Teel Wall Update

*Updated July 10* Neighbors, as you are aware and we have communicated to you in the past, our screening wall along Teel is in bad shape. Your Board has been working behind the scenes in partnership with our management company, SBB, to come to resolution in a manner that is long term in nature and utilizes the reserve funds appropriately.
July 10, 2015: As of today, all wall panels are complete! The contractor still has some of the “skirts” to complete, final clean-up, some odds and ends, and any final “punch list” items on his list. Additionally, the primary column near the main entrance which is leaning is fully structurally sound but we are determining if it can be jacked up to be straight. And lastly, all the white top caps on the primary columns will be cleaned over the next week or two. This will make our new wall “pop” as the white will be white and the panels are complete. The Board has authorized an additional project to straighten and paint the wrought iron fence at the end of Barkwood. We are also looking at options including a living wall and expect a decision within the next month. Planting will depend on weather if approved. Thank you for your patience. Weather, weather, and more weather combined with brick delays have caused this project to take longer than expected.
May 11, 2015: Who would have ever thought that we would have had as much rain as we have over the past few months? The wall has been delayed on numerous occasions but, finally, phase 2 is has been started. After putting it out to bid, the Board chose to stick with the same contractor who completed phase 1. The contractor has torn down the small section of wall next on the trip North and is in the middle of the rebuild. The work will continue North until complete. At this point, the Board is looking at options for Phase 3 (see below). The most feasible option is to repaint and straighten the rod iron fence and plant some plants which will help with blocking the area that looks onto Barkwood. Thank you for your continued patience and remaining out of the construction areas.
February 7, 2015: After a long period of rain, wind, cold weather, holidays, and then more rain, wind, and cold weather – progress is moving forward on the wall construction. Section 1 of Phase 1 is complete and the crew is nearing halfway on Section 2 of Phase 1. We are in the process of placing Phase 2 out for bid and have requested that SBB expedite. Phase 2 will complete the wall construction all the way to the amenity center. We will also be putting out for bid Phase 3, and dependent on the cost, the Board will decide to move forward or not. Phase 3 is to replace the rod-iron fence at the end of Barkwood with the same brick wall along the rest of Teel. While we are not unhappy with the current contractor, we believe it is the right thing to put out Phase 2 and 3 for bid separately. We chose to do it this way at inception to ensure that if we were unhappy with the contractor, we would not have to stay with him/her. Thank you for your patience and remaining out of the construction areas.
December 18, 2014: Progress continues on the wall. Unfortunately, we are not as far as planned at this point due to the weather. There must be someone in the neighborhood who has been doing a rain dance   We want the rain but we really need it over Lake Lavon!  If you have not taken time to look at the quality of work, please go take a look after hours but please try not to touch the wall as the section you are looking at may be new and still drying. The Contractor will continue working as weather permits. He is committed to doing a quality job thus it may take longer than you might have expected but I am all for a wall that will last! If you have any questions, please contact me at drbfrog@gmail.com. Thanks and Happy Holidays!
November 27, 2014: The City inspector issued a green tag for the wall! Tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday, the Contractor will build columns (secondary) only so they will be dry by Monday and the focus can change to the initial set of wall panels.
November 24, 2014: The bricks were delivered today for the 1st section and work is underway. The first column was put up and the quality (to my eye) looks very good. He continues to keep a clean workplace a priority also. Tomorrow the first wall section is scheduled to be put up as well as the first call to the City Inspector. I will be unable to view the work tomorrow, thus please contact me at drbfrog@gmail.com if you see any issues of concern. Thanks!
November 20, 2014: As you have seen, the work on the wall has started. The Contractor began the demolition and completed one section (~24 panels). He removed as many panels as he did as the brick was scheduled to be delivered on Friday, Nov 21. Unfortunately, the brick is being delivered from Oklahoma and is delayed due to weather. It is set to be delivered on Monday, Nov 24 and brick work will begin after delivery. Upon the initial work, the City Inspector will be called to perform the first inspection. If you have not seen, the contractor is very conscientious about cleanliness and will maintain a clean worksite. If you have any issues with the Contractor, please contact SBB at 972-960-2800 or through the website contact form.
November 20 Wall Demolition
November 11, 2014: The City issued the permit today (dated in the system as after 6pm ct yesterday) after escalating. The wall construction work is set to begin next Monday, Nov. 17. A full project timeline is not available at this time as there are too many variables to take into account. More info will be updated here throughout the build process.
November 10, 2014: The Contractor is scheduled to begin wall tear down work next Monday, Nov 17. This could be delayed for 2 reasons though: (1) Weather and (2) The City of Frisco has not approved the permit as of today. The permit was originally applied for on 10/27. The city denied on 10/31 and requested additional drawings. These were immediately provided by the Contractor and he was told that it would be 1 week. When he called this morning (11/10), he was told that the 1 week is actually 3. Your HOA Board has already escalated this issue within the City and hopes to have resolution soon.
October 23, 2014: The brick manufacturer has confirmed that our order will be completed on November 13 (the manufacturing completion date). Trucking of the bricks will add an additional 3-5 days with a possible variation of 5 +/- days. Thus, we expect demolition to start the 2nd week of November if all goes according to plan. The contractor will not demolish the entire wall, rather he will do it in sections based on what he can rebuild within a reasonable timeframe. Additionally, you may have noticed that our wall was hit a few weeks ago. The drivers, 2 city trucks, were cited and we have filed a claim with the City’s insurance company. Until the bricks are in and work commences on the section impacted, the plywood will remain. Thank you for your patience. We look forward to celebrating this project’s end and the rebuild of a quality wall that will last a long time!!
September 14, 2014: The bricks are on order and we will have a better idea of delivery this week. We will continue to update this post as more information is known and the project progresses.
September 2, 2014: We have selected the Contractor! He was notified the end of last week and quickly submitted his draw schedule and requested his first draw to order the bricks. The check should be ready by week’s end so the bricks can be ordered early next week. I spoke with the Contractor this evening and he will be calling the brick yard to let them know the order is forthcoming and see what can be done to expedite the order. It can take as long as six-eight weeks to obtain the brick if not expedited. More updates will follow as we progress.
August 22, 2014: We have made significant progress recently regarding the Teel screening wall. Over the past 2 weeks, we have received responses and bids to our comprehensive and detailed RFP. All 4 contractors who received the RFP chose to respond and bid. Your HOA Board reviewed all 4 responses and down-selected to 2 finalists. This afternoon, in the cool breeze :(, we met with the second of the 2 finalists and will be making a decision for Contract award by the end of next week. Once the decision is made and the contract awarded, the Contractor will begin their planning. We expect construction can start sometime in late September and will take between 8-12 weeks (weather dependent) to complete. This timeline is for phase 1 which runs from Cobb MS to the South to Birchridge at the North. We chose to split the project into 2 phases and our plans are to complete phase 1, review the quality of work of the Contractor and then make a decision for Phase 2. We expect phase 2 to be a Spring 2015 project. More updates will follow as we progress.
July 18, 2014: The RFP is out and we are now awaiting on bids from the qualified contractors. Earlier in the summer, the City (City Manager Purefoy) agreed to have the City inspect the wall construction more frequently than they would normally and advise us of any concerns along the way. He did not agree to help in any other way which was unfortunate given the assistance they have provided neighborhoods like Starwood during their issues with slope failures along Teel. I am a proponent of the City of Frisco but do find the fact that they will not accept any responsibility for our wall deplorable. It was this fight that delayed much of the work and forced your Board to make the decision to move forward with replacement. More updates will follow as we progress.
June 26, 2014: The contractor has completed the test panel and the Board is in the midst of making a decision on mortar color. It is amazing how the mortar color makes the bricks themselves look different! This decision will be made by the end of the week, at which time the scope will be completed and RFP readied to send out to multiple contractors. Some have asked why the contractors need 3 weeks to review the RFP and respond. This timeline was the initial thought of our property manager and may be reduced, depending on when the RFP is sent, but we do want to provide ample time for the contractors to evaluate, inspect, and prepare a comprehensive bid. (Please watch this post for continuing updates.)
June 5, 2014: Since our last update, the Contractor has confirmed a date for the test panel to be completed which allows us to lay out the rest of the plan. The test panel is scheduled, weather permitting, to be completed on June 23. Once this is complete, the Board will select approve the brick and the mortar color. Within a week of this selection, the information will be readied to be sent out to multiple contractors to bid on the work as an RFP. We expect to send to at least 3-4 contractors. The Board may not select the cheapest as we want the best quality for the money spent. We are planning on providing the contractors 3 weeks to review the RFP and respond based on the detailed scope of work and any required physical inspections.We are planning on breaking the work in a minimum of 2 sections, starting on the South end. Once the bids are received, the Board will review and make a decision on Contactors with a goal of work commencement in September. This date may change based on weather and contractor availability but we will keep you informed as this process / project progresses.
May 21, 2014: We have been working with a general contractor to provide scope including design, brick, mortar, and more. We met with him this evening and he will be building a sample panel for us to observe the options within a few weeks. This panel will be built in place of the completely fallen panel. The Board will make final decisions on color, design, and more once this is complete. The next step will be to send out an RFP to multiple contractors to bid on the wall. We are planning on splitting the project into at least 2 phases. And due to summer heat, the project will not start before September. Mortar manufacturers do not recommend building in temperatures above 90 degrees or so (dependent on manufacturer). Thank you, Your Heather Ridge Estates HOA Board of Directors