July `23 Construction Update: Old Fill, Helical Piles and a Strong Foundation

Progress continues at the end of July as month two of construction is in the books. The work crews have been laying blocks, roughing in electrical, water supply and sewer – and you can see the two new classrooms taking form!

A Significant Obstacle: Over the past month we also had a significant issue come up as the Flier Brothers excavated for the bigger multi-purpose gathering room. When I first moved into the neighborhood around Living Stones Academy, I was told by a neighbor that Fuller Park was some kind of landfill site in the past. I’m unsure how historically accurate that is, however we do have old “fill” on the north side of our school.

Our excavator, Jason dug 12 feet down and removed old metal seltzer bottles, porcelain jars and old broken down slag; something engineers call “unstable fill.”

Finding the Solution: This was a significant setback. The foundation could not be poured over these soil conditions. Our construction contractor, Wolverine Building Group, quickly re-assessed and the engineers and architects began to find another solution. First, they bore down and found the trash only went down 13 feet. Next, they tested the soil compression with a steel helical pile that reached adequate weight bearing once screwed 40 feet into the soil. Approximately 30 helical piles will be used to reinforce the concrete foundation around the north side addition to stabilize it well into the future. The video below shows the test helical pile being screwed into the earth steel piece by steel piece.

Reflection: I have been meditating on this recent obstacle for the last several weeks. It reminds me that the foundation of LSA is not merely on the physical ground upon which we stand, but on the cornerstone of our faith. The story of God’s kingdom is full of challenges and surprises – and somehow Christ continues to make all things new.

Living Stones Academy is creating more belonging, so more students may experience the story of new creation. We LSA is a community where each student can learn, love and build the capacity to find unique solutions to surprise issues throughout their lives. This is the kind of strong foundation we hope to provide for all of our students so they may experience shalom.

Here are a few other updates on the building:

Plumbing for the water supply and sewer were completed before the concrete floor slab was poured:

Baltic, our school dog enjoys seeing our two new classrooms take form:

The north side of the building is receiving exterior walls before school begins and before birds take over the roof rafters:

Click the button below to see more pictures from the month of July:

Phase 2 Construction Photos

If you missed the first construction update, you can find it here:

First Construction Update

Thanks for staying tuned to the ongoing progress of our Creating Belonging construction project. A special thanks to everyone who has partnered with us so that we may be able to serve more students and families at Living Stones Academy, and create more belonging in a transformational Christ-centered education. We are looking forward to having our students back in less than a month!