2024 Associated Masonry Contractors of Houston Golden Trowel Award: Educational Facility (K-12)

>>> The expansion of Humble High School included adding a new gymnasium and surrounding facilities utilizing brick, block and concrete masonry units, creating a new grand entrance and other miscellaneous renovations.  Approximately 6,500 pieces of Arriscraft, 94.000 bricks in 3 different colors and 70,000 concrete masonry units were used in the process. 

One of the main masonry features is the new grand entrance adjacent to the cafeteria.  The veneer on these 36’ walls is 1’ x 2’ Arriscraft units.  This is set to a large radius wall that begins on the outside and carries on to the inside.  A massive Arriscraft clad wing wall finishes out the entry. 

The most important consideration during the construction of this project was the fact that school was operating on a normal schedule.  Protection of the students, faculty and staff as they walked within feet of the construction was paramount. 

Working on tie in points at various points around the building was another issue as access to many of the areas were cut off from each other.  The concrete masonry units for the gym and supporting elements had to be installed at an expedited pace to allow for the other trades to remain on schedule, again with minimal access points as two of these walls were in direct contact with the existing structure. Forethought and extensive planning were required to determine where everything would be staged for installation. In addition, deliveries were limited to a only a few hours each day. 

Finally, since this is an older building that has been renovated multiple times over the years, much of the work was not as anticipated so communication and coordination with the general contractor and architect was constant throughout the project.