week.

Indeed, progress found on the summit this morning was quite surprising.  Even from a distance, In the early predawn light, I could see the small silver anchors for the inside railing as they gave a glimmer from afar.  And work has now begun on the outside railing beginning at the foot of the ramp on the east side of the tower. 

East Side Railing and Anchors

I quickly noticed the silver rectangles spaced evenly on the openings in the stone left by the stone mason.  And in front of them, the guard rail on the east face of the base is now in place.  Take a look closely at the picture below.

Detail - East Side Railing

This picture is dark, but looking "through" the guardrail fencing, you can see where the inside railing supports have been attached.  First they secured the lag bolts at the cement openings of the stone facade, and then, on this eastern side, they have secured the railing support to the lag bolts. (If I have explained that correctly.)  As I moved about the tower base to the northern side, the railing supports have not yet been added, and to the western side, they have not yet secured the lag bolts.   You might look at this picture and wonder about the "red lights" on the railing?  No ... not lights, just reflection from the rising sun that looks directly on to the mountain as it climbs over the horizon.

Here's a better angle and in lighter conditions.  The black extensions for the guardrail have been attached to the lag bolts.

SE Corner And Ramp Construction

So now a trip around the site to be sure there is nothing else new for the week.

The Ol' NE Corner

America The Beautiful

Handrail Plates - North Wall

Handrail Plates - Detail on North Wall

 Most of the squares have 4 bolts.  Some are not complete - notice the missing plate on the bottom left in the picture above.  Perhaps the stone is interfering?  Some of the bolts are flush with the cement; some are not yet screwed in all the way.

NW Corner

It is here on the NW corner that the lag bolts stop.  So, in total, they are about halfway around the base with the attachment plates and bolts.

Western Wall

Looking up at the railing on the Observation deck, it now appears to be pretty much complete.  And if I could see it correctly, that top piece of railing is of wood.

Now, on the south side, the top of the railing is not yet complete.

South Face

Eastern Face - Top railing

Ramp on Eastern Wall - Ground Level

Site Lot ... Picnic Table and Rocks

Ramp - Eastern Wall

Notice the wooden construction on the observation deck.  I assume they will have the "interior" of the tower superstructure sealed so that the public will not climb the stairway to the cab.

Oh yes, they are skiing on the North and Western slopes - man-made that is!  

Summit of High Speed Quad Lift

Look Back at the Site Before Leaving

View Towards Worcester

Until next week!  The forecast has no snowstorms on the agenda and very mild weather ahead early in the week.  Later, it should get colder, but still no snow.

Super Bowl tomorrow ... Patriots vs. Giants ... Go Pats!