A company is only as good as the work it does. At S.T. Griswold, we are proud of our work and we’re happy to show it off.
The Renaissance Project at Fletcher Allen Health Care
The Renaissance Project at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, Vermont is the largest single building project in the history of the state. The magnitude of the job is staggering: 62,000 cubic yards of concrete, three tower cranes, three mobile cranes, temporary and permanent concrete pumps, and a continuous work force of 60-80 people. A job this size poses more than the obvious logistical challenges of deadlines and materials.
The construction of the Renaissance Project required more concrete and a bigger work force than any single Vermont company could muster. In order to keep the work and the money here at home, three independent companies came together. Ireland Concrete Construction Corp., Pizzagalli Construction Company, and S.T. Griswold & Company, Inc. joined forces to create a single entity large enough to get the job done on time and on budget.
This huge project is underway at a working, busy regional hospital which means that staging area is almost non-existent. Through the perfect orchestration of every material down to the very last hard hat, the project is proceeding flawlessly without hampering the important work of the hospital.
February 2004 is the projected completion date. For a bird’s eye view of the Renaissance Project click on our web cam.
Solstice at Stratton Mountain
A winter construction project during the peak of ski season, Solstice at Stratton Mountain demanded S.T. Griswold’s best negotiation and coordination skills.
First of all to maintain a unified building exterior, the aesthetic requirements of 20 discriminating condo-owners had to be satisfied with a single stone veneer product. We introduced a happy medium: Bucks County Southern Ledgestone. This manufactured stone veneer has tumbled edges and the pleasing, weathered appearance of natural stone.
The other big challenge of this project was reconciling the delivery and installation of 50,000 square feet of manufactured stone veneer with hundreds of vacationing skiers. We had to deliver a huge amount of product to a tiny staging area as unobtrusively as possible. Through a combination of staggered delivery times and tight coordination with the mason, the project came off without a hitch. On time, on budget, and nary a yodeling skier interrupted.
Maple Tree Place
For S.T. Griswold the Maple Tree Place project in Williston, Vermont was all about color. Our experienced color lab technicians had to create a brick red color for concrete block. This task is easily accomplished under most circumstances, but at Maple Tree Place, the brick red had to exactly match existing brick buildings that had already weathered several seasons.
Precise proportioning of pigments and concrete mix on such a project can be tricky. Because pigment makes up such a small percentage of the concrete mix design, color has to be added judiciously: too much can negatively impact on the concrete’s integral strength, too little can produce an unsatisfactory hue.
After running nearly 20 color samples, our technicians (or should we call them artists?) generated a precise match using four synthetic iron oxide pigments and two aggregates. The concrete block perfectly mimics weathered brick.
Springfield High School
When asked about this project, S.T. Griswold’s Masonry Sales Manager, Adam Osha rolls his eyes and says, “It was big.” A.T. Campney, the mason who worked on the project describes it this way: “It was huge.” 100,000 structural lightweight concrete blocks and 145,000 sand-molded clay brick units is what they are talking about.
The project posed some coordination and logistical problems, too. Site restrictions required that the 85,000 square foot, 4-story addition be constructed within the footprint of the surrounding buildings while students in adjacent classrooms focused on their studies. Construction was underway for 18 months. During the school year, traffic, parking, and school buses also posed some difficulties.
S.T. Griswold, the contractor, the architect, and the mason easily resolved these problems and the state-of-the-art Howard Dean Educational Center, at full occupancy, is the jewel of the school district.
Fairwynds Phase II, Lenox Massachusetts
Retaining walls. BIG retaining walls. S.T. Griswold supplied materials and engineered drawings for a series of retaining walls for an elegant condominium complex called Fairwynds Phase II. The combined facial square footage of the concrete retaining walls in Phase II exceeds 11,000 square feet.
The finished retaining wall system incorporated 45,000 square feet of geogrid landscaping fabric, a durable soil reinforcement, and required 22 courses of 6” Rockwood Classic, an interlocking concrete wall unit.
The retaining walls reached heights of 12 feet, increased usable lawn and parking space, and unified the appearance of the community’s landscape. This project was the contractor’s first experience with Rockwood. Both he and the condominium association were pleased with the results.
