December 01, 2008 Progress Report



The stone work is now complete on Madison’s north face, and our massive tower separating the Gallatin and Madison now dominates the facade.

A calendar year in the Montana construction world is an interesting phenomenon. Ask anyone around here who has more than a few years" experience, and they’ll likely be able to give you a two- or three-sentence characterization of each month. Everyone will have their favorite month, their most productive month, and their most tiring month (sometimes all three are the same). They could tell you which month presents the most challenges, and which months have the best and worst weather. You can find out which month is best for certain phases of construction, and which month can cripple other phases.

Usually the month of December is slightly slower on the productivity scale, thanks most often to a week or more of Christmas and New Year’s vacationing by our workers. This year’s December had an extra-strong grip on production, as we endured eleven straight days with temperatures in the single digits or lower. Seven of those days saw negative temperatures, making it all the way to 22-below on one occasion! Most of the old-timers around the area confessed to being unable to remember such cold temperatures so early in the winter season. Then the week of Christmas brought nearly 18 inches of snow to Bigfork, and the first day of our new year kept right at it with ten inches falling during the work day! Our little village of personality at Bear Dance is looking every bit its part of magical and enchanting, but the real-world headaches created by subzero temperatures and massive snowfall amounts are impossible to ignore.

What is also impossible to ignore is the realization of what has been accomplished in the past twelve months. We’ve had a flurry of a year here, and one doesn’t have to delve too deeply to see what has happened here. We’ll get back to this month’s progress in a moment, but if we may, allow us to recognize the accomplishments of the many who have pitched in over the past year.


We’ve surrounded the doors and windows in the tunnel
under Gallatin with brick, helping to set up the stone
work and give our walls that same thick look.

As we mentioned last month, a local resident was remarking about the amount of activity here on a daily basis. The other part of his comments referred to the overall longevity of this project. He told us the tendency is to think about how long we’ve been working here (in two months, we will be two years since ground- breaking), and wonder why things are going on so long. But he was a builder before retiring, and as someone who drives past our project on a daily basis, he’s able to appreciate the amount of detail going into Bear Dance, because every day is packed with workers. All of you reading this are going to think we’re just saying this for effect, but we really mean it when we say this year has been even better than last year!

Last year (2007) was certainly full of productivity, as we finished an enormous infrastructure, unparalleled foundation work, and a large portion of the structural framing. But this past year simply took the progress and momentum of 2007 and gave it a growth spurt. Consider a few of the highlights:

  • Our masonry work began right around New Year’s, and look at what they’ve accomplished! Swan and Flathead; parking garage walls; elevator tower; Madison & Gallatin’s shared tower; Ruby and Missouri upper garages; Ruby’s curving tower wall; the root cellars; Boulder interior brick; Swan interior stone; and the entire north face of the five-plex!
  • The five-plex didn’t have a roof until after 2008 began, and who could’ve guessed it would lead to the thatched-style cedar shake roof we see now?
  • We took our budding design details and expanded on them in 2008, incorporating framing, masonry, ArcusStone and steel-work.
  • The rough-in phase had only occurred in Boulder and Yellowstone thus far, so we’ve seen plumbing, HVAC, central vac and electrical in Swan, Flathead, Missouri, Madison, Gallatin and Big Horn this year.

Yellowstone’s master shower is nearly complete,
with only one row of glass block remaining.
Once again, a photograph just doesn’t do it
justice!
  • All over the project, our exterior surfaces have just exploded off the page of a fairy tale storybook. The stone and brick were getting all the attention for awhile, then our framing crew combined with Smith Painting to give us some perfectly-aged siding, and the guys from Fontecilla Custom Interiors filled in the remaining spots with stucco and ArcusStone.
  • The “wow” view of the project shifted from the waterfront to the upper side on the south, as the five-plex was complemented by the hardscaping by Zavala’s crew, working on our grade and stone retaining walls.
  • The insides got a makeover, too. Tile work, plaster, drywall, painting, insulation… all kept right on going when the weather outside was frightful.
  • We could keep going, but check out our website in your spare time to at least look at some of the pictures from 2008, and you’ll remember how much fun we’ve had.

Now back to this month. We alluded to being slowed down in a couple areas, but it was still a fantastic month to end a banner year at Bear Dance. We’ve wrapped up our plaster in Boulder and Yellowstone, while getting started on it in The Swan (check out the ArcusStone wall-cap for our stairwell in the Boulder!) The painting has begun in the non-plaster areas of Boulder and Yellowstone, and we’ll soon be installing our tile and flagstone floors in those two. We’ve begun the drywall in the Missouri, and we’re using the opportunity afforded by a slower market to get very competitive pricing on this area, as well as making careful decisions with regards to plaster versus drywall and texture.

One of the crowning images of Bear Dance will soon be revealed, and that’s the Ruby stairwell tower. Along with the adjacent lower courtyards, the stone has all been set, but we’re waiting on a special grout technique we’ve been refining throughout the past year. Once this wall is unveiled, the only disappointment will be that it isn’t in a more prominent location! Combined with the brickwork on the porch fireplace and chimney (now underway), Ruby’s entryway will have guests never even wanting to walk inside!

Inside work, however, is now taking center stage, and will continue to do so in the coming months. The tile work in our bathrooms and showers has been magnificent, and Yellowstone’s master shower is evoking a “hey guys, you gotta see this!” response when we give tours. After all the focus we’ve kept on the exteriors until recently, it’s going to be a fun start to 2009, watching the progress in the interiors. We‟re getting towards the home stretch of our journey in creating Bear Dance, but it’s likely not a stretch to suggest that the upcoming year will yet again surpass its predecessor. We’ve said it before, but we don’t mind repeating: We’re excited about what’s to come!