Ben Franklin work to finish around the first day of school in Bethel Park

Work over the summer to shore up the subfloor at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School also shored up the building’s expected life span.
“We have put that floor in long-term structural condition,” David Disque, construction manager for Bethel Park School District, told the school board at its Aug. 23. “I am confident that Ben Franklin is good well into the future.”
The floor had been deteriorating for years because of water that was seeping in the crawl space under the building. District officials became aware of the issue only after a routine inspection ahead of a planned renovation, which since has been put on hold while contractors work on the more pressing concerns with the building’s structure.
Disque said he is hopeful that all work will be complete by the first day of school, Sept. 6. When the school board hired the contractors in May, district officials thought the work might extend until the end of September, but Disque said the project is ahead of schedule.
During the summer, workers dug trenches around the building to place drains, installed waterproofing materials on subterranean portions of the exterior walls, and graded the land to slope water away from the building. On the interior, workers drilled holes in the floors of several classrooms and other areas to pump concrete under the floor to give it more support.
The carpeting has been replaced, and the work inside the building is complete.
The work that still needs to be finished is under the building. Workers made an access doorway to the crawlspace, which was previously accessible only through a small opening. Once workers were under the building, they refurbished steel support beams that were rusted and added steel studs to supplement any damaged beam. Workers are also installed a ventilation system to keep air flowing through the area and to evaporate any water under the building.
The school board hired Gartner Construction of Crafton to do the concrete work and Lugaila Mechanical of Thornburg to install the ventilation and drainage. Construction cost is about $813,500. Disque said the project is well within the contingency that is built into all construction projects to anticipate any additional costs.
Work on a smaller construction project at Neil Armstrong Middle School also should be completed in early September. The water line leading to the building was replaced, and the in-ground electrical wiring leading to the light poles outside the school has been replaced, as well. Disque said he is waiting for six new light poles to be delivered, and they should be at the school shortly after the first day of classes.