Preparing a change

Sometimes you just have to keep up with the pace.

Yesterday, I received communication relevant to the pricing for some of the additional work that has been discovered and needs to be addressed in the towers.  This will include:

• Lead coated copper drip edge flashing which will be installed on the outside of each of the two towers, around the upper band, in order to deflect water and thus minimize future damage to the mortar;
• Replacement of damaged brick.  The estimate as we know it now is that about 500 bricks in the east tower are sufficiently damaged to warrant that they should be replaced.  It is still uncertain whether we will need less or more bricks for the west tower.  Once the work is further advanced (in the coming days) we'll have a better idea of this situation;
• Shoring for two arches (one in each tower) which will need to be addressed;
• Two metal access ladders which will replace some wooden ladders which have stood in the towers for some decades now, but which are not in conformity with the existing building codes.

These repairs are necessary in order to ensure the integrity of the structure.  I've issued the go-ahead for the issuing of the change order relative to these issues as of today.  Still outstanding at this point is a decision about the cost of repainting the wood frames around the windows in the towers (at the level where the work is taking place), and about the work necessary for the wooden pieces which provide the louvers at the top of each tower.

It is estimated that these changes will add another $100,000 to the cost of the project, bringing the total cost of the renovation to approximately $500,000.