Work resumes in Franklin Hall
Construction work inside Franklin Hall has resumed, three weeks after the project was shut down to remove asbestos from the building. The renovation of the 1907 building is still on track, with substantial completion on target for June 1, 2016, according to Blake Rowe, project manager for Weddle Brothers Construction, the main contractor.
Asbestos was found around old windows and in construction dust, but not in the air. To protect worker safety, the building was closed in late July to allow an asbestos abatement firm to clean contamination from interior surfaces. Renovation work started again Aug. 17, according to project manager Bob Richardson, senior associate university architect.
The next major milestone in the project will be the installation of the skylight above the commons area, currently planned for late September. In preparation, Weddle Brothers workers are installing four steel columns and a series of trusses that will support the skylight. They’ll cut small holes in the existing roof to push the columns through, and will patch around the columns until the skylight — measuring about 42 feet by 35 feet — is ready to be lowered on top. Then, they’ll cut away the old roof.
“I’ve done skylights before, but not this big,” said Gary Chambers, director of construction management at IU Bloomington.
The skylight will provide daylight not just in the commons, but in interior offices that have windows overlooking the center of the building.
Media School faculty and staff are scheduled to move into the building next summer in preparation for the beginning of the fall 2016 semester.