The first three weeks of February have been productive ones at the creamery. Both aging rooms received three coats of plaster. The first coat was very rough, and served the purpose of filling the gap between the radiant cooling tubing and the insulation of the walls. The second coat was another “rough” coat, intended to increase the thickness of the wall. The third coat is a “smooth” coat. The smooth coat ensures that all of the walls are level. The final wall finish, a polyurethane cement, will be applied over this smooth plaster. During the application and drying of the plaster coats, the radiant tubing was pressurized, thus any expansion or contraction of the tubing which may occur when chill water is being circulated will not damage the walls.
Our mechanical contractors have begun installation of air ducts, air in-let and out-let vents, and the glycol lines which will provide cooling for our pasteurizer, our air conditioning units, and our radiant cooling systems. They have also begun installing conduit and boxes for the controls for aging room temperature and humidity. Outside the creamery, subterranean lines were run to take glycol from the mechanical pad to the creamery, skirting the site of the tasting/sales area where construction will continue. These subterranean lines sit atop a layer of insulation, and received a layer of sprayed foam insulation over the top of them. This insulation will reduce heat transfer from the soil to our glycol lines.
Today the insulation installer is working around our electricians who are tying up last minute parts of their work as he starts to finish insulation in the remaining rooms. As he completes his work, our crew will begin installing ceiling paneling. They are currently prepping the concrete slab for our walk-in cooler where packaged cheese will be stored prior to sale.
Our electricians were hoping to get a first-hand look at the pasteurizer to verify its wiring needs (rather than relying on the schematics we have), but it is currently being held in Customs in Los Angeles. The shipping crate, which holds our pasteurizer, cheese press, a curd working table, curd draining equipment, and several pumps temperature recording equipment, had already been held-up for scanning. We’ve just been informed that they have now slated it for a full physical inspection, which could delay shipment for another week.