More drawer space coming in Rodney this fall

This fall, students in Rodney E and Rodney F will get a new wardrobe that is similar to the ones in the new buildings up at Laird Campus. The new wardrobe replaces the older models that were over 20 years old and ready for retirement. The old wardrobes will have a new life through a liquidator that refurbishes old furniture and gives it new life. The most popular feature of the new wardrobes is the three additional dresser drawers on the left side of the unit. The pieces are a full 7 inches higher than the old model also resulting in more space inside. Rodney never had built in closets so students there have always used a stand alone wardrobe. The photo this week shows the wardrobes lined up outside of Rodney E waiting to be moved inside by the furniture company.

Christiana West just got more comfortable

Phase II of a summer mattress replacement plan started in June of 2009 on floors 9-16 finished up with all mattresses on Christiana West floors 1-8 being replaced. The Tower was already occupied with summer groups so the replacement involved first removing the old mattresses in the morning, and then replacing the new mattresses prior to the end of the day so that residents would have a bed to sleep on that night. All of the old mattresses were taken away by Ohio Mattress Recovery, a firm that specializes in recycling old mattresses into pet beds and other alternative uses. Our life cycle for mattresses are approximately 10 years as these mattresses were initially installed in 1999. Next summer we will return to Christiana Complex to replace mattresses in half of the East Tower and then the other half in the summer of 2012.

Hallways in Rodney B are sharp!

This summer, the hallways in Rodney B are being re-carpeted. Facilities evaluates the carpeting in all public spaces throughout campus on an annual basis, and also takes into consideration a life cycle standard of approximately 10 years for hallway carpet. Some buildings made have more wear than others and don't reach the 10 year cycle prior to replacement while other buildings may exceed 10 years in wear and still look great so it evens out in the long run. Decisions are usually made in consultation with the Custodial Staff. If the carpet does not need replaced but can be patched, stretched, or extracted; this can also tend to lengthen the life cycle.

Transforming a basement space for a new life in Brown Hall

This summer a plan was conceived to change the purpose of one of the rooms in the basement of Brown Hall that was formerly used as a fitness area. The fitness area included an old "Universal" weight machine that had been in Brown Hall for many decades. Given that Brown Hall is not far from the Carpenter Sports Center, our folks at Evironmental Health & Safety determined that it was not safe to have students using the equipment in this room unsupervised with the potential for a serious injury to occur and with possibly no one around to adminster first aid or call for help. Therefore our plan was to dismantle the old equipment and have it's metal content recycled by nearby Newark Recycling. Now the room is being prepared with a rubber floor that will allow for low impact aerobics, pilates, and or yoga. Additional plans for the room include adding a television and a sound system down the road. The photo shows the room with most of the equipment hauled out in advance of the new flooring.

Study area outside Dickinson Computing Center gets a curb appeal boost!

This summer the carpeting and floor tile was replaced in the study area just outside the Dickinson Computing Center site in the basement of Dickinson C. The project had to be postponed until the summer due to the fact that there was old asbestos tile under the old carpet and tile. Our environmental term contractor handled safely removing the asbestos and then the new carpet and tile was installed last week. In addition to a new paint job and new window treatments, the whole study area looks much improved.