BARR MIDDLE SCHOOL

Lacy Construction has completed the remodel and expansion of Barr Middle School in Grand Island, Nebraska. The $12 million projects for the Grand Island School District, involved the addition of 36,300 square feet of space and a remodel of the existing school building, which is located at 602 West Stolley Park Road.

Specifically, we updated the gymnasium with new basketball and volleyball courts and installed a rubber floor system in both the gymnasium and nearby corridors. All rooms were equipped with new variable air volume (VAV) systems and we added a three-level stair tower to facilitate safe egress in the event of a fire. Construction was completed in four stages to avoid disruptions and to ensure the safety of Barr Middle School’s students and staff.

In our quest to find the best construction methods and materials, various innovative techniques and equipment were used on this project.

The large floors were all poured using our Ligchine screed, a concrete screed that ensured a fast, smooth, and accurate application. The screed is guided by a laser leveling system that automatically adjusts 10 times per second and is capable of smoothing 10,000 square feet of concrete per hour. For all the baseball fans out there, that’s the equivalent of a Major League infield!

Rather than spend extra time and money on demolition, we also pumped an abandoned water line with grout instead of removing it, saving nearly $5,000 and about a week of construction time. Cardboard templates were placed in an existing radius stairway system as a low-cost method of determining the placement of decorative metal panels. Our team also used a 36” diameter saw to cut through foundation walls and concrete canopies, leaving a clean-finished surface.

Our team was presented with numerous weather-related and scheduling problems.

Our main concern involved student and staff safety. Circumstances required us to perform most of our work during school hours, and maintaining a clean, quiet environment was paramount. Barr Middle School was able to accommodate our team by shifting classrooms into other parts of the building. We focused on completing the largest portion of the addition first so the school could expand into the new space during the final phases of construction.

We also utilized the school’s summer breaks and holiday vacations to remodel community spaces, such as the cafeteria and athletic locker rooms. Daily communication between our job site superintendent and Barr Middle School’s principal ensured these transitions would be as smooth as possible.

Lacy Construction Company is honored to work with the Grand Island School District. We enjoy working with a community that is committed to providing its residents with educational facilities of the highest quality.