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ReVisions Vocational Center
Project Information
- Project Location:
- Catonsville, MD
- Status:
- Completed
- Structure Type:
- Club House / Community Center
Scope Of Work
ReVisions, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing assistance to mentally and physically challenged persons of the community. The organization provides housing assistance, vocational training and job placement. ReVisions selected Carnaggio Builders as their general contractor for a substantial renovation to 5 Bloomsbury Avenue in Catonsville, Maryland. The old building previously housed a cab company and garage for cab maintenance. Years earlier, a fire had occurred in the building scorching some of the old timber trusses, which seriously compromised the roof structure. The concrete slab was in poor condition and was not level to support the proposed administrative offices for vocational training.
After achieving the status of "low bidder", Carnaggio performed an exhaustive "value engineering" process to assist the owner in reducing the hard construction cost. A compromise was achieved wherein the architects design intent was maintained and the Owner could assemble the required funding for the project.
The scope of the project included demolition of a small building addition, front wall of the building, the entire concrete slab and roof structure. During the slab removal a strong stench of fuel was detected and an underground fuel tank was exposed. Carnaggio provided remediation services which required the supervision and approval of the Maryland Department of the Environment.
Project difficulties were significant. The remaining three perimeter walls were severely out of square, complicating the installation of the proposed truss roof framing. Bloomsbury Avenue is an extremely busy side street in downtown Catonsville and there is no staging area or parking available. Many normally simple procedures required off hours work to pour concrete, set roof trusses and coordinate with adjacent businesses.
The project momentum was interrupted and the progress halted after the building was watertight due to funding complications. After an eight month delay, Carnaggio returned to complete the interior improvements. During this period of time the project scope actually increased, resulting in a nominal additional cost for the time lost.
