Date post: | 23-Jul-2016 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | shawano-school-district |
View: | 223 times |
Download: | 1 times |
Shawano Middle School was first constructed in 1954, with additions to the
building made in 1961 and 1967. The building was originally outfitted with a steam
boiler that distributed heat to unit vents and air handlers throughout the building.
When the last addition was made in 1967, the original boiler was replaced with two
new steam boilers. The original unit vents, air handlers and steam pipes were kept
and integrated with the newer equipment that serviced the additions.
As none of this equipment has been replaced to date, this means that the boilers
are 48 years old and the steam pipes, unit vents, and air handlers are all between
48 and 61 years old. By industry standards, boilers typically have a service life of
25 to 30 years, unit vents and air handlers have a service life of 25 to 30 years, and
steam pipes have a service life of 50 years. Judging by these standards all of the
heating and ventilation equipment has either met or exceeded its service life.
Repairs to the equipment have become difficult and the possibility of a
catastrophic failure increases all of the time. What is more, the system design does
not meet current building codes, does not operate efficiently, and does not meet
modern day expectations.
Heating, Ventilation and Air
Conditioning System
The current boilers are 48
years old and have all
original parts on them.
Finding replacement parts is
difficult and sometimes
impossible. Due to their age
and older design, they are not
efficient and use more energy
than a new, hot water system
would.
The boiler vessels and other
pieces of equipment are
showing their age. Regular
inspections have assured
that the boilers are safe to
operate. There is concern
that this situation will not last
for much longer.
Throughout the building and
under the floors, there are
distribution pipes that carry the
steam to the unit vents and air
handlers.
The service life of these pipes is
50 years. These pipes are
between 48 and 61 years old.
Removal and replacement of all
of these pipes alone would be
over $1 million.
Alterations to the building over
the years have not been paired
with alterations to the heating
and ventilation system.
Here you see a unit vent that
was dissected by an added wall.
The two new rooms created by
the wall are now serviced by
one unit. The wall makes
servicing the unit difficult.
Unit vents like this one are
original and do not meet
current codes. This unit
services a locker room and
provides air from the gym
space, which is no longer
allowed.
Controlling the temperature
of classrooms and other
spaces is also difficult with
the old equipment.
Alterations to the building over
the years have not been paired
with alterations to the heating
and ventilation system.
Here you see a unit vent that
was dissected by an added wall.
The two new rooms created by
the wall are now serviced by
one unit. The wall makes
servicing the unit difficult.
Without air conditioning in
most of the building, the
indoor temperature can be
quite warm on hot days.
Building codes require that a
certain amount of fresh air is
provided to the occupants so
that the carbon dioxide levels
do not rise too high. The
outside air brought into the
building is not conditioned,
resulting in hot and
sometimes humid indoor air.
These conditions make
focusing on studies difficult
for the students.
Locker Rooms
The physical education locker rooms have many needs, one
of which is replacement of the lockers themselves. Many of
them do not operate correctly, and most of them are too
small for even one student to store their belongings.
The layout of the lockers in the boys area also creates a
difficult supervision situation. A different layout would allow
the teachers to be able to view the entire space and assure
that all the occupants are safe.
The bathrooms that serve the locker rooms are
small and in poor condition.
The bathroom and shower tile and fixtures are old
and worn out. The plumbing is also in need of
updating. In some cases showers that could not
be repaired were abandoned.
The size of the bathrooms does not allow for
handicapped accessibility and will need to be
brought into compliance with the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA).
New showers would not only service the students
that attend the school but the many community
members that frequent the building during
recreational sports leagues.
An abandoned
locker room is now
used for many
purposes. On the
right, you see an
old shower area
being used to store
equipment.
Left, nearby there is
an office space for
two physical
education teachers
that doubles as a
laundry room.
The mezzanine has many needs
for improvement. Presently,
there are chain link fences that
separate the space from the
main gym and enclose the
fitness area. The fences do not
block out noise from one space
to the other, are not safe as they
can be climbed, and are
unsightly.
The layout of the mezzanine
could also change to
accommodate a larger fitness
and wrestling area.
An elevator is needed to make
the mezzanine handicapped
accessible so that it can be used
for instruction. Without ADA
accessibility, the mezzanine
cannot be considered as
instructional space.
Mezzanine
Concessions
The Parent Teacher Association is very active in the middle school selling
concessions at sporting events. Presently, the PTA is forced to store their goods in
two separate areas as the current concession stand is very small. In addition, they
must move all of their goods into the commons to sell at each event. After sales, they
are forced to use a bathroom sink to wash any serving dishes. Creating one
concession stand that is large enough for storage, concessions sales, and clean up
would not only help their efforts, but free up space that would otherwise be taken up.
There are many needed
code updates and
infrastructure corrections
in the food service
kitchen. The exhaust
hood is not outfitted with
a fire suppression
system. There are also
plumbing pipes under the
floor that have corroded
over the years and had to
be abandoned.
This resulted in having to
run new pipes on the
walls and ceilings to
supply water to sinks and
appliances. Wooden
butcher block
preparation tables are
also old, worn, and not
code compliant.
Kitchen
The majority of the appliances in
the food service kitchen are old and
well past their service life. Parts are
becoming increasingly difficult to
find. They are also not efficient and
use up more energy than newer
models do. The cooler is an older
“water cooled” model that not only
uses electricity but water as well.
Due to lack of space there is not a
walk in freezer resulting in storage
of large packages of frozen foods to
be stored at another building and
transported back and forth daily.
The main office to the middle
school is in need of updates
and renovations. The current
layout does not meet the needs
for space and flow for the staff
and visitors that use the space.
Changes to the space over the
years have left it in a “hodge
podge” condition. Abandoned
bathrooms are now used as file
and storage space. The addition
of wiring for technology had
resulted in wires running on the
surface of walls and across
floors. The staff that works in
the main office does not have
access to a bathroom of their
own. The flooring and
furnishings are old and in poor
condition as well.
Main Office
One of the many goals with the main office renovation is to incorporate the school
nurse office into the main office area. Presently the nurse office is located down the
hall from the main office. This separation creates problems with moving students
between the two offices and also leaves the school nurse without readily available
adults to assist with potential emergencies. In all of the other schools in our district
the nurse office is located within the main office area.
In order to make this happen the main office renovations will include gaining space
from an adjoining room that has a strange layout and needs updating as well.
Improvements to the
stage would update the
curtains that are very old
and worn out as well as
replace the safety pads
that protects from injury.
The stage is also not
handicapped accessible
resulting in the inability
of those in need of
assistance to use the
stage during promotion
ceremonies or theater
productions.
The addition of a wheel
chair lift would resolve
this issue.
Gym & Stage
The Shawano School District has a proud
tradition of strong music programs. The
band, orchestra, and choir rooms at the
middle school are in dire need of
improvements. The acoustics of the rooms
are poor, to say the least. Better use of
space is needed for the many musical
students to receive instruction, practice, and
store their instruments. Planned alterations
would greatly improve all of these areas.
Restroom access for the students of the
music/technical education wing of the
school is limited to one, very small
bathroom. Students are forced to walk to
another part of the building to use
restrooms. This creates concerns of
supervision and lost instructional time. The
one bathroom is also not handicapped
accessible. Plans for new bathrooms for
both boys and girls that are ADA compliant
will resolve these concerns.
Music Rooms