Keokuk school project open house set

Progression from start to finish is shown in a series of exterior photos of the Music Addition and Secure Entry renovation project led by Carl A. Nelson & Company for the Keokuk Community School District. Photos were taken between May 2022 and March 2023. CANCO photos

1 year ago

Carl A. Nelson & Company was Construction Management Agency for the Keokuk Community School District on high school improvements.

The Keokuk Community School District will host an open house in April to celebrate completion of improvements at Keokuk High School where Carl A. Nelson & Company served in the role of Construction Management Agency.

From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 3, 2023, the public is invited to tour the new Music Addition and new main entrance, which is located in the former band and music rooms and includes the features of a secure entrance, new front office and multipurpose room.

With its role in the project complete, the team at Carl A. Nelson & Company is grateful to the Keokuk CSD Board of Education for the opportunity to serve as construction manager of this, as well as the HVAC upgrades at Hawthorne Elementary School. CANCO also wishes to thank the prime contractors for their efforts in seeing the project to a successful completion. Those contractors were: SG Construction (general package) and Brockway Mechanical & Roofing, Burlington; Fye Excavating, Sperry; Mohrfeld Electric, Fort Madison; and Otto Baum Company (masonry), Morton, Illinois.

Noteworthy project details include:
  1. Total Construction Cost = $3,846,860
  2. Total Change Orders = $24,822. This is 0.65% of Construction Cost.
  3. Supply chain issues resolved during design and ultimately project met Owner’s schedule goals:

The school district's goal was to have the band and choir spaces done prior to the start of wrestling season in late 2022. However, at the time of design and bidding, there were various shortages and supply chain issues that had to be worked around. The biggest problem that had to be overcome was the structure for the Music Addition: lead time for steel joists was more than a year out, in addition to shortages of various types of insulation. As a result, it was determined to use a hollow core roof structure and expanded insulation for the project. At the time, hollow core was less expensive than steel. The use of hollow core roof structure improved the acoustics of the space and allowed the project to meet its schedule goals. Music and Band were able to move into their spaces before wrestling season.