Renovations update

As you may recall we are trying to get renovations for a permanent lab. Here are few updates from Itzik who is in charge of the project.

• We have detailed plans for A/C, water, and for electricity. The A/C + water plan is within the budget outline. The electricity plan turned out very complex (in terms of number electrical boards, panels, circuits and such) and thus expensive. Itsik is working re-examine our specifications to see if we can make some concessions toward simplifying the details.
• The actual renovation (breaking walls, building walls, and such) plans have are waiting for bids from contractors. Tomorrow there is a planned site visit for interested contractors. This means that soon we will see how much they will cost.
• The furniture quote is in, and it is about the expected price.
• We are still trying to finalize the complete budget for the project and are in contact with the university management to sort out differences between the expected cost and the actual budget.

 I am trying to be optimistic that the process is continuing although so far no actual work has been carried out.