This is so disappointing.

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Beyond cost overruns that have plagued the Vienna Community Center’s renovation project lies something even more pressing and insidious.

Town officials of late have discovered that the water table, located about 4 feet beneath the building, has corroded unreinforced concrete blocks so badly that action must be taken quickly to maintain the walls’ structural integrity.

http://www.insidenova.com/news/fairfax/vienna-community-center-projects-faces-more-woes/article_75ba2458-2ca3-11e6-b11e-072322f4cfa0.html

And nobody's been fired.

Business as usual in Vienna...

Funny how butthurt stuff like this doesn't happen in Falls Church...

Can't they like use mattresses to hold back the water?

Madison student Wrote:
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> Can't they like use mattresses to hold back the
> water?

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Town officials began the project with only a 3-percent contingency allowance, whereas projects of this nature tend to have cushions between five and eight times greater, said [project manager Brad] Macomber, hired last fall after the project’s contract had been awarded.

You would think that Vienna citizens would appreciate the importance of a large cushion. At least there is a bright side to the project.

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All the towering trees by the community center’s main entrance to the south have been removed and stormwater-management facilities have been installed in what will be a parking lot. [\quote]

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this sounds like a boondogle, like they will shift around allot of dirt but do nothing - and bill for it.

there isnt' a foundation in fx co that goes down before a geologist checks the soil (for matters such as perking, grading, stability). unsure if they stick a rod a few feet down to see if there isn't a giant hole under the foundation (or a boulder - which is commmon in VA and can be good and bad)

but i imagine they did all that

i hear the orange clays in that part of the county (not red) are due to abspestos. dont dig in dry soil and breath it in heavily

that (the soils) is from the "parent material", the boulders many feet down that sit on top of the bedrock. and in vienna, quite possibly some past foundation or land fill could be present as well.

meanwhile the water table is present throught fairfax and is always a few to several feet down

"everybody knows that" (not really)

concrete does well wet (esp concrete mixed for foundations), but likes to breath (wet/damp/dry) too depending on mix.

it doesn't do well in acids and should be proteted from them.

it likes things like OH- (hydroxide) because it's a weak base that helps maintain the ongoing chain reaction between concrete, oxygen, and water (due to free dissasociation)

grading soil and foundation helps keep foundations high and dry from "high hydraulic pressures on foundation concrete"

everybody DOES know that - or rather many people who dont even need to know

weren't they going to use the tax payer funded "improved land" (new building) and just sell it to GMU as student housing or to a franchise store anyway?

they do that in California with post offices i hear - during obama.gov they did anyhow!

Madison student Wrote:
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> Can't they like use mattresses to hold back the
> water?

+1

your really NOT supposed to make a foundation in a manner where it does not survive the finishing of the building of the building

it sounds very fishy "concrete blocks". what size?

i'm supposing they are either remediating by water management or using a hoe to replace the blocks. there are special methods of "firming up soil" and a few other things that have been done in some structures in the world.

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i dont see the problem

#1 i think i see a foundation on cinder block: which is illegal at the time of the building of that building. building code says concrete, no inspector would ever allow a muni building on cinder blocks

#2 i DO OT SEE rot: i see and outer tar coating which is commonly placed on the outside of a basement wall to reduce hydraulic pressure (help keep inside of basement dry)

#3 i dont know if there's a basement. but a firm foundation is absolutely is #1 in longevity of a building (already lasted 50 yr - not good not terrible). #2 is the roof, insuring no water or mold problems and proper runoff to grade

#4 "the building was built in 1966 during a time when oil was plentiful"
which proves whover said it's a "never finished community center" is lying. that building has been finished and no surprise needs some work (a $million in work i doubt: building a brick house in fx co costed about $40k in the 1980's keep in mind)

needs insulation. probably so.

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is someone telling me i see rot?

i see no rot, i see an improper foundation on (?cinder blocks - which would be illegal even in 1966, excepting buildings BUILT to be resting on cinder blocks - like flood area homes)

i dont see the building is out of square, the foundation shifting, or cracking in the walls ... they don't mention these

there's a %100 chance everyting i say will be ingored!

Perhaps the town council was too busy looking at computer models of the exciting new MAC plans for Maple Avenue to bother with proper oversight and prep work on projects like this.


Take down all the trees, another million dollars...or more...to make the job right...who gives a shit; it's not coming out of their pockets.


Vienna voters, you got what you wanted...

Ghost of Maude Wrote:
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> Perhaps the town council was too busy looking at
> computer models of the exciting new MAC plans for
> Maple Avenue to bother with proper oversight and
> prep work on projects like this.
>
>
> Take down all the trees, another million
> dollars...or more...to make the job right...who
> gives a shit; it's not coming out of their
> pockets.
>
>
> Vienna voters, you got what you wanted...

I'm not dead yet.

Do not complain, citizen, this is not a matter that concerns you.

Couldn't happen to a nicer town...LOL

No different from remodeling a 50-year old house. You don't really know what you've got until you start doing the demo. The 3% contingency fund might better have been 5%, but otherwise, there isn't actually a story here.

Vienna is a bad place to build homes, the land is for the poor. Those ramblers were built for peasants, they were supposed to be demolished decades ago.

I'm just so happy that those dirty old trees have been removed, so I can get my precious children even closer to the community center without them having to walk so far

Town Council Wrote:
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> Do not complain, citizen, this is not a mattress
> that concerns you.

OK, so...no prep work, no soil testing before construction, evidence of incredibly shoddy previous work....confusion and denial about cost overruns...hiring a "project manager" AFTER the project starts....sounds like a Vienna project to me...

If only the town council had been as attentive and focused on this community center fiasco as they seemed to be when the Caboose Brewery was trying to open.

LOL