The truck from American Seating in Grand Rapids, Michigan has arrived. It has the seats for the Star Theatre in the Downing Planetarium. Steve White, along with Troy Horne, John Beckman and two students dragooned from the Physics department are helping with the unloading of the truck. I upheld the honor of the Chemistry Department by hauling a few boxes myself.

It is the Monday after Thanksgiving vacation. By the time I got over to the Downing Planetarium in the early afternoon, the seat installers had already come and gone, so I didn't get any action pictures of the seats being set up, but here they are! You can also see the control console in the front of the room.

I tried out several of them. You can get a good view of all the dome from any seat in the house. The seats have the tilt pre-set to the optimum angle for each location. The seats all face in the direction of the control console, rather than having all the seats face the center of the room. This is the preferred set-up for most of the new planetariums these days. I set up my self timer and did a little image intensification to put myself in the picture viewing the dome. The wall lights would be off during a regular show, of course.



There are significant developments on the outside of the building as well. Installation of the Dryvit EIFS (External Insulation Finish System, pronounced eye-fuss by those in the trade) is finally back on track.

The entire building has been given a second layer of the Tyvek Stuccowrap. I assume this was done to cover any holes or other damage that may have happened to the original layer put on several weeks ago. The Stuccowrap has been marked with colored lines to show the location of any joints in the plywood behind it, and to aid in getting the expanded polystyrene foam placed exactly.

There are many ways that an EIFS exterior can be installed. (See the Dryvit website for details.) For the Downing Planetarium the architect has chosen a mechanically-attached foam board with channels in the back to drain off any water which might get behind the foam. The new CSUF Alumni House, by contrast, has smooth-surfaced polystyrene foam glued directly to the underlying plywood. Once the foam is all attached it will have special designs cut into its surface to provide interest to the exterior.

A few days ago I took a picture of the mockup provided by the subcontractor that shows the colors and design features in the finished product. The exterior looks and feels like stone. (The color blotches are from sunlight in my lens and are not present in the real thing.) The effect is achieved by first applying two layers of very tough mesh and cement-like basecoat to the foam. This is followed by application of the color stone finish. It may sound like the stucco found in many Fresno homes, but is far tougher and is absolutely weatherproof.

The big thing that must be guarded against is water behind the foam that can't get away and rots the plywood. We prevent that by carefully sealing any penetrations, such as windows and pipes, that go through the foam. Should any leaks develop over time, two more layers of defense are present. The Stuccowrap is waterproof, and the channels will drain away any water that might get around a penetration. Check with your local experts for information on what type of EIFS installation is best for your climate.

The outside of the building still seems mostly white, but the installation of Dryvit foam is proceeding. The foam is carefully cut and fitted to create the form and structure of the building exterior. The insets show the special wrapping and fitting for all penetrations of the foam. The close-up of the red fasteners shows how they work to hold the foam onto the underlying plywood.

Finish work continues inside the Downing Planetarium. The decorative panels above the lobby display cases are prepared and set into place.



Meanwhile, back at the lift station location across the street we find that the pumps have at last arrived and will be installed today. As soon as electrical power is brought to them, they will be ready to do their job.

If you click on these images you can see a whole host of red fastener dots. A large amount of the foam has been put up in the last two days.

I talked to one of the installers and he told me that all the foam should be fully in place and attached next week. The plasterers have already been out and have put some of the grooves into the foam that provide interest and texture. Additional fasteners need to be added to fully attach all of the foam blocks. Following that comes the first of two mesh and basecoat applications.

The day started out rather gloomy in the morning when I got this overall shot of the Downing Planetarium. The plasterers are here from J.C. Jackson to put more of the decorative grooves into the foam. The pictures to the right were taken in the afternoon when the sun was shining.

Up on the scaffolding Louis Alonso, Jarred Allen, and Willard Smith are using a special electric knife to quickly and cleanly cut the grooves. Willard is the one wielding the knife. The inset shows the blade used to cut the V-grooves used on this part of the building. By changing the shape of the heated blade, a variety of groove types can be cut into the foam.


Rick Flores is working on the sloping sill for the slit window on the front of the Downing Planetarium. The foam bits fly in all directions as he sands the foam into the correct shape. On the right we see him checking for a tight fit at the base of the window.

As you can see from all the red fasteners in the pictures above, the foam is nearly all secured. In addition to cutting the grooves, the plasterers sand the surface of the building to smooth out the transitions between blocks. We will be ready for the Dryvit basecoat application in a few days.

Today is cold and overcast at the Downing Planetarium. Troy Horne is in the dirt-mover, smoothing things out a bit in preparation for the pouring of an additional concrete pad next week. At the corners of the building we can see the last of the foam panels going into place. Steve Dondlinger from J.C. Jackson Construction is bundled up at the top of the scaffolding, fastening in one of the corner pieces.

At the front of the building the slit window has been completed with new glass, and foam around all of its edges. The yellow material at the top of the window is Dens-Glass, a fireproof fiberglass board required for all overhead locations in an EIFS installation.





We can also see the Dens-Glass over one of the entranceways.

The windows have been protected, getting ready for the basecoat and mesh that will go on next week, assuming the temperature gets above 48^oF. That is the minimum allowable temperature for a Dryvit basecoat application. Once the basecoat is in place, the critical window caulking can be done, and the color finish applied.