On May 6th, the much-anticipated renovation of Esther Hall at Concordia University kicked off, we received substantial completion on August 12th, and construction was officially completed by August 23rd; overall taking 14 weeks from start to finish. Our plan was to maintain a continuous workflow, starting from the third floor and moving downward, ending in the basement. As each floor’s demolition wrapped up, we seamlessly transitioned to the next phase, beginning the overhead MEP rough-ins, followed by framing walls and hard lid ceilings. Once that foundation was set, we moved onto drywall installation, finishing, and painting, with final touches to follow.

One of the key factors for success was ensuring that the tile crews could maintain their progress without delays. Early in the project, it was suggested we start installing tile in the stairwells as soon as possible, a strategy that allowed us to keep a steady pace. Thanks to this plan, we had a tile crew onsite from the very beginning, continuing until the project’s completion.

As the project progressed, we felt confident we were hitting all our targets. But, as we prepared to schedule the flooring contractor, we encountered an unexpected hurdle: their tester informed us that all the concrete floors would need to be fully ground down - no glue or black mastic could remain - to ensure proper installation and warranty coverage. They even recommended using Opisteal, an expensive option we hadn’t initially considered.

Our Project Manager, Mason Mettler, and Superintendent Nick Nelson put together a plan, and enlisted the flooring crew of Cederburg to work 24/7 if needed. They came through, allowing us to keep everyone else on track.

As the deadline loomed, tensions rose, but just when we needed it most, the Lincoln team offered up the assistance of Jackson Merkel, who was interning with us this summer. His support on-site helped Mason stay focused, and freed Nick up to manage the day-to-day operations. The collaboration between the subcontractors, owners, and our own team was critical to meeting our goals.

In the end, we delivered a result we can all be proud of. A complete renovation of a four-story dorm building in just 14 weeks, an impressive undertaking completed on time and under budget by our project team.

A special shoutout to our gold star subcontractors: Kaser Painting and Great Plains Tile. Our BCI craft crew - Paul, Justin, and Robert - truly knocked it out of the park.