TRUEBLOOD PERFORMING ARTS CENTER ALMOST READY

Main Road, Washington Island, Wisconsin -

Remediation work on the Wilson and Carol Trueblood Performing Arts Center, referred to locally as the TPAC, is nearing completion.   The above photo shows installation of the metal water barrier on the west and south sides of the building.  As of this entry, only the topmost portion of the curved wall awaits metal siding.

This week marked a significant juncture for the TPAC facility and for those persons directly involved with remediation work being done:  during a site visit Monday, State of Wisconsin Building Inspector Jane Drager approved all work done thus far.  Red tags that denied occupation of the building since November 2009 were lifted, allowing limited access to the building's interior spaces.  

The TPAC building is now deemed not only safe and sound, but also much improved, owing to the extensive renovations. (See March 15 and March 24 blogs for additional detail.)

Once structural supports had been improved, the obvious changes took place on the building's exterior, first four-inch thick vertical foam panels, then the painted, corrugated steel, exterior wrap.  It is anticipated the project engineer and the State Building Inspector will meet in approximately two weeks to conduct a final inspection of remediation items, and with that a formal close to construction and a welcoming for public use once again.

This past Wednesday evening, May 25th, TPAC Building Committee Chairman Bill Norris and committee member John Chapman addressed an audience of twenty or so specially invited guests that included members of the Town Board, the TPAC Board, and the TPAC Building Committee.

Basic remediation highlights were described for the interior and exterior.  Thorough cleaning - wire brushing and vacuuming - preceded the recent painting of all interior block surfaces by Mike Remke, Tom Jordan and crews.  (These surfaces were previously unpainted.)  Not only has the painting improved appearances both in the audience chamber and backstage, the process helped to further eliminate lingering prospects for mold or mildew.

Building manager Emmet Woods pointed out the two new sets of interior doors with special elongated hinge plates.  These new doors have fire ratings that are fully compliant, and the extra hinge dimensions now permit folding the doors back 180 degrees, against the walls, for easier ingress/egress.

Bill Norris points out new TPAC support columns.

Back stage, a question was asked about the stage floor plywood having been warped and needing repair or replacement.  But the plywood flats that had previously shown a signature waviness had improved, according to John Chapman.  He noted that since water runoff at the building's perimeter had been addressed, seepage into underground ventilation ducts had been eliminated.  The result is that the atmosphere inside the TPAC has greatly reduced in humidity, and the stage floor has gradually leveled on its own.

The difficulty of covering a curved outer wall with linear "super-rib econolap" was described by Chapman, and we were shown the patented, seamless corner pieces supplied by the manufacturer to ensure a total waterproofing characteristic.   This special metal siding comes with guarantees for both paint and for waterproofing.

The tour of construction highlights moved outdoors to observe details of the completed east, north and south walls, where numerous supportive comments were overheard regarding the job well done by the Building Committee and the contractors involved.

TPAC Board Members present were, L to R:  Joan Kuhn; John Chapman; Bill Norris; Mary Andersen;
Doug Straus, President; Jackie Rader; Jim Morris

TPAC Building Committee Members present were (L to R):  Dick Clancy;
Terry Foster; John Chapman;Bill Norris; Doug Straus;
Julian Hagen; Mike Berger.    

-  Photos and article by Dick Purinton