February 2008 Archives

The contractors were able to pour concrete on Wednesday.  This completes work on the foundations located on the south side of the building.

With the weather delay and the design changes to the pedestal foundations behind us, it looks like the work is on schedule. The newly poured concrete will require several days to cure, a process that should be complete by early next week.
 

As soon as the concrete foundations are ready, three 9-foot tall pedestals will be mounted on them, using a crane to lift them in place.  These pedestals will hold the "tracking" panels for the SolFocus system, which follows the movement of the sun during the day.

On Monday, work continued on the foundation forms.  Tuesday, the  foundation forms were completed.  The ground is beginning to dry, and the second concrete pour is scheduled for today, Wednesday. 



Also on Tuesday,  electricians were working on wiring for the solar panels on the west side of the building.

On Friday, work continued on foundation forms at the south side of the building.  When these forms are completed, more concrete will be poured.

It's Tuesday, and the rain has returned.  Not heavy, but just enough to make working outdoors miserable.

The contractors finished excavation for two foundations on the south side of the building (facing the freeway).  By midday, they began to pour concrete.  This will need to set for two to three days. 

Tomorrow, they will continue work on the third foundation.

On Monday, 2/18, the contractors were back at work.  They installed the solar panels on the west side of the building, and continued foundation work on the south side.

No work again today. 

The contractors have confirmed that they will be back on Monday to start foundation work on the south side of the building.  This work will take about a week, as it will be done in two stages.  There will be two concrete pours; the first pour must set for three days.

No work on the project today. 

The concrete foundation for the solar panels on the west side of the building is complete, but the foundations on the freeway (south) side of the building have not been started.  After initial excavation, it was found that the soil conditions required a different design.  That design has been completed, and work will resume early next week.

No work at the site today.  Yesterday, the contractors removed the forms from the concrete foundations; today, they're waiting for the concrete to cure.


Meanwhile, here's a picture of the KGO transmitter building and tower, taken from the freeway near the Dumbarton Bridge.

The first phase of our solar installation, designed and constructed by Premier Power, includes two GE photovoltaic arrays mounted on the roof and ground at the transmitter building.


We started work on this project in late January, but no sooner had we dug trenches for the conduit that would carry the wiring between the solar panels and the control unit than storms moved in and flooded the trenches, bringing work to a halt. We had little choice but to pump out the water and wait for better conditions.

With dry weather, we made rapid progress. The electricians were able to return to work, and as of Friday (2/8), the conduit had been placed in the trenches and covered. 

Solar panels have been installed on the garage roof, but are not connected. Frames were built Thursday for the concrete foundations that will support solar panels along the fence, and Friday we poured the concrete.