Although their installation is relatively simple, the first external insulation finish system panels attached to The Courier-Journal’s production facility expansion in downtown Louisville, Ky., made quite an impact on the building’s observers.

The panelized EIFS was a perfect solution to the problem presented by the building’s 80-foot high press bay.

Crews prepare press table columns on building in downtown Louisville. Photo: Courier-Journal

While a press bay clad with sensible aluminum panels will work in an industrial park, The Courier-Journal’s historic location required a finish that approximated the original building’s Indiana limestone. Color match was important, as was the pattern of “reliefs” that mimicked the shape of the limestone blocks.

While exterior finishes are glamorous, the truly crucial part of the project kicked off in May as well.

Columns poured

The concrete columns for the press table began to be assembled inside the south end of the press bay as the overhead work headed north. Ahead of the columns were maintenance rails, roof decking and rain water leaders that provided the crew with a small measure of protection from the elements.

The first columns were poured on Friday, May 2, which in Louisville is better known as Kentucky Oaks Day (the day before the Kentucky Derby). Despite the fact that both Oaks Day and Derby Day are considered holidays in Louisville, construction crews made the most of the spring sunshine.

As the press columns progressed northward, the forms for the concrete press table were set in place. Because extremely tight tolerances are required for the press table, an independent survey company was retained by press supplier KBA to verify the location of key points on the forms before the tabletop pour.

Framing, sheathing progress

Outside the high bay, activity was brisk as well. Structural steel columns and beams took on a thick coating of sprayed-on fireproofing, and on the south face of the building, metal framing and sheathing went up quickly. A growing crew of masons, meanwhile, built block walls around locker rooms and maintenance areas.

While the roof decking and exterior walls made the project look more like a building, it added an additional challenge for the contractors working inside: the need for lights. A variety of temporary lighting was strung everywhere from the mailroom ceiling to the stairwells.

Equipment process begins

With the building starting to really take shape, it was time to get the equipment process rolling. A meeting was held with the various equipment installers to coordinate equipment arrival and to begin the complex coordination involved with deploying a large number of systems in a short time frame.

Representatives of 10 different equipment vendors joined the contractor and architect to discuss each vendor’s plans and requirements well in advance of mobilization.