TolTest, Inc.

TolTest featured in the Spring 2007 edition of AFCEE CenterViews

Release Date: August 14, 2007
Source: AFCEE CenterViews Spring 2007 Vol. 13, No. 1

One of the largest housing restoration projects on a military installation was recently completed, within budget, and four months ahead of schedule.

The $27-million restoration of 153 military housing units in 86 buildings located in the "Old Historic Bricks" section of F. E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., "constitutes one of the largest, if not the largest, restoration projects on any military installation in the United States," said Sara Needles, Wyoming State Historical Preservation officer.

The work was completed in February by AFCEE contractor TolTest, Inc., of Ohio.

It consisted of refurbishing 25 single-family, 58 twofamily and three four-family buildings, each averaging about 5,000 square feet.

The units are more than a century old, dating back to when F. E. Warren was established as an Army cavalry fort in 1867. The installation, now an Air Force Space Command base, was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1975.

The project involved restoring or replacing more than 4,500 windows, over 6,000 doors and 165 porches on the buildings as well as doing landscaping and painting windows, doors, cabinets and porches.

Restoration included also duplicating more than 14 door styles, six trim profiles, six column variations, 38 window configurations and four styles of existing porch decking patterns.

Also, many layers of old lead-based paint had to be removed and the contaminated soil around the buildings abated.

At peak performance, the contractor worked on up to 50 houses concurrently, employing more than 200 skilled crafts and lead-abatement specialists in the process.

The project came in ahead of schedule despite being faced with a number of challenges, which included inclement weather, labor shortages and the constant moving in and out of residents because of military reassignments.

F. E. Warren officials said base personnel and the military families that will be occupying the restored housing units "were extremely pleased" with the quality of the work, which they said "exceeded base and Air Force Space Command expectations."

They added that the base's housing flight and 90th Civil Engineer Squadron worked with the contractor team to help coordinate work and project schedules and provided engineering support.

They further noted that the squadron and the contractor had "created a positive work environment, where teamwork and communication flourished."

Because of the "frequent and open communications between all stakeholders," they said, "the work was executed with zero impact to ongoing base operations," while the team found ways to increase production, reduce unit costs and improve overall quality.

Base officials said that, ultimately, the Air Force will benefit from environmentally safe and energy-efficient housing that will keep its historic character for many years to come.

TolTest is an award-winning DoD contractor headquartered in Maumee, Ohio, employs 386 associates, and has CONUS locations in California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Washington, Wyoming, and OCONUS locations in Afghanistan, the Azores, Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), Guam, Iraq, Japan, Kuwait, Qatar, South Korea, and Spain. Services include asbestos & lead abatement/demolition; bulk fuel services; construction; design/build; environmental consulting & remediation; general contracting; operations & maintenance (O&M); site engineering; telecommunications installations; transportation and disposal; underground/above-ground storage tank management, removal & installation; and value engineering.