• Complete all finishes in the Octagon and 1935 wing

• Begin final cleaning and finishes in Reading Room, West Entry, and Grand Stair Hall

• Continue start-up and commissioning of mechanical and electrical systems

• Restore masonry grout joints on southern exterior of 1935 wing

• Replace terra-cotta pieces damaged during the Nisqually earthquake

• Begin restoration of site south of the 1935 wing

Alan Killian, Turner Construction's Project Manager for Suzzallo Renovation, met with Suzzallo library staff to share stories of the project and answer questions about the renovation. He also wanted to thank staff for being cooperative and patient during all of the noise, dust, and inconvenience.

One of Killian's primary concerns was fire prevention, especially in areas where welding and cutting had to be done. During original construction in 1924-25, rubbish disposal was accomplished by stuffing scrap pieces of wood and paper into the cavities of walls. This material created a fire hazard for the current renovation. There was no stand-pipe fire suppression system in the construction areas as yet, so Killian created a Hot Work Permit procedure. The hot work had to stop a half-hour before the end of the shift, and a fire-watch person with an extinguisher was required during the work shift and for another hour afterwards.

To accomplish the fitting and welding of the structural steel inside the confined space of the attic above Suzzallo's Reading Room, a hole had to be cut in the roof and ventilation added. Killian especially mentioned the women iron workers, who proved to be more agile in the tight space. They worked via a ladder system, with only plaster separating them from the Reading Room floor approximately three stories below, maneuvering 400-500 lb. steel supports to be welded in place. Work could be done safely for only short periods of time due to heat accumulation. Fortunately, the crucial areas in the Reading Room, such as both ends of the 1925 wing and the arches in the attic, were done prior to the February 28, 2001 earthquake.

The steel batwing in the Grand Stair Hall area, which structurally ties the three Suzzallo buildings together, was not finished prior to the earthquake. Killian said that the middle of the 1925 wing acted like a slingshot, flinging two of the roof finials back four to five feet and damaging the slate roof. The other two finials jumped forward toward the construction trailers, putting a hole in one. Killian added that workers shotcreting walls in the basement dropped their hoses and ran out. Workers on high scaffolding over the Grand Stair Hall managed to get down quickly and leave the building without injury. Killian sent everyone home while UW engineers inspected the building. Some cracking and cosmetic damage was found, but the building survived with very little structural damage. Killian said they lost two days of work that week and summed up the day of the earthquake as "quite a day".

Staff asked about the presence of plastic enclosures and lights on the roof. Killian answered that Suzzallo's balustrade proved to be too fragile to be drilled for earthquake reinforcement, so a fiberglass mesh had to be bonded to the back of the balustrade and tied down to the roof. The process is slow since the fiberglass has to be heated and allowed to dry, thus the need for plastic and lights. The completed reinforcement will be invisible.

"Discovered condition" is the construction term for the situation when something is found that wasn't shown in the building plans and/or turns out to be more of a challenge than expected. For example, Killian's crew found tunnels that no one knew existed, with live wires inside and mechanical pipes that weren't on the drawings.

A specific "discovered condition" was a known tunnel that was closer to the existing Octagon footings than expected. The footings will transmit any seismic forces from the building structure down into the ground. The original footings were to be upgraded with additional steel reinforcement, and tied together with concrete grade beams, but with the intrusion of the tunnel, extra steel reinforcing had to be added, and the tunnel with its utilities inside had to be modified.

In addition, when the workers drilled into the concrete in the existing footings, they found the cement was so hard that special drilling equipment had to be brought in to perform the work. The size of the existing cast iron base plates at these columns needed to be increased. Present day welding techniques and procedures are not adaptable to old cast iron, and new base plates had to be added to supplement the existing plates.

Killian said that additional costs due to "discovered conditions" are covered in the form of a percentage of the total project cost. The percentage is based on experiences from similar projects and was allowed for in the budget.

When the batwing trusses were attached to the structural steel in the 1925 attic, there was some cracking in the plaster over the ribs of the Reading Room ceiling, and small amounts of plaster have fallen. Repairs of this plaster will be done using a Denka lift. Damaged stained glass windows will be replaced by Seattle Stained Glass.

Killian told a dramatic story of a life and death struggle in the Reading Room. Windows had been left open for ventilation and several pigeons had been inside, but one day a falcon gave pursuit to one. The two birds darted in and out of the scaffolding with the falcon hot on the pigeon's tail, while workers looked on helplessly. Somehow the crafty pigeon managed to escape, but after that, no other pigeons came inside (perhaps it was a messenger pigeon!).

The staff expressed their appreciation to Killian for meeting with them. Some felt more secure in the occupied section of the building now that the bracing of the 1963 wing is complete. Library staff who had already toured their new space told Killian it was exciting and impressive.

The Smith Room walls and ceiling have been repainted, the woodwork refinished and the original light fixtures have been completely restored.

The work of anchoring exterior cast stone and brick was completed on the West façade and scaffolding removed.

Historical plastering and replacement of the cast stone is now complete on the north end of the Reading Room, and the walls look as if they have never been touched.

New data cabling has been installed in the 1963 and 1935 buildings. Rooms 101 and 102, on the first floor of the 1925 wing, are also getting new data cabling as well as a new mechanical system, electrical wiring, and interior walls.

In the West Entry, the columns and arches were anchored and reinforced.

Workers prepare a mock-up for use in matching the historic plaster in the Reading Room.

In order to clean the Reading Room walls and ceilings, the contractor will bring in a "Denka lift". This special lift can stretch up to 75 or 80 feet. When folded down, a Denka lift measures about 30 feet long, six feet high, five and a half feet wide, and is on wheels. This is the only lift with the capacity to fit through the double doors at the entrance to the Reading Room. There aren't very many Denka lifts around, and in fact this one will be shipped in from Spokane.

The Denka lift should arrive in early March. It will be kept in the construction yard until Saturday, March 9th, then moved into the building. The lift is too large to fit into an elevator and too heavy and long to be carried up a stairway. How will the contractor get the Denka lift into the building and onto the third floor? Through the Allen Library bridge. On Friday March 8th, the third floor Allen bridge will be prepared. Large study carrels will be moved out of the way, and carpet will be covered with masonite sheets. A window will be removed and the frame protected. Then, plywood will be installed to temporarily cover the window overnight.

During the time that the Denka lift is being hoisted up, the contractor will have flaggers in the Allen arcade and construction tape around the area where the hoist is working.

At the end of the three months of cleaning, the Denka lift will leave the building through the same route, probably on a Saturday morning.