Pi Lam EZ Alumni

Blog coming soon. http://www.pilamalumni.com

[pilamalumni]

Penn Homecoming is this weekend. If you are in the Philly area and attending some of the Penn events (or even if you’re not), stop by the house November 5th for the usual Pi Lam festivities. Composites, hoagies, and stories of yore await! Everything starts at 11 am, so make sure you show up on the early side if you’re hungry!

[pilamalumni]

Temporary Scrim

It proved quite difficult to find the appropriate stone to complete the historic facade, so after a power wash, a scrim was purchased to gussy up the place while we located the materials. These pictures were taken in January of 2008.

[pilamalumni]

Goodbye Stair Tower

In March of 2007, the front stair tower was demolished. This is done in an effort to restore the façade back to the way it was during the 1920s through the 1960s. These photos were taken on March 20, 2007 and March 22, 2007.

[pilamalumni]

Settling In

The Brothers moved into their newly renovated house over the first weekend of December 2006. Quickly thereafter, Happy Hours were again a regular Thursday occurrence and bands began gracing the living room with their presence. Though very happy with their newly purchased bedroom furniture, the Brothers had to make due with only the very basics throughout the rest of the house. Slowly but surely, more amenities are starting to appear in the House common areas. These pictures were taken on February 28, 2007.

[pilamalumni]

House Dedication

On October 28, 2006 during Penn’s 2006 Homecoming weekend, we held a reception in the nearly finished house where we honored those who were generous enough to donate money towards our renovation and refurnishing efforts. Food was consumed, drinks were imbibed, foosball was played, and brothers were reconnected during this emotional event. Though the house was still one month from being occupied, the Alumni who attended were very happy to see the progress made and reminisce about old times.

[pilamalumni]

Finishings

Though we have again experienced some minor delays, the work is progressing. Sheet rock and joint compound are complete and we are looking to begin putting the finishing touches on the house. These pictures are from late September 2006.

[pilamalumni]

Sheet Rock!

Another two weeks has gone by and even more progress has been made. The brothers are back on campus and have been temporarily moved to Hill House until 3914 Spruce is finished and the proper inspections are complete. We are hoping this will be about a month. The house is really starting to look like a living space and not just a construction site. At this point, everyone is eager to see a finished project. Pictures taken August 28, 2006.

[pilamalumni]

The End Is In Sight

So much has been completed in the past 28 days. The new staircase is complete, new windows are in, HVAC ductwork is all but complete, bathroom plumbing is roughed in, telecommunications wiring is going in, and insulation is being laid. I could go on, but I will let the pictures speak for themselves (taken August 13, 2006).

[pilamalumni]

Stairs

A week and a half has gone by since the last post and in that time framing on the 4th/3rd/2nd floors and the stairs to the 4th floor (Heavens) have been completed. Also, we see the first rise of stairs for the new staircase in the center of the house. These pictures were taken on July 18, 2006.

[pilamalumni]

Rough-In

We were able to document more progress on July 6, 2006. Four more workers have been added to the efforts to ensure we are on track for September 1st completion. Framing is complete on the 3rd floor and commencing nicely in all other areas. The 2nd/3rd floor electrical rough-in has started and new treads/landings have been added to the rear stairtower.

[pilamalumni]

Frame-Up

By June of 2006 all structural issues have been addressed. The electicial, plumbing, and mechanical contractors have been chomping at the bit to get started and are poisted to let loose on the house. These pictures were taken on June 13, 2006 and as we can see, framing has begin in all areas of the house.

[pilamalumni]

Progressing…

The first three months of 2006 were more difficult that expected with labor issues and a few work stoppages, but the project is back on track. Here are some pictures from March 26, 2006 showing the progress that has been made:

[pilamalumni]

New Year

In January 2006 we continued the structural work by removing and replacing the joists and flooring on the upper floors. Unfortunately, it was quickly determined that much more of the wood was damaged than we originally though. At the time these pictures were taken (January 24, 2006), most of the flooring was removed from the west half of the house and was awaiting new structural joists and subflooring.

[pilamalumni]

The Real Work Begins

These pictures were taken during a walk-through on December 22, 2005. Though much of the work looks similar to what was completed during the demolition phase, the task at hand now is the removal and replacement of the structually unsound portions of the house (of which there are many).

[pilamalumni]

Leaning Tower of Pilam

For those who have spent any time in 3914 Spruce over the past 25 years knows that the rear firetower was “precarious” at best. Being one of the largest life safety issues and the most significant violations the house was bestowed, it naturally became our first major undertaking. Engineers were called in to do structural assessments, soil borings were taken, and observation trenches were dug to determine the best course of action.

The problem was basically that the tower, which was built in the 1960′s, was given a very poor foundation and over the years had settled away from the main structure. This caused the tower to lean or “spin” away from the house, leaving a significant fissure up the south east corner. Even worse, it seemed to be taking the rear wall of the house with it. It was ultimately determined that the structure itself was sound, even though the foundation was not. Rather than demolish the existing tower, we decided to reinforce the foundation using a pressurized grouting technique.

Here are some before (taken on August 8, 2005) and after (taken October 29, 2005) pictures of the tower.

[pilamalumni]

New Roof

During one of the hottest weeks of the summer of 2005, the new roof was completed making leaks a thing of the past.

[pilamalumni]

Demolition Phase – Complete

We were back in July 2005 to take photos of the completed demolition job. Nostalgia didn’t even begin to describe the emotions felt as we walked through the very empty house. These emotions would soon be replaced by the excitement of the prospect of a newly renovated Pilam.