An interior transformation
Gypsum product provides repair solution at Charity renovation site

By Angelle Bergeron

In its former life as dormitories for students attending Charity Hospital School of Nursing, the 16-story Sister Stanislaus Memorial Building in New Orleans was originally designed for living quarters, classrooms, operating rooms and even a morgue.

When the circa-1930 building was gutted earlier this year to repurpose the building into a daycare and wellness center, the removed walls left an uneven mosaic of floor and a problem for Duplantier & Meric Architects LLC of Chalmette.

By the time New Orleans-based Gibbs Construction completes phase four of the gutted structure, crews will have smoothed out the rough spots and laid down a consistent vinyl surface throughout, in part due to a new durable, cementious gypsum material.

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The state-owned building is one of two residence hall buildings used and managed by LSU Health Sciences Center, said Joel Chatelain, vice chancellor of institutional services. The other, located at 1900 Perdido St., has six floors of dormitories but lacks space for the amenities that will be offered in Sister Stanislaus Hall.

"The newly renovated building will cater to students of the LSU Health Sciences Center," Chatelain said.

The renovation will be completed in four phases, including demolition, converting floors seven through 10 into dormitories, security upgrades and the current finishing of the basement through the sixth floor. Floors 13 through 16 will remain vacant.

Gibbs' $7.2 million contract includes everything "from pouring the topping to turning the lights on and moving the beds in," said Jim Burgard, site superintendent for Gibbs. On the exterior, the contractor will also form new chain walls and add additional stairs, ramps and a handrail system to bring the building up to current fire and handicap accessibility codes.

New Orleans Glass is installing 840 aluminum windows to replace the existing steel frames and Gibbs is completing finishes from the top down using the lower floors as laydown areas for everything from sinks to light fixtures.

Gibbs recently cleared the largest hump in the schedule, "getting two floors done in 90 days," Burgard said.

Gibbs' crews have been working six days a week, with some of the finish subcontractors working 10-hour days just to stay on schedule and meet a January deadline.

It would have been close to impossible to meet the tight deadlines had the floors been patched and sanded down, Burgard said.

"The floors were riddled with depressed areas, penetration from old plumbing and ductwork," he added. "All of that came out."

Instead, a cementious product called Maxxon Dura-Cap was used to level the floors.

Dura-Cap is "a fast-track, high-strength underlayment that when mixed to 3,800 psi it is as strong as structural concrete," said Michael Cook, project manager with Mandeville-based Gypsum Subfloors Inc.

When architects bandied about the idea of patching affected areas, Gypsum brought in a crew from the home office in Minnesota for a demonstration, Cook said.

"We did a mock-up of a 10-ft. by 10-ft. area with a (uniform) topping and they saw how smooth it was," he added.

"McDonnell convinced us to try the Maxxon product," said Hank Duplantier, architect with Duplantier & Meric. McDonnell Group is the contractor who "built out" floors seven through 10.

"When we put it down, they can get on top of it that afternoon or early the next morning to install ceramic tile or vinyl flooring," Cook said. "Because the job was so fast-tracked, they would call us in to pump a floor and then schedule the next phase."

Maxxon Dura-Cap is a mixture of Portland cement and gypsum and comes in 80-pound bags.

"We dump it in our mixer, use concrete sand (like a mason sand with pea gravel) and our machine is hooked up to a water meter," Cook added. The whole system, including water tank, mixer and pump, is self-contained on a trailer, allowing for easy accessibility and minimal interference in workflow on a site.

About two 80-lb. bags and 11 gallons of water result in enough material to cover 80 sq. ft. at .75 in., Cook said. All 10 floors required an estimated 4,500 bags.

Before the Dura-Cap is applied, a primer is sprayed to seal the surfaces, keep down dust and help the product adhere better.

An outside, three-man crew mixes the product, which is pumped through a 500-ft. hose to the application area. One man pours out the liquid while the other spreads it level with a long squeegee-like implement. The bar is fixed with screws gauged to determine the desired level of application.

Because of settling throughout the years, some sanding is required near the elevator shaft areas where it is feathered off level with the floor.

"They pull that trowel or squeegee around and it seeks its own level," Burgard said. "They wear shoes with spikes to keep them off of the product. It's really amazing."

Useful Resource

For Dura-Cap product specifications, go to: http://www.maxxon.com/product_detail.asp?ID=3