Amarillo's Olive Garden

Today we completed all indoor modifications.   We also started the asphalt overlay.   We are working on completing asphalt so that the lot can be striped on Monday or Tuesday at the latest.  We are also awaiting the delivery of the handrails.  We managed to work in sections so that Olive Garden could remain open while all work was completed.  Above is a photo of today's progress.

Interior and Exterior Scheduled Work

Today we continued pouring the remainder of concrete for the west side.  We also poured the section where the trip hazard was removed.   Inside we've started work to make changes so that restrooms and railings are compliant.  We continue to be on schedule despite the WINDY Panhandle winds. 

Olive Garden: West Side of Building

Today we demolition on the west side is in progress.  Another crew is forming and setting up for concrete.  In the afternoon we were able to pour concrete.  Tomorrow we begin the interior work. So far we are on schedule.

Pouring Concrete

We were able to pour concrete for handicap sidewalks, ramps and curbs.  Progressing on schedule.  We should be able to move start the west side work tomorrow.

Olive Garden: East Side Demo Work

I'm in Amarillo, TX working on an Olive Garden.  We'll be doing some ADA upgrades and remodifications.  We're starting on the exterior of the building.  Today we are doing demolition on the east side of the building.  Above is a collage of the work completed today.

Transformation of Back Dining Room

Additional Concrete Work Ordered

The old handicap sidewalk has been torn out, reformed, and poured.  The new sidewalk looks great.  In addition two curbs at the front expo line have been cut at an angle to make working in this area safer.  The painters have also sealed the curbs for a cleaner look. 

Transformation of Kitchen

Addition of Bar dining area

Transforming from Pizza Oven to Comal Station

Transformation of Hubcap Room

CELEBRATION:  TODAY THE INSPECTOR ISSUED THE CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY!  Above are photos of the transformation of the hubcap room dining area. 

One More Look Before Furniture Arrives

The past couple of days Woody focused on making sure all the building was ready for the arrival of the booths, tables, and chairs.  These last couple of days meant the subcontractors would have to work around the furniture if they didn't finish any other interior work.  Everyone pulled together to get ready and have the building cleared so that the installers would be able to set up all furniture easily once it arrives.  THE PLUMBERS PASSED THEIR FINAL PLUMBING INSPECTION YESTERDAY.  Coca-Cola came and set up new machines.  The sign installer is still working on installing signs around and at the back of the building.  Today we passed our ANSUL inspection.  The window cleaners and building cleaners arrived and started all cleaning of the building.  The HVAC mechanics also had an inspection and PASSED.  It's been a busy couple of days, but we've made excellent progress.

Ryan Elmer, Project Manager Visits Project

The kitchen equipment is set up and the stainless steel tables and cabinets are installed.  In the photo in the bottom right corner another table will be delivered to go where the trash can currently is.  The photo in the top left corner is a view of the new look of the location where the pizza oven was before.  Ryan's visiting the site not only to help Woody with any questions or details but also they are working on a punch list to try to avoid overlooking any work that is still not complete. 

Railing Installed at Bar and Hubcap Room

Woody sent these photos of the railings now that they are installed and painted.  The wood top cap is temporary and is raw in the top left photo and can be seen painted green in the top right photo.  It is clear that the building has remained clean while the crews continue to work.  The tile crew has returned to finish some grouting and to tile around areas where the kitchen equipment tables have now been installed. 

Patio Ramp Construction

Labor Day and one of the carpenters came to work on the weekend and earlier today to continue the consruction of the ramp off the patio.  It is definitely solid.  Looks like it's ready for the painters to paint this coming week.  Since I have a personal emergency, I am leaving for Texas in the morning.  So Woody and I came out to the job today to have a look at the overall progress.  By the time I return it will be furnished and this ramp should be painted.  The landscaper will be able to get back out here to continue landscape work around the ramp area. 

Painting in Patio Continues

Here is a view of the paint progress in the patio area.  The painters have moved back to working on painting outside now that most of the interior painting has been finished.  Coca-Cola sent a crew to remove all the pre-existing soda lines.  They will return at a later date to install the new lines.  The other crews are all continuing on all contracted work. 

Kitchen Equipment Delivery

Big day on the job today.  We received the kitchen equipment.  This also meant we finally met Mark.  We'd heard so much about him from the beginning of this job.  He definitely came with a purpose and plan.  He started by unloading the trucks, while the crews started moving them into the building.  They worked on unpacking and placing everything.  They will be here a few days in order to get it all where it goes, but they are off to a great start.  The electricians, painters, HVAC mechanics all proceeded with contract work.  The stainless crew is also here installing at the wait station.  We also received the stainless steel cap for the comal area today. 

Women's Restroom Transformation

Above is a collage showing the stages of transformation from start to finish in the women's restroom.  All our subcontractors took part in this remodel.  Woody even went in a couple of days ago and cleaned it from top to bottom to remove all the dust left by the tape and bed crew and over all construction debris that accumulated.   The painters came in and put the final paint on it.  Now we only have lighting finishes.  The painters also finished painting the hallway.  They are now mostly painting outside.  The electricians have lights on outside, on the roof, and at the hoods.  HVAC mechanics are still working on black pipe.  Ansul crew is moving so fast they'll probably finish tomorrow.  The fire sprinkler company is on site again finishing all work required to pass inspections. 

Sidewalk Demo & Repour Complete

Excellent work was completed by the concrete crew today.  They came and tore out the old sidewalk, drilled holes for anchors, and poured back the new sidewalk.  Now we'll wait for the carpenters to return to construct the ramp that will come off the patio and connect to the sidewalk.  Electricians, HVAC mechanics, fire ansul, and painting crews were all onsite today progressing on all contracted work.  Today was a long day, but much progress was made.  We've started a list of items left to be completed, which can only mean we are close to be being done!  Good job, team.

Saturday Utilized by Roofers, Carpenters, and Tile Crew

The roofers, carpenters, and tile crew took advantage of most crews not working today and came in to continue the progress of work.  The photo shows how Woody washed down all the floors in the kitchen areas so the tile crew could complete all tile work and grouting over the weekend.  The roofers are working on finishing work on the dormer and in the back.  Anothe photo shows the progress the hvac mechanics have made at the comal this past week.  Also, in the photo above, is a glimpse of the fish line the carpenters are installings.  Fish line?  You'll have to come out and see what that's all about. 

Transformation of Main Dining Room

On days like today, it would be difficult to convince Woody or myself that there is any other "job" more rewarding than the one we do for Parkway Construction.   Sitting back now looking at the main dining area where the electricians were hanging lights, it's amazing to see the room transform.   It's been exactly one month today since we pulled the old booths out of this room.  The photo above shows the room on July 19th and then a week later and finally today.  All the usual crews are here:  electricians, HVAC techs, plumbers, painters, millworkers, and roofers.  In addition, we had the fire sprinkler company come out to check all the sprinklers.   All arrangements are being finalized now for the ramp construction.   As the week draws to a near, we continue to set up all final finishes. 

Another Monday in Louisville, KY

Weekends are wonderful especially when they are as productive as ours was here.  Makes coming back on Monday a joy.  The electricians have the hubcap room lit!  We were very busy in the morning covering all the tiled floors.   The carpenters continued to work on the frame for the dormer and the pickets on the patio.  Painters are painting in the basket room and ceilings inside.  The tile crew finished the area by the pass thru door and several transitions.  They left tonight and will return on the weekend to finish the kitchen quarry and base.   Roofers have been working on built up roof.  The ansul tech removed the old tanks and will return with new ones at a later time.  Woody was also able to make arrangements to have the refrigeration tech come out later in the week. 

Tile Floors Are Sealed

The tile crew sealed all the tiled floors this weekend.  The work is remarkable.  They have covered the high traffic pathways.  However, Woody is going to have the tile covered entirely in the morning.  Although tempted to display a photo of the floors throughout, we've chosen to share only this frame taken by the hostess low wall.   The tile crew has done a wonderful job and taken great pride in their work.  By evening they were exhausted.  

What beautiful work!  The roofers arrived early in the morning in full force.  They started removing the old roof and putting on the new.  The photo below shows the process on one of the roofs.  Above is a photo of  Redfish coming down again, so barnwood could be applied.  But not to fear, by the end of the day Redfish was soaring again.   The advancement is remarkable.  The visible changes are unavoidable at this point.  The plumbers, electricians, and HVAC mechanics that don't get a lot o their work displayed are working hard.  It's great to have running lights, water and air conditioning.  We did have all the hoods cleaned today. 

Friday's Visible Progress

Pictures are the best way to show the progress that's taken shape over the past few weeks.  Most significant for the week has to be the fact that all floor tile is complete, wall tile is almost complete, and the progress of the indoor bar.  We've made big strides on painting on the exterior of the building, patio areas, and indoors.  The plumbers, electricians, and HVAC mechanics have been very busy all week doing the in the walls, in the ceilings and all that hidden work that may not be visible but is very important.   It's been an incredible week.

We received the Parkway Construction banner.  After the rain, Woody was able to display it.  The carpenters worked on the bar.  The plumbers set restroom toilets and sinks.  The photo also shows the electrical completed at the outside bar.  The other collage shows the progress the painters are making in various areas throughout the building, both inside and outside.  The floor tile work will be completed by the end of today.

Rainy Thursday

The morning news reported that scattered showers were a possibility for today.  The tractor trailer with materials arrived after dinner last night.  So Woody had at least been able to unload the truck and store the materials in the storage containers before any rainfall.  On the way to work traffic was backed up worse than usual.  Sitting in traffic we had some cloud cover, but still didn't look too threatening.  However, here is a photo of the clouds that rolled in over the job site by 9:30am.   By 10am we we were getting rain.  Of course, Woody had already moved all crews indoors by then.  The work never slowed down.  It was a good strong rain that left as quickly as it'd arrived.  We've continued to make progress indoors.  Today we were able to welcome the addition of the sound crew to our group of workers. 

End of WednesDAY

So at the end of the day, it's easier to see how it's all going to come together.  The painters got a good start on the ceiling.  The tile crew is finishing up the floor tile.  The wall tile crew left this evening and will return to finish next week.  The carpenters work with the barnwood is excellent.  The electricians worked back in the kitchen area at the electrical boxes.   Once everyone left and we were locking up the photo above captured how it looked when we called it a day.

Our Work Space

Here's a view of our working office.  We've relocated from the front of the building to the dry storage area.  It was either move or get run over by the carpenters, tile crew and painters.   It's a good place to get a lot of the administrative and schedulinig work done.  It also means most of Woody's time is spent out in the building walking the area making sure all is moving along.  We got a great group of crews working here.  It's about 100 degrees today. Still not bad when you consider the humidity is about next to nothing. 

Carpenters are installing restroom mirrors so the wall tile crew can continue tile in restrooms.  Floor tile in the main dining area is in progress.  The electricians are getting ready for two inspections tomorrow.  Painters have been painting outside today.  Carpenters are also working in the patio bar area, hanging ceiling tiles in kitchen area, and finished some misc demo work.  Talked to all foremen about schedule and this week's goals.  Looks like we got a great start on the week.

Tile Work Continues

Tile crew decided to go ahead and work today.  It's easier to make progress when they are the only crews on the job.  Their work is looking great. 

Throwdown Tile Thursday

My titles couldn't be any cornier, but it's true.  The wall tile crew arrived at noon today.  They spent about two to three hours bringing in tile and setting up.  By four they had the to go station wall tile on the wall.  All the crews have been working so hard this week and the tile guys get all the glory because their work is so visible.  But the electricians, hvac techs, plumbers, framers, roofers hung in there and made better than average progress for the day.  Meanwhile, the painters are outside marking areas and preparing for a big paint crew tomorrow.  I'll probably wait until Monday to post pictures of the exterior paint. 

Wild Woody Wednesdays

Well, it's not pretty, but it's progress.  The photo shows the progress of the framers and roofers this week on the dormers.  This is being framed for signage.  The rains this week were light and although it delayed some of the roof work, we did finally get it framed.  Woody decided it was a good place for RedFish while we prepare for permanent signs.  The framers and trim crew also hung ceiling grid and started putting top caps on low walls.  The plumbers worked on lines from outside bar to fire pit, plus lines at expo line.  Fire sprinkler tech finished all work on heads today.  Electricians finished preparing for electrical inspection.  HVAC techs ran flex line in hubcap room.  Painters finished the power washing of the building and have started painting back of building.  Basket room tile finished and grouting has started.  The bar area is being prepared for tile.  Great progress and it's only mid-week.  Without my assistance on Wednesday's Woody is free to go Wild on Wednesdays. 

Demo Work Has Started

Demo work started first thing in the morning and we never slowed down until quitting time.  The roll off was delivered and we'll have it filled before long.  One crew worked on removing stainless steel, while a different crew removed booths.  The plumber removed toilets and urinals.  The electricians also started their demo work.  Woody scheduled the City Inspector to come by tomorrow for a pre-construction meeting.  By the end of the day we'd received large emails from Kellie and Ryan with contracts, scopes, and a variety of administrative support.  It was a long and productive day.  Great way to start the week.

Calling Subcontractors: Work Starts Monday

Must have been 6:30am when we started getting email from our Project Manager, Ryan Elmer.  We have a schedule for completion, scope clarification, subcontractors contact information, and most importantly the official go ahead to start on Monday.  Ryan's very thorough crossing all the t's and i's so that he can smoothly turn this over to Woody for construction.  Woody's been busy burning some phone minutes making sure the subcontractors are ready to come to work first thing Monday.  Demo work is first order of business.   Let the fun begin.

Air Conditioning and Lawn Service

Today we've focused on having the heating and air units checked again to determine what is to be repaired and what will be replaced.  This includes looking at duct work, the units on the roof and checking temperatures inside.  We're also working with the Project Manager to get the finalized contract for the lawn maintenance service.  Aside from needing to maintain the lawn to meet all city codes, we also need to cut back any overgrowth along the outside of the building that could prevent or be in the way of painters.  We've almost got the office setup.  Woody is looking over the subcontractor scopes Ryan sent over.