Both a little and a lot has happened at the Willow Grove construction site over the past month. A small snag with connecting our water and sewer pipes to the main lines in the middle of Davisville road slowed things down for a few days. Turns out when the road was widened a few years back, a few diagrams detailing where the lines were located weren't properly updated. It took a few days of poking around, but that pesky water main couldn't hide for long.
In more interesting visual news, nearly all of the building has been covered on the outside, with just the doors and windows letting in any light from the outside world. The covering, which we just started seeing applied in our last post, is a type of gypsum wall board. Basically, it's drywall. This isn't your father's drywall, though. This exterior gypsum is both harder and hardier.
Things get even more interesting when you look a little more closely at what happened after the gypsum board was fastened to the metal studs. While the contractors are very good at making the boards fit snugly against one another, there will always be very small gaps. Which brings us to the blue tape you see in the last photo. All of the gaps are covered with this blue tape, then a special sealant is applied over the tape. This weatherproofing goo then needs a full two days to cure before the next step.
After the sealant in the gaps is fully cured, the whole building gets covered in the same blue stuff. Makes for a pretty sight. Vaguely purple drywall, slowing converted to a bright blue. Even the concrete foundations get painted.And while the blue is certainly a very attractive color, and would garner the School no small amount of attention, rest assured that a much more traditional facade will soon present itself.
And remember, more photos are posted on our Facebook page. You don't need a Facebook account to see the photos, but if you do have one, be sure to hit the Like button while you're there. Be sure to check out the pictures of the music studios, recital hall, bathrooms and elevator shaft.
Lastly, we leave you with this parting image. Last week, our new executive director, Helen Eaton, had the chance to visit the Philadelphia area. She spent most of last Thursday on a whirlwind tour of all six current branches, but was also able to check out the construction site, along with Settlement Music School President Barrie Trimingham and Jenkintown Branch Director Marsha Hogan. For those of you unfamiliar with the faces of Settlement, from left to right, it's Barrie, Helen and Marsha.
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