Spring and early summer have been busy periods at the Railway History Center in Snoqualmie. Construction of the third phase – the Railway Education Center – is rapidly advancing, but Spike is a little behind posting photos. Plumbing and electrical has been run inside the foundation, the concrete floor has been poured, and now framing is underway. Here is a short gallery post incorporating some highlights of the floor construction. Spike will follow up in a few days with another gallery post that depicts framing progress.
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An excavator filled inside the stem walls with a select fill. The
stem walls elevate the building above the flood plain. Grade
beams and utilities are located within the walls.
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Plumbers and electricians ran pipe and conduit below what will
be the first floor. Pipe hangers will attach these pipes and
conduit to the bottom of the concrete floor.
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Lots of reinforcing bar is hidden in floor and foundation! The
Northwest Railway Museum is in a seismic zone and
commercial buildings like this must be designed to ensure
a minimum magnitude 7.2 earthquake without collapsing.
Substantial grade beams, the Geo Pier foundation, the stem
walls, and other features work together to achieve this
design requirement.
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The concrete crew pumped concrete into the
rebar cages.
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A large concrete pump truck simplified the floor pour by
delivering concrete exactly where it was needed.
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The concrete pumper allowed the crew to direct concrete around
the utility pipes in an efficient manner.
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A simple 2×4 board was used to level the concrete.
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Hand trowels helped smooth the surface.
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A larger trowel helped make the floor surface uniform.
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After the concrete cured slightly, workers performed
additional surfacing to create a really smooth surface.
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A power trowel smooths the surface of the floor.
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The complete foundation and first floor is ready for the
framing crew!
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