Whitehouse.gov
Politico: Life in the West Wing: Bug zappers and helicopter fumes
Bug zappers buzz in the West Wing while flies zip around. The yellow carpet is worn, and it can sometimes be difficult to work in parts of the White House because it fills with fumes when Marine One lands or takes off on the lawn of America’s most famous home.
Some White House aides claim to have seen rodents, and say they’re used to having maintenance professionals moving around their work space to do work on the air conditioning system, which hasn’t been overhauled in more than 20 years.
Fixing it is top of the agenda for a building-wide renovation blitz scheduled for the next two weeks, while President Donald Trump heads to his golf club in Bedminster, N.J.
Along with installing a high-volume air-conditioning system, the work may include replacing worn carpets and addressing other issues, according to a spokesperson for the General Services Administration, which will oversee the work.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: As soon as President Trump left the White House to go to his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., the renovation work on the White House started right-away and it is going to take exactly 17 days .... which is remarkable because I know how long it takes to redo an air conditioning system for a big building. On a side note .... President Trump has denied calling the White House a dump .... 'I love the White House': Donald Trump denies ever calling his Washington home a 'dump' (Daily Mail). Fake news from Sports Illustrated .... I do not know. But the reporter who broke the story says that 8 or 9 people heard him say that .... but when pressed he is not providing names .... Donald Trump claims reports he called the White House a dump are 'fake news' (The Independent).
WNU,
ReplyDeleteThink they're on an 8hr/day schedule? I bet the sub contractor pre con meetings were interesting.
Trump probably didn't say it was a dump. He may have certainly made some comments in relation to the White House that were negative and the reporter perhaps decided to take things out of context slightly.
ReplyDeleteI say this cause its an odd thing for a reporter to 'make-up'.
D. Plowman.
ReplyDeleteThose who have been given a private tour of the White House by President Trump have all said that he is always the praising the place, and how rich it looks (apparently President Trump likes the colour gold, and that colour is everywhere in the White House). These people have gone public, and they are mentioning that this reporter's article does not make sense.
James,
I looked at what are the general plans for the White House. In a normal situation it would easily take over a month to replace the AC system. But 17 days?!?!?! On a side note .... the press has been condemning President Trump for taking a 17 days vacation .... but he has to be gone because of the renovations. Here is another example of how the media tries to characterise and paint an impression of someone that they do not like, when the truth says otherwise.
1. they are renovating the W.H.
ReplyDelete2. renovations coincide with Trump being away
3. it is a vacation and trump calls it a working getaway
4. camp david?
Presidents routinely leave Washington for vacation during the summer months and Trump is no exception. But the White House has pushed back on the notion that Trump is truly taking time off, describing his trip as a “working vacation.”
For the most part, Trump’s activities on Saturday were unclear. He received a briefing from chief of staff John Kelly on a U.S. military helicopter crash off the Australian coast. But the White House declined to say what else was on his schedule.
A White House official said that over the next two weeks the president planned to meet with Kelly and other advisers as well as members of Congress.
Press did not make up story about "dump" some 8 staff there confirmed though Trump denies he said it (he lies)
ReplyDeletegolf reporter is standing by his report that President Donald Trump called the White House a "real dump," despite denials from the president and the White House.
The reporter, Alan Shipnuck, wrote that Trump made the comment to members of his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club while discussing why was spending so much time there. The quote attributed to the president – "That White House is a real dump" – was only a small fraction of a deeper dive into Trump's ties to golf published on Golf.com and in Sports Illustrated.
Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday to deny the report.
WNU,
ReplyDeleteIf they're smart they've gamed this out pretty well. I'd say they are going to work at least 2 8hr/day shifts. That will give them 34 working days or 1 3/4 standard working month. I don't
know how much they will actually do, especially whether they will replace or reuse existing duct work. That'll be the key (partition and ceiling penetrations and their refinishing). All the other finish out work has to wait for that. Critical materials should be already stored nearby. I wonder if there is a "liquidated damages" clause with a monetary amount? I'm glad I'm not the PM for this job.
WNU,
ReplyDeleteDo you know if they are replacing the air handling unit?
James.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure. But this type of extensive overhaul would call for it ... because since they are doing everything else .... why not this. I also read from numerous reports that Marine One's exhaust is getting into the White House. That is not good, and to correct that you will need to make some major changes .... including the AHU.
I would love to be the PM for this project. I will be sleeping in the Oval House when I can .... now who else can say that. :)
James,
ReplyDeleteI take that back.
Considering my background and the people in my family .... they will never leave me alone in the Oval Office to take a nap. LOL
They are redoing the entire AC system
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/nytimes/status/894191103418781697
WOW. Apparently it is long long long overdue. But if they can do it in 17 days, I would love to know the company and who is the Project Manager that is involved.
WNU,
ReplyDeleteMost prints and photos I've seen give the impression that interior partitions are mult-width masonry with plaster and drywall finish. Even if they have mostly acoustical drop in ceiling those walls will have a lot of work to be done. If the ceiling are plaster and the duct work is to be replaced then they have a lot of work. I'd love to see the RCP plans for the existing. The main air handlers are in the basement which makes getting them out tough, but getting the new stuff in very hard. I wonder if they've planned to open the building up to get the new stuff in?
About a year or two ago I was curious about the architecture of the White House so I did a search for all the detail drawings and plans for the building. My result .... nothing. It appears that everything is classified top secret.
ReplyDeleteWNU,
ReplyDeleteYou're right. The stuff I've seen is very general with no description block on the right shown for date or architectural firm. I have seen a floor finish for the first floor, but again no description on the right so know way of knowing if that's an accurate reflection of what exists. The wall composition can be inferred from experience with drawing and design techniques, but beyond that.....?
The Air conditioning needs much work to stop all the hot air coming out of that place
ReplyDeletefred, you're trying to hard
ReplyDeleteKeep yer day job, fred. ;)
ReplyDelete/rimshot
Renovations yes maybe, but it could be that they really just want to go a bit deeper than looking under desks and inside air vents for bugs, and/or, to install the bugs they want for later.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to the White House nothing is what it seems to be and it never was.
I agree Bob, and the timing of it as well and the length of time its taking. 17 days is not much for renovations.
ReplyDeleteBob,
ReplyDeletePretty good thought. If I was a White House leaker and I came back after all of this and my office had a new coat of paint I'd have to wonder.
Lmbo
ReplyDeletehttp://i.imgur.com/b3zC1Wn.jpg
ReplyDeleteNo longer need day job
ReplyDeleteAin't America great
must be all those welfare checks you're collecting
ReplyDelete