Missoula Federal Credit Union

If you’re like me, you may be arriving to work in the dark now and maybe even headed home in the dark! If that’s the case, you may miss some of the big things going on at the construction site…For instance, the brick on one entire wall is nearly completed! Check out the pix (taken during daylight hours for benefit of our “dark-challenged” drivers!) Window and door spaces are taking shape and more of the first floor gets enclosed daily. The concrete for the second floor will be poured in coming days once all the joists are braced and cross braced.

Other portions of the project continue at a rapid pace—but they aren’t visible. For instance, the ductwork for the HVAC system is being installed in the basement, the elevator enclosure is completed and the decking for the second story is being installed.

Today’s “green” tidbit: Energy models were used in the design phase of the project to select the best HVAC system and to analyze the best insulation package for the building (cost vs. incremental benefit). The HVAC and electrical systems will  be commissioned at the end of the project to ensure they are running at optimal performance levels.

It’s been a couple of weeks since our last update and things have changed DRAMATICALLY on the site. We now have exterior walls going up, the concrete has been poured for the first floor and the firewall between the new building and the old one is rapidly taking shape. We’re hoping to have the entire building enclosed by mid-November (hopefully before the snow flies!) In the next few weeks you’ll start to see more exterior finishes going up and the second floor will start to take shape.

A couple of “green” tidbits you might find interesting…Light gauge walls are being used for both bearing walls and out of plane forces—eliminating 5% of the red iron used in the project—AND, all of the red iron we’re using is 100% recycled.

Don’t forget, during construction, our temporary lobby entrance and parking are on the south side of the building….accessible only via Dore Lane.

Things are moving VERY quickly on our construction project right now!  Some of the main support columns have been installed (never fear, more are coming), all of the concrete for the walls and floor of the basement has been poured and the floor joists are in for the first floor. Right now, the iron workers are welding bracing and cross-bracing for the floor joists and later this week, they will begin installing the pan deck. The pan deck is specially corrugated metal that the concrete for the floor is poured into. It provides a “form” for the concrete to fill in. The concrete will be poured sometime later next week. The excavator continues the back filling and compacting around the exterior basement walls and the crane will be back on site soon to continue erecting steel. AND, mini Mount Jumbo is nearly gone…the big pile of dirt has been used to back fill the basement and bring some of the site up to grade.

We are moving into a very exciting phase of the construction project! The air handler will be lowered into the basement tomorrow morning (around 7:00-7:30) with a crane…not a sight to be missed! Visit us again later this week for pix of the installation.

Structural steel will start to go up later this week….and continue for a couple of weeks.

Everything  at this point appears to be moving smoothly–materials are showing up when they are supposed to (or even early!), sub contractors are showing up when they are supposed to, and we’ll be seeing some significant changes to the building in the coming days and weeks.

The studs are here! The studs are here! Well, at least some of our steel studs arrived early this morning for our construction project. This is our first official steel delivery with many more to come. Walls will be built on site and put into place with a crane. It will still be a couple of weeks before you start to see steel coming out of the ground, as some work is still going on in the basement of the building. Once the crane is on site and walls start going up, the project will take on a whole new look! We’ll continue to update you with pix and postings as the project takes shape.

It’s been a while since our last construction update….while a LOT has happened, not much of it is readily visible as you drive by (except of course, “Mini Mount Sentinel”—someone suggested we paint a big “M” on our pile of dirt out front, Hmmmmm). Basement foundation and walls continue to be formed, poured, cured and back filled. Soon, the construction will come out of the ground and you’ll start to see steel go up….We’re hoping to see steel in the air mid-September-(ish).

Everyone seems to be getting the hang of the temporary entrance to the lobby (off Dore Lane) and the new drive up is seeing more and more transactions through it. In fact, transactions at both the lobby and the new drive up increased from May to June to July.

Have YOU visited the new drive up? We’d love to see you there!

While on the surface, little appears to be happening, believe me, lots is going on! Crews continue to excavate the basement and pour walls.  The shaft for the elevator is being dug and back filling has started along some of the walls that have cured completely. The next several weeks will see more dirt moved and more concrete poured….not necessarily the most exciting part of the project, but vital to the building!

Some have asked why the hole is so very very deep…we are putting a full basement under the building, plus, we need depth for the decking between the basement and first floor and of course the floor for the basement…not to mention the support that will be necessary to keep the two story building standing! It all starts with a strong foundation, and that means digging deep to start.

The space formerly known as the front door! Excavation continues with the digging of the elevator shaft.