610 and 630 Court Street Progress - 2015

December, 2015

Monthly Summary: At 610 Court Street cables were run for a video intercom system, the elevator received final adjustments prior to a scheduled State inspection in January, and carpet was installed in the upstairs common areas. At 630 Court Street seismic retrofitting continued, during which a stash of old documents and photographs was found under some floor boards.

	610 Court Street: A box for a video intercom system (bottom) and a fire department box (top) are added at the sidewalk level entry to the upstairs suites.
	610 Court Street: Cables are run to accomodate the video intercom system.
	610 Court Street: The elevator machine room receives final touches. Here, a sign has been added to comply with the Elevator Regulations, and the "main brain" is open for final adjustments to the program that runs the elevator.
	610 Court Street: The upstairs common areas receive carpet. Carpet was also installed in the downstairs elevator lobby.
	610 Court Street: Carpet is placed on the risers of the stairway in the elevator lobby.
	610 Court Street: The completed elevator lobby.
	630 Court Street: Demolition continued as required for installing steel reinforcement. In this image, the sheetrock and studs that covered the brick wall have been removed.
	630 Court Street: Old documents and photographs were found in a sort of make-do "time capsule" under some floor boards that had to be removed as a part of the seismic retrofit work. Click on this link to see some of the items found: Sharkey Building Time Capsule. The image to the left shows part of a 1921 brochure about Martinez that was in the document stash.
	630 Court Street: ABC Channel 7 News reporter Elissa Harrington interviews Southport Land employee Alberto Perez, who found the stash of documents and photos under the floor boards. Click this link to see the ABC Channel 7 News story: WORKERS DISCOVER TREASURES FROM THE PAST IN MARTINEZ BUILDING
	630 Court Street: A crane loads a bundle of four steel columns onto a pick-up truck for delivery to the site. The steel columns will be bolted to the interior sides of the brick walls as reinforcement.
	630 Court Street: Two bundles of four steel columns arrive at the job site.

November, 2015

Monthly Summary: At 610 Court Street minor framing, the pulling of fire alarm wires, handrail installation, the removal of downstairs windows, and the installation of shades upstairs, all took place as the building nears completion. At 630 Court Street only minor demolition was performed due to the fact that the Martinez Arts Association Gallery was still occupying a major part of the building through the end of the month.

	610 Court Street: Miscellaneous walls were framed-up. This image shows the walls that surround the housing for the elevator's sump pump. An access door will be added after the wall has received sheetrock.
	610 Court Street: The fire alarm system (technically an elevator recall system) was installed. This image shows the main components of the system.
	610 Court Street: Relay modules were installed in the elevator mechanical room as a part of the fire alarm (elevator recall) system.
	610 Court Street: The downstairs elevator lobby received T-Bar for a ceiling, and red colored fire alarm wires were run where equipment for the elevator recall will be mounted. The texturing and painting of the walls soon followed.
	610 Court Street: ADA compliant hand rails were installed on the emergency egress stairway.
	610 Court Street: A window was removed along Court Street to allow a door to be added into a downstairs suite.
	610 Court Street: With three years of construction dust on the carpet, a shop vacuum was brought in to help clean the downstairs suite to be occupied by the Martinez Arts Association Gallery.
	610 Court Street: A temporary plywood door was placed over the entrance to a downstairs suite on Court Street. Soon after the temporary door was added, The Press Building's first tenant in several years, the Martinez Arts Association Gallery, moved in.
	610 Court Street: HunterDouglas brand shades were added to each window in every upstairs suite.

October, 2015

Monthly Summary: At 610 Court Street work continued on the first story units and common area. At 630 Court Street, revised seismic retrofit plans were submitted to, and approved by, the City.

	610 Court Street: Fixtures were added to the downstairs restroom.
	610 Court Street: When the carpet was removed from a downstairs unit, it was discovered that a patch from a prior remodel had raised-up about a half inch, creating an uneven surface. After removing the old patch, rebar is dowelled into the adjacent slab to prevent the new patch from raising up.
	610 Court Street: A contractor repairs the street where holes had to be dug to install the high speed internet cable to the building.
	610 Court Street: Voids in an original concrete wall are filled with a high solids epoxy in preparation for painting.
	610 Court Street: Plans for the elevator fire alarm were submitted to, and approved by, the Fire District.
	610 Court Street: A worker installs 2x4s for a fire wall in the ceiling crawlspace above one of the downstairs units.
	610 Court Street: Specially ordered fire rated dampers, each with a fusible link that will automatically close the damper in the event of a fire, arrived from the manufacturer. These will be installed in the ducts of the ventilation system.
	610 Court Street: Working on the details. This image shows a plywood pattern for an odd-shaped set of shelves to be installed in one of the downstairs closets.
	630 Court Street: Revised plans for the seismic retrofit work on three walls were approved by the City.

September, 2015

Monthly Summary: At 610 Court Street high speed internet was brought into the building, the electrical system was further upgraded, some of the final items for the elevator car were installed, glass blocks were added to the elevator lobby, the trash/recycle room received ceiling framing, some downstairs walls were finished and the tile work in the downstairs restroom was completed. At 630 Court Street there was a set-back because demolition revealed that the existing conditions did not match the seismic retrofit plans, requiring the preparation of a set of revisions.

	610 Court Street: A local utility completed the installation of its cable and equipment for high speed internet access. An IT sub‑contractor will install the remaining hardware and wires to complete the system.
	610 Court Street: Work continued on upgrading the electrical system. In this image, a worker uses a “Hydraulic Punch Driver” to create a hole in a metal electrical box.
	610 Court Street: Some of the last things to be installed in the elevator car were the refurbished light frame and lights.
	610 Court Street: Glass blocks were added in one of the walls of the elevator lobby. This image shows the first row of blocks after having been put in place; white spacers will allow the second row to be properly positioned.
	610 Court Street: Ceiling framing was added to the trash/recycle room.
	610 Court Street: The walls of the downstairs “restricted access common area” were finished. In this image masking paper has been placed on parts of the electrical system prior to spraying on the texture. The spraying of the texture was followed by sealing the walls with “PVA” (polyvinyl acetate) and final painting.
	610 Court Street: The tile work in the downstairs restroom was completed.
	630 Court Street: The demolition work revealed that assumptions made by the engineer, as to existing conditions, were not correct in some locations. This required the preparation of a set of revisions to the seismic retrofit plans. As of the end of September, the revisions for three walls were nearly ready for submission to the City for approval. The revisions for the remaining walls remained in “draft form” pending new engineering calculations.

August, 2015

Monthly Summary: At 610 Court Street plans arrived for the new storefront doors, more materials were delivered, and work continued on the downstairs restroom, framing and the elevator. At 630 Court Street work continued on the interior demolition.

	610 Court Street: A draft set of plans for the new storefront doors was received from the glazing contractor.
	610 Court Street: A pallet of tile for the downstairs restroom arrived.
	610 Court Street: In preparation for receiving tile, the portion of the floor that was previously “floated out” in the downstairs restroom received a coat of orange‑colored sealant.
	610 Court Street: An ADA‑compliant ramp is framed‑up between two different levels on the first floor.
	610 Court Street: A contractor operates a machine for drilling a horizontal hole under the street and sidewalk for the placement of a conduit. The conduit will be filled with a line that will bring high‑speed internet into the building.
	610 Court Street: A flexible conduit is pulled through the horizontal hole drilled under the street.
	610 Court Street: The panel with the push buttons for calling the elevator, and for the fire department's bypass keys, was installed.

July, 2015

Monthly Summary: At 610 Court Street work progressed on hooking-up the electronics for the elevator, upgrades were made to the building’s electrical system, and work continued on the downstairs restroom. At 630 Court Street, a building permit was issued for the earthquake reinforcement work (the “seismic upgrades”), and interior demolition continued.

	610 Court Street: Work continued on the elevator, mostly hooking-up the electronics, such as in this panel above the elevator car.
	610 Court Street: A concrete patch in the downstairs restroom.
	610 Court Street: About half of the floor of the downstairs restroom needed to be "floated out" so it could receive tile. In this image, the darker area has just received the float material.
	610 Court Street: Electrical conduit pipes arrived. This photo shows one of several loads.
	610 Court Street: Many new electrical conduit pipes were added as a part of upgrading the building’s electrical system.
	610 Court Street: Five spools of electric wire are set-up so that wires can be fed through the building’s system of conduit pipes.
	610 Court Street: A worker uses a hand-crank wire puller to drag new wires through a conduit leading to a future panel.
	630 Court Street: A building permit was issued for the seismic reinforcement work.
	630 Court Street: More demolition took place in preparation for the seismic retrofit work.
	630 Court Street: During the demolition of an interior wall, an old pipe from the E. Morgan Hardware & Plumbing Co. in Martinez, California, which operated in the 1920s, was uncovered.

June, 2015

Monthly Summary: At 610 Court Street more work was performed on the elevator and the building’s electrical system. Miscellaneous work, such as framing small walls, took place on the first floor. At 630 Court Street, demolition continued on the interior, in preparation for the seismic retrofit project, and progress was made on the blueprints for that project.

	610 Court Street: Electrical panels were installed.
	610 Court Street: The fully assembled elevator car, as seen from above, looking down the shaft.
	610 Court Street: A long, narrow, electrical box was added for push buttons, as a part of this month’s work on the elevator. The front wall of the shaft also received sheetrock.
	630 Court Street: Interior demolition along the Main Street façade. The demolition has exposed the original transom windows seen in early photos of the building. These windows appear to be mostly intact, which will aid in the restoration of the structure.
	630 Court Street: Interior demolition on the second story.
	630 Court Street: A draft copy of the blueprints for the seismic retrofit project was generated. After a few minor revisions, the plans should be ready for submission to the City in July.

May, 2015

Monthly Summary: At 610 Court Street work continued on the elevator, and the electric meter panels arrived. Minor tasks such as painting also took place along the emergency exit route and in the downstairs area. At 630 Court Street, more demolition on the interior took place for the seismic retrofit project.

	610 Court Street: The elevator rises above the first floor on one of its first trips. In this image, the bucket sits on the floor of the elevator car. The blue bar at the top of the image is part of the non-movable structure. The blue bar in the center of the image is part of the car’s floor. The grey-colored area below that bar is part of the concrete elevator pit; the steel pipe carrying the hydraulic fluid can be seen in the background.
	610 Court Street: After erecting the metal door frame, workers install the “car side” doors.
	610 Court Street: Electric panels arrive from the manufacturer. In this image, they are under a plastic painter’s tarp.
	610 Court Street: Prep work takes place on an exposed concrete wall along the rear emergency exit route. Due to tight tolerances mandated by the American’s with Disabilities Act, the wall cannot be furred‑out, nor can sheetrock be placed directly over the concrete.

April, 2015

Monthly Summary: At 610 Court Street work continued on the elevator and the downstairs restroom. Also, large back-lit address numbers were added to the exterior façade along Court Street. At 630 Court Street, demolition on the interior began in an area where a seismic moment frame will be constructed.

	610 Court Street: Yellow-colored vegetable-based hydraulic fluid is pumped from a 55-gallon drum into the elevator’s reservoir.
	610 Court Street: The elevator car takes shape. Looking down from the second story elevator opening, the recently constructed floor of the car can be seen.
	610 Court Street: A mock-up of the sink area is constructed in the downstairs restroom, to test compliance with the clear zone and door swing requirements of the American’s with Disabilities Act.
	610 Court Street: Address numbers were added to the Court Street façade. At night, the letters are back-lit with LED lights, creating a halo effect around the numbers (see image below).
	610 Court Street: Address numbers at dusk. The design for the numbers is based upon a Streamline Moderne font from the 1950s.
	630 Court Street: Interior demolition takes place in the area where a steel moment frame will be constructed as a part of the seismic retrofit project.

March, 2015

Monthly Summary: Work continued on the elevator at 610 Court Street, while all upstairs office suites were completed. The status of 630 Court Street remains unchanged.

	610 Court Street: The elevator’s “main brain” is installed in the elevator mechanical room.
	610 Court Street: Special fire rated and sound rated acoustical ceiling tiles arrive on a pallet from the distributor. Made of 48% recycled materials, these tiles have a Ceiling Attenuation Class (CAC) rating of 40. Ordinary tiles have a CAC of about 35 or below.
	610 Court Street: A communication line distribution box was added to the closet of each upstairs suite. A separate conduit runs from the box to each communication outlet in the suite. The conduits were not filled with wire because a tenant has multiple choices for the type of communication wire to use; a pull string was provided instead.
	610 Court Street: Fast setting, high strength floor leveling grout is added to smooth out the floors prior to the installation of carpeting.
	610 Court Street: A worker spreads out carpet adhesive in one of the upstairs suites.
	610 Court Street: A Streamline Moderne style hanging light was installed in the main stairwell.
	610 Court Street: Looking out the windows of a corner office after construction in that suite was completed.
	610 Court Street: Another view of a completed office.

February, 2015

Monthly Summary: Progress continued in February, but at a lesser pace while the City Building Department continued its re-evaluation of the plans to see if they complied with the codes for commercial condominiums. Near the end of the month the City’s request that we stop all major work was lifted. The work that proceeded during this period included the painting of more door frames, the demolition of a downstairs restroom, electrical upgrades for the elevator, and the installation of hardware on the upstairs doors and in the Break Room. The status of 630 Court Street remains unchanged.

	610 Court Street: More door frames were painted.
	610 Court Street: One of the downstairs restrooms was gutted.
	610 Court Street: A transformer was installed to convert 3-Phase Delta power into 3-Phase Wye power for the elevator.
	610 Court Street: An additional electric disconnect was added for the elevator mechanical room.
	610 Court Street: All upstairs doors received their new bright chrome hardware.
	610 Court Street: The stainless steel brackets were installed in the upstairs Break Room. These will support a lunch counter.
	610 Court Street: Trim for the stairway receives paint before installation.

January, 2015

Monthly Summary: In early January, 2015 cabinets were installed in the Break Room, fancy brackets to support the lunch counter in the Break Room arrived from the manufacturer, some door frames were professionally refinished, and more T-Bar was installed. In mid-January the progress at 610 Court Street hit a procedural snag when it was discovered that, when the City Building Department had originally checked the blueprints, they used codes that applied to ordinary retail/office buildings, and not commercial condominiums, which this building is. At the request of the City all major work was put on hold while the plans were evaluated to see if any different construction was required. As of the end of January, 2015, the Building Department had not completed that task, so work was still “on hold.” The status of 630 Court Street remains unchanged.

	610 Court Street: Cabinets that comply with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act were installed in the upstairs Break Room.
	610 Court Street: This image shows a stainless steel bracket that will hold-up the Lunch Counter in the upstairs Break Room.
	610 Court Street: A door frame is painted as a part of the re-finishing process.
	610 Court Street: A worker installs more T-Bar to hold ceiling tiles.



Progress During Prior Year (2014)