Sunday, April 28, 2013

Roger Putnam Vocational Technical High School, Springfield MA


Architect: Drummey Rosane Anderson Inc.
General Contractor: Consigli Construction
Casework Contractor: Herrick & White
Plastic Laminated Countertops: Rynone Mfg
Epoxy Resin Countertops: Durcon
Laboratory Fixtures: Watersaver Faucet Co.
Fume Hoods: Labconco
An exceedingly challenging 308,000 SF project! Everything was going really well until the plumbing subcontractor refused to install the fume hoods because the gas valves had copper supply lines (in Massachusetts gas lines are required to be black iron- copper is not allowed) Regrettably, the shop drawings which were submitted and approved had clearly indicated the copper guts and no one noticed, myself included. We hired an outside plumbing company to come in and pull all the copper and install black iron in it's place. The "irony" here (pun intended) is that the specifications did not even indicate that a pre-plumbed fume hood was required! We didn't have to put anything in there at all and could have delivered the gas valves to the jobsite in a cardboard box! Technically all we had to do was pull out the factory installed copper so that the plumber can install all of the black iron connections inside the fume hood, but they refused to do this because they didn't want any such responsibility. We took care of it in the interest of schedule and good faith.
Another issue was the line bored shelf pin holes in the casework. They were specified as KV pilasters and clips machined into the cabinet. Fortunately, the architect accepted the casework with line bored holes because Wood-Metal Industries provided a no-cost enhancement: 1" thick adjustable shelves throughout the project, regardess of shelf size. The finish of the casework was a custom stain that Wood-Metal had to match in their finish department and they nailed it. Casework was a composite set-up of stained rift white oak exteriors, clear birch interiors, and plastic laminated doors with 3mm pvc edging. I can't think of many wood casework companies that are capable of such a combination.

Woodland High School, Beacon Falls CT

Architect: Jeter Cook & Jepson
General Contractor: O&G Industries
Casework Contractor: Northeast Interior Systems
Architectural Woodwork: Woodworks (Bloomfield CT)
Plastic Laminated Casework: Case Systems
Epoxy Resin Countertops: Laboratory Tops
Laboratory Fixtures: Watersaver Faucet Co.
Fume Hoods: Airmaster Systems Inc.
I immensely enjoyed managing this project for NEIS. Working with O&G Industries and JCJ Architects was a pleasure. The Woodland HS campus was nestled in the hills of western CT with amazing views from every classroom.

Monday, January 21, 2013

100 Beacon Street, Boston MA

Architect: Grassi Design Group
Contractor: Metric Construction
Woodwork: Millwork One
Cabinet Doors: Baranowski Woodworking
Penthouse Handrails: Hardwood Design Inc
Drawer Boxes: Susquehannah Valley Woodcrafters
Solid sapele stile and rail base units with high gloss lacquered upper cabinets.
I managed this project in 2009 and it still ranks among the projects that I'm most proud to have under my belt. Since it included just about everything: standing and running trim, doors/frames/hardware, and all kitchen/bath casework- every one of the 16 units was interesting to build. There were exotic ipe decks up on the rooftop with outdoor gas fireplaces. Hanging around up there and looking down upon the surrounding buildings and their secret rooftops while taking in the Boston skyline- that was pretty cool. Furnishing and installing nearly $2 million of woodwork in this project did indeed have me at my wit's end, but having all the right partners paid off in big ways. I owe it all to these fabricators and installers.
Every delivery of millwork required me to reserve a crane and hire a police detail- it was a BIG DEAL to stock this project! Other challenges included all of the hundreds of window extensions jambs throughout the job (built using pre-primed MEDEX) and the kitchen upper cabinets with their very glossy finish. One of the penthouses had a customized library built with sycamore veneers and [matching] solids, and the finish had to be applied in the field to achieve the desired warmth and depth of the wood's beauty. Upholstered walls were something I had never seen before- impressive indeed seeing cushiony batting and fabrics applied to the walls.
You can see the official website for this building HERE.
Walking distance from Tom Brady's Boston condo!
Had the privilege of working on that space as well.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Welcome to CaseworkONE™

This idea had been brewing in my mind over the past 5-6 years. I'm not sure how often I will find the time to populate this blog, but I think a meaningful approach is to provide an index of all the projects I have managed in the course of the past 10 years, limiting them to those with an overall value of about $500k or more (see rough draft of the list, below). The plan is to give a brief description of each project, it's ups and downs, hopefully some images, a link to the general contractor's website and to the architect's website, and to the casework, millwork, fixture, installation and other companies which were involved in putting the project together. A lively community of followers would be a dream come true of course, with readers sharing their own experiences, challenges and success stories. A feed to a CaseworkONE™ Facebook page will be setup shortly as well.
Once the ball is rolling and we have a nice solid backlog of project stories, it will serve as an excellent reference for people searching for information about casework (and millwork) related products, services and companies.
I have enjoyed a rewarding career in woodworking for over 20 years. It feels like a good time to start giving something back by sharing my experiences.

  • Lehigh Valley Hospital
  • NYU Hospital 15th Floor Corporate Offices
  • NYU Hospital 8th Floor
  • NYU Hospital 12th Floor
  • Resorts Casino
  • Nordstrom Providence Place
  • Nordstrom Frisco TX
  • Macys Frisco TX
  • Ritz Carlton Hotel Philadelphia
  • Coach Stores
  • Colorado Stores
  • Fortunoff Wine Store
  • Standard & Poors Boston
  • Brigham & Women's Hospital Boston
  • St Vincent's Hospital Bridgeport, CT
  • Harvard Univ Art Museum
  • 100 Beacon Street luxury condos Boston (~25 units)
  • Zero Marlboro Street luxury condos Boston (~20 units)
  • Woodland High School
  • Alcott Elementary School
  • Andover Elementary School
  • Woodland High School
  • Glastonbury High School
  • Two Rivers Middle School
  • Hartford High School
  • New Canaan High School
  • Wilton High School
  • New Milford Middle School
  • West Woods Upper Elementary School
  • UConn Waterbury
  • Boston College Stokes Hall
  • Baystate Medical Center ED Springfield MA
  • Emmanuel College
  • Yale New Haven Ambulatory Hospital
  • Yale Woolsey Hall
  • Falmouth High School
  • North Kingstown High School
  • Chariho High School
  • Marine Science Magnet High School
  • Vernon Middle School
  • Sheehan High School
  • Wheatland College
  • Bloomingdales Chicago
  • Dartmouth High School
  • Greater Lawrence High School
  • Medford Middle School
  • Lexington High School
  • Jordan Hospital
  • Roger Putnam Voc Tech High School
  • Albert F. Argenziano School
  • Central High School Providence RI
  • Newton South High School
  • Newton Country Day School
  • UConn Storrs Hall
  • Springfield Data Center Springfield MA
  • Brown University Life Sciences Bldg
  • Fairfield Middle School
  • Frenchtown Middle School Brighton NY
  • Colorado Store Vienna Austria
  • Bachrach Farmington CT
  • Smith Barney Houston TX
  • Predictive Systems Inc
  • West Haven RR Station
  • John Daniels School CT
  • Salem High School MA
  • Orchard Gardens K-8 School Boston
  • MIT Sloane School of Business
  • Joel Barlow High School
  • CB Jennings Elementary School