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Snow and Ice Hinder Progress on Top Shop

The crew from Greene Construction split their time this month working on the new Top Shop site and helping clear the Mountain after the winter weather came through.

This month the crew installed more decking and railing along the "bridge to the Bridge." The temporary fencing is being removed a little at a time as various areas are completed, as are the other construction structures such as equipment trailers. The area will eventually be cleared so visitors can see the finished appearance of the project.

Permanent heat is on inside the facility and the emergency generator has been hooked up and tested. The building's thermal insulation is almost complete, although some work remains on the ceiling in the stairwell and the snack areas.

The thermal resistance of the structure was put to the test in the last half of December as the Mountain endured high winds and low temperatures.

"As the last door opening was filled in and even before the insulation work began, one could really feel the thermal design blocking the elements," said Skip Greene of Greene Construction. "With the insulation going in, we could sense how weather tight the new Top Shop has become."

The crew is checking the temperature on each floor daily and holding the minimal drop during the night. The full heating system is in operation and it is very comfortable.

"The radiant floor heat is doing a great job," added Greene.

The drywall work will be completed and ready for paint in the next month. Track work for the drop-in ceiling can begin as soon as the walls are primed, which means the light fixtures and other above-ceiling equipment can be installed.

The hard tile will soon be installed in the bathrooms. This will then allow the crew to begin putting in partitions and fixtures. With the drywall installed, the crew will begin setting doors and finish hardware.

Utility equipment will be installed in the mechanical room early in 2010. With that finished, the crew can tie in the water storage tanks to provide the structure with 3,600 gallons of water. This will exceed the maximum water consumption of any recorded day's needs.

Greene Construction recognizes that the work in January and February are dependent on the access to the top of the Mountain. While the crew already has one Grandfather Mountain winter under their belts, the winter of 2009-2010 has already provided some major challenges.

On days that snow and ice has covered the roads to the top, Skip Greene's crew was just as eager to help get the park open to the public as the Grandfather Mountain employees were. The construction group helped push and shovel snow after the big storm the week before Christmas and they brought along a chipper to grind up limbs and debris after the Christmas ice storm.

"Their help has been invaluable," said Grandfather Operations Manager Crae Morton.

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