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Into the home stretch at UCSC Sparks fly as Daniel Zamora, Local 605, makes the crucial cut. Zamora works for E. F. Brady. There’s something about a finish line that shapes the working landscape. For the carpenters employed on the major renovations at Porter College on the University of California, Santa Cruz campus, that end-point is fast approaching. After two years on the project, carpenters for general contractor DPR Construction and a number of subcontractors must wrap up the seismic retrofitting, structural improvements and major upgrades of several of the college’s buildings by the end of August. Students arrive in late September, and the last toolboxes will be packed up and gone before then.
 Local 9144, nails up DensGlass on a roof with a view.  "It’s exciting to be back to work after being off for six months," says Enrique Gamboa, Local 9144. He’s been on the job for three weeks now.  After about two years on the three buildings of the Porter College project, Butch Gutierrez, Local 405, will be moving on in a couple of months. Gutierrez is the superintendent for E.F. Brady, which has done the drywall and steel framing on the projects.  Janson Diaz, Local 405, is a carpenter for DPR. Inside Porter’s Residence Hall A, a trip down from the sixth floor—the top of the building—is a living textbook in construction progress. On the roof, carpenters cut and install DensGlass, while inside the still-open sixth floor others work on the interior framing. Glaziers prepare the window frames, although no glass stops the morning’s cool breezes yet. On the floors below, where things are much more buttoned up, drywallers and door framers work steadily down the dorm halls, and electricians move from room to room. Under the supervision of DPR, a number of subs are employed here, including E.F. Brady for the exterior metal framing and lath and plaster, Bayside Interiors for the interior framing and drywall, Spacetone Acoustic, Mission Bell Manufacturing, Berkeley Cement, Peninsulators for the draperies and window coverings, and ISEC for the door frames and hardware. In keeping with the campus’ commitment to sustainability and responsible development, the project is adding bed spaces in two of the residence halls by going up, not out. The improvements also include energy efficiency upgrades, replacing old plumbing with low-flow models, using green building materials where possible, and—in at least one of the buildings—an aim to hit the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification.  DPR carpenter Keith Jeske, Local 505, makes short work of this cut.  "We’re finishing up the framing in here," says Rick Lundberg, Local 9144, who works for E.F. Brady.  ISEC carpenter Adrian Hernandez Jr., Local 405, sets door frames on the fifth floor of the Porter dorm.  Brothers Joe Morin, Local 25, and Roman Morin, Local 9144, are hanging sheetrock and framing. They both work for Bayside Interiors. |
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