Our initial assessment of the "Rock Building" was to rebuild the structure so that the existing rock walls would not be load bearing, but after further investigating it was our professional opinion that the walls were as good as or better than any wall you could build today. We installed a continuous bond beam at the top of the walls to tie all the walls together as a safety precaution as well as to level up the walls. The walls were originally 2-1/2" out of level from one end of the building to the other. The building was not exactly square either, if you were to measure the some of the rooms inside that are on the same wall they will be different sizes.

The interior sheetrock walls are square but the rock is not. With the building being out of square caused a lot of problems in other areas as well, starting with the floor system and then the roof trusses. The rock itself being so rough was an issue for the soffit. We scribe cut around every rock all the way around the building as well as the widows and doors. The design of the interior spaces turned out well with the help of the school system employees, but due to the set location of the existing windows made it difficult at times to give them exactly what they were wanting. We felt that the building turned out exceptionally well for what we started with and now the "New Old Rock Building" has all the creature comforts of home as well as being up to date with all the current building codes. We at Leonard Brothers Construction have thoroughly enjoyed working on this project and appreciate the historical value of this building.

Sincerely,

Dan Trowell
Project Coordinator

Those with major involvement included:

       Construction Manager: Leonard Brothers Construction, Inc.
       Architect: Bohannon Design
       Structural Engineer: Grady Gilbert
       Mechanical Design: Lee Owens

The following photographs, taken at various stages of the reconstruction project, were provided by Leonard Brothers Construction, specifically for display in this museum.

On September 26, 2009, fire destroyed the rock building built in 1934.


Photo taken Feb. 12, 2010, shows interior damage prior to demolition.


Photo of March 5, 2010, shows more interior damage prior to demolition.


Photo dated March 9, 2010, Fire and smoke damage to exterior stone of stone walls. Bracing was installed for wall support during demolition and reconstruction.


June 4, 2010 photo shows that smoke damage has been removed by sandblasting around the perimeter of the structure.


March 5, 2010, photo shows demolition by Murray County and Leonard Brothers Construction employees.


Photo of March 5, 2010, shows chimney has been removed down to solid material.


Photo taken May 7, 2010, shows that the interior of the building had loose plaster had been scraped off, pressure washed, and painted with Zinser paint to kill smoke odors.


May 7, 2010. Piers seen in photo were poured from existing basement elevation to allow for fill material to be placed. Entire interior of building had 6" or more of fill material placed and compacted.


May 7, 2010. Interior of building had been grded so rain water will run to the rear of the building during construction.


May 7, 2010. Batter boards and string lines mounted to top of wall to help determine if the building is square, elevations and design strategies. String lines will be used as reference points during construction.


March 5, 2010, photo shows that the original dirt grade when building was built in 1934 was at the top of the block wall in this picture. Years later dirt was removed from around the entire building. The rear of the building had to be supported with the block wall seen here.


This June 4, 2010 photo shows that the contractor removed top portion of block wall, stairs and retaining wall, then filled and compacted dirt back to the original grade.


Photo taken June 5, 2010, shows fill material placed on south side of building.


June 4, 2010, photo shows different view of fill material that was placed on south side of the building.


This June 4, 2010, shows usable stone from interior foundation walls and some exterior walls had been cleaned and stored on pallets ready to be reused.


Photo dated Dec. 10, 2010, all windows and exterior door installed. Retaining walls and stairs at entrance doors completed.


Photo dated Dec. 19, 2010, Power pole set with permanent power to building. Conduits from adjacent school and new pole installed for communication lines.


Photo of Dec. 19, 2010, shows cornice trim work being installed and scribed to rock wall.


Photo dated Dec. 19, 2010, a second view of trim work being scribed to fit the rock wall.


Dec. 19, 2010 photo showing just installed roof attic vents.


Dec. 19, 2010. Three pictures. Removed existing walls at entrance cteps and replaced with new stone walls and 4" concrete caps.


Dec. 19, 2010. Three pictures. Removed existing walls at entrance cteps and replaced with new stone walls and 4" concrete caps.


Dec. 19, 2010. Three pictures. Removed existing walls at entrance cteps and replaced with new stone walls and 4" concrete caps.


Dec. 13, 2010, photo showing shingles and copper flashing installation has been completed.


Photo, Dec. 15, 2010, sheetrock and ductwork being installed in hallway.


Dec. 15, 2010 photo. Sheetrock being installed in School Board meeting room.


Photo taken Feb. 7, 2011, fire alarm boxes installed in mechanical room.


Feb. 7, 2011, photo of framing, electrical and data boxes installed at receptionist's desk.


Photo dated Feb. 7, 2011, shows all interior doors in place and stained. Door hardware being installed and doorframes being painted.


Feb. 7, 2011, picture, interior doors being sanded and readied for clear polyurethane. Baseboards for hallways and school board meeting room have been primed and ready for installation.


Feb. 7, 2011, furnaces installed in mechanical rooms.


Photo dated Feb. 7, 2011, handrails for handicapped access are on site.


Floor-plan of Murray County School System's Central Office.