NCSD Oregon Trail Elementary School Additions

Project: Oregon Trail Elementary School Additions

Location: Clackamas, Oregon

Architect: Architects Barrentine Bates Lee, AIA

200 North State Street

Lake Oswego, Oregon 97034

General Contractor: Bourke Construction.

Square footage: Conference Room: 545 sq. ft. / Cafeteria Addition: 1,160 sq. ft.

Status: Completed Summer 2009

This was an addition of two new spaces to an existing elementary school. The first one was a new conference room that was added next to the main entry. It consisted of plywood web I-joist with plywood roof sheathing for the roof and plywood shear walls on wood studs. As with any remodel it is the interface of the existing structure to the new that tends to complicate a project. This one room went up without an issue regardless of the existing connections.

The cafeteria portion was added to the east side of the existing cafeteria, providing more space for the kids at lunch time. The interface on the south did not present any problems, but it was the connecting of the new structure with the existing east wall. The existing wall was framed with large glue laminated beams (8 3/4 x 21) that were supported on 8 inch square tube columns. Below the beams were a series of smaller window openings jambs to resist wind. The architect/school wanted to remove the two end columns and hide new ones in the new walls, keeping the existing center column in place. This would provide a more open space than it would have if all the columns remained. I stitched bolted a pair of steel channels (C15x40) on either side of the existing glulam beams to increase the span to the new walls. Special connections were detailed to pick up the ends of the glulams where the columns were removed.

One major issue that presented itself on the project was the west wall of the new storage room. When demolishing the wall the contractor discovered an existing drain pipe in the location where the new column was to be placed. So they relocated the column and changed some of the framing around the area. We had to reframe the wall with new LSL studs where the TJI studs were removed. The architect lost 6" of space in the storage room as a result.