CASE STUDY REHOBETH HIGH SCHOOL GRANDSTAND
REHOBETH, ALABAMA
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Chuck Dunseth, AIA member and President of Dunseth and Associates Architects, has been providing his architectural services to the Houston County Board of Education for years.
According to Mr. Dunseth, getting the opportunity to build the new grandstand was a reward for all the hard work that he had put in for the past two decades. Mr. Dunseth commented, "This is one of the largest Rehobeth School projects we have been involved with and it has been extremely rewarding. It is really a great contribution to the community and a privilege and honor to work with the entire team of people involved with this project." |
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Mr. Dunseth's firm in conjunction with Outdoor Aluminum, Inc. (OA), the grandstand manufacturer, produced the plans for the 24-row, 2500 seat home side grandstand. Mr. Dunseth explained, "We defined the space and the requirements to OA, and they took it from there. When you deal with OA you tell them what you need. They know more about building grandstands than the architect. They are truly the experts and we relied heavily on their expertise."
Creating a solid foundation is one of the most critical steps in all building construction. It is no different for a grandstand and in some ways it is more critical. If the foundation is off by just the smallest amount the entire structure is in jeopardy. Mr. Dunseth was most impressed with OA's traveling foundation team headed up by Richard Goss and said, "Richard is the real deal. The quantity and quality of work performed by Richard was truly amazing. I've been involved with hundreds of projects in my 40 plus year career and can honestly say the foundation work for this project is the best I have ever seen. They pull up in that truck and go to work with great efficiency. Richard himself was working on Christmas Eve operating a jumping jack tamper."
The foundation work for this grandstand turned out to be a relatively simple job for Richard Goss, owner of Goss Construction Company, and OA's primary contractor for foundations. According to Goss, the planning process for this particular job was perfect. Goss said, "The soil testing was 100% accurate. The level grade posed little challenge, and once we began digging the 48 holes we did not find any unusual obstructions such as water lines, buried junk, fiber optics, or anything else to slow us down." |
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Goss added, "Due to the ideal conditions we were able to install the foundation in short order. Our patent pending, form system turns a complicated process into a simple one. Our process insures the alignment of the foundation is accurate to within a tolerance of 1/16th inch." |
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Once the grandstand foundations were in place, construction began. Dunseth says, "OA's installation team operates like a machine. Within one week 95% of the construction process was complete including the installation of the 8' x 36' press box."
Mark Pugh, Construction Coordinator at OA, planned and coordinated the turnkey installation. Mark has organized and managed the install of hundreds of grandstands during his 30 years at OA and said, "Rehobeth was a dream job. The installation could not have gone smoother. Once we got the approval, all of the materials were ordered and the grandstand was fabricated and ready for delivery in six weeks. Our foundation team completed their work during this time and then the construction manager gave us the go ahead for delivery. Two weeks later the job was complete". |
Bob Hartz with Hartz Bleachers, who has been installing OA grandstands and bleachers for over 17 years headed up the on-site installation, and had the following to say, "When OA crews install the foundations and the grandstands, it allows for a smooth installation. The foundations were exactly as drawn on the blueprints and all of the materials arrived on time. We completed the job on schedule and installed over 3,500 seats in less than two weeks." |
The visitor side bleacher at the new Rehobeth field required a creative solution. In an effort to meet budget constraints, Dunseth suggested moving the bleachers from the old field to the new field for the visitors. There were numerous obstacles to overcome, but OA and Dunseth worked together to figure out a way. Dunseth explained, "In order for this to become a reality, the existing bleachers had to be brought up to current building codes and seating capacity increased to meet the project requirements. That's when OA went to work and created plans to add 4 rows, provide ramp access, and even added a visiting team viewing stand for video." |
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OA's install team oversaw the process for disassembling the existing bleacher and transporting it to the new site. All the additions were made as the relocated stands were reassembled.
The new Rehobeth High School facility officially opened on August 25, 2011 playing Northview High School. Matt Swan, the principal at Rehobeth High School, couldn't be more pleased with the new facility and said, "The grandstand is double the size of our old one and looks fantastic. We have been so impressed with the efficiency of the entire construction project. The grandstand is aesthetically pleasing; we can't wait to see the seats fill up with our students and fans." |
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