The building pace continues to move forward at a very fast pace, which is an awesome thing. I can honestly say that after doing demo work for 2 plus years it feels so rewarding to do actually be building our church. I know the entire team feels the same way.
The rafter tails on the lower roof were straightened and facia boars were attached. The long hard work of building the front walls finally came to an end. It took a forest of wood to build these walls as they are almost 24 feet tall. The walls were built in 3 individual sections and will be joined when installed. Then the excitement began when we slid each of the walls off the slab and hoisted them into place. With Steve Schenk at the controls the telehandler lifted each section into place flawlessly. We then quickly braced each wall section back to the building. Once all three walls were erected the team gather in celebration and prayer. It was an awesome moment. Next the team began to put down the plywood on the lower section of the roof and within a few days with Arvin mushing the team along the work was completed. Unbelievable amount of work in such a short time period. We then jumped into cation building the side walls on the lower roof, which included window openings and lots of horizontal bracing. The guys then went on to straighten the top of the girder and end walls and place a top plate in place for the roof trusses to sit on. A platform was then built as the 1st level of the tower, which is where the sanctuary HVAC system will be located. The team spent 2 days turning straight top trusses into curved top trusses to match the existing curved roof over the conference room. We repeated the process 40 times. Then we had the fun job of making 4 double trusses from the stack of trusses and then nailing them together in a specific nailing pattern. Which then made the double trusses very heavy to lift. Just so thankful for everyone who shows up to work everyday building our church. We laugh, we pray, we sing and we certainly laugh all day long with each other. Just enjoy my time working with all of the volunteers. Thanks Steve Looking back in preparing this blog it is just so amazing to see the amount of work this small team of volunteers has completed. Such a dedicated team of men and women.
Work continued building the very tall front walls, almost 24 feet tall. All of the framing was completed for the windows to include the headers and window sills. The entire wall blocking was installed to make the wall sturdier and keep it square and plumb. The front wall was built in 3 separate pieces on the floor of the sanctuary. The rental telehandler and scissors lift arrived on-site. Both pieces of equipment are a necessity to hoist the walls and roof trusses. We built a temporary opening in the tarped wall for easier access to the existing building. We repurposed double doors from the former sanctuary. During one of the rainy days we began dry fitting the metal door frames into their new openings. Grinding of the concrete blocks made for a nice dusty mess! The main girder which is 5 separate girders was marked and screwed together one girder at a time and then bolted together. It’s estimated weight is around 3,000 lbs. So we tested the telehandlers ability to lift it in place before the actual lift. The end support walls for the girder were built and put into place and braced. Then the big girder was slowly hoisted into place which to my amazement went really well. We took a deep breath once it was in place and then made quick work of securing it and bracing it back to the building. The next big step in building the sanctuary was cutting the 24 inch LVL beams and then hoisting them in place. The roof crew and the scissors lift crew had a hard time keeping up with the telehandler crew as they were just moving so fast. Lol We then built the 2 lower roofs 8 foot overhangs on the ground and hoisted them into place which really went smoothly. We took 1/2 day off on Good Friday to participate in the “Cross walk” which was an uplifting event. Thanks to Rejoice Fellowship volunteers and our partners the Mission Builder volunteers helping to build our new church. It’s a great working relationship and I know I can speak for the team that we learn from each other everyday. Keep up the terrific work! Thanks Steve It’s just amazing to see what we have accomplished in such a short period of time.
The original building's corner stone was relocated and new blocks were placed in the wall cavity to match the other existing pier. More concrete and stone debris was hauled away. The remaining HVAC duct bulkheads were built in the rear classrooms. Hardie board siding was delivered. The outside cement blocks above and below the old windows were power washed. This include both front and back of the building. It’s amazing how good they now look. Also years of black grime and probably mold were power washed off the backside of the building. Cabinet blocking were installed in the warming kitchen. These will be used to secure the upper and lower cabinets. The overhead roll up door contractor was on-site to measure the openings for the doors and countertops. A few wall studs had to be moved in order for the counter tops to fit. The remaining Pella windows arrived. The hollow metal doors also arrived. Every door opening in the existing building to include the new rooms we built will receive a new door frame and door. The store front window company was on-site to replace the front windows. They worked quickly installing the frames and then the individual windows. They really look nice. The order of plywood arrived. The much anticipated arrival of the Mission Builders took place. Gene and Caryl arrived 1st, followed by Steve and Carole, Arvin and Sue and then Gordon and Bonnie. Together with our team we quickly got to work “Building” the 1st set of walls that attach to the existing building. These walls have the large opening into the Narthex, a window into the nursing mothers room and a door into the sanctuary. Next we started building the 24 foot high front walls. A very involved process of building headers and stools for all of the windows. Then horizontal blocking for stabilization. If you haven’t seen our handy work, please take a few minutes to stop by. It’s so hard to actually describe the work that is being done, but we hope the pictures help. So thankful for our amazing building team and our Mission Builders team. Such a terrific group of dedicated individuals to help build our church. So thankful to all of our suppliers who met or exceeded our expectations and delivered our necessary materials. Unlike last year it was a struggle to obtain everything in a timely manner. Thanks for all you do Steve A few busy and productive few weeks working at church. It’s just hard to work, take pictures and keep track of all that was done.
We cut a hole in the warming kitchen wall into the boiler room to allow the HVAC contractor to run a return duct into the space. More duct work was completed in the warming kitchen and conference room. It’s a slow process but we can see that the contractor is making progress. We built a temporary door frame and recycled a door for the warming kitchen. Just another step to provide security for the building. Keyed door locks to match existing door lock. Repaired stones in rear wall of the boiler room and repaired concrete floors in warming kitchen and boiler room floor. Once the HVAC contractors ran the supply ducts in the hallway ceiling the team then had to build a new ceiling frame and then covered it with drywall. We received a massive lumber delivery, which is part of the materials needed to build the new sanctuary. If you notice they spelled Rejoice incorrectly. LOL Built bulkheads around duct work in the front offices, which will eventually be covered with drywall. We dug and poured footers for fire hydrant barriers. The fire hydrant sits a little close to the parking lot so this should protect it. We also poured/repaired the men’s room floor. Concrete masons repaired several cinder block door openings. The building team works tirelessly getting the building ready for occupancy. So many small projects going on at one time. I am so thankful for the team and all of their efforts. We are always looking for help, feel free to stop by any day to lend a hand. Thanks for all that you do. Steve Just another busy few weeks working at church. Things are really starting to come together.
The men’s room under floor drain pipes all need to be removed and capped off. So the floor was broken up and pipes cut off in preparation for the plumber to do his work. The remaining section of the chimney in the boiler room was knocked down and carted away. Lots of sledge hammer swinging and bending and lifting broken cinder blocks into our trucks to be hauled away. Many of the HVAC heaters / A/C units arrived on-site which is great to see. This was one of the most difficult contracts to be approved by the Architect simply because none of the initial equipment was available. Part 1 of the Pella windows arrived and we had lots of help to unloaded the very heavy windows. Also had a guest appearance by Ray Houck our lift gate operator! So glad to see the windows all lined up inside the church. Many of us spent time just sweeping and cleaning up the church. Construction just makes a lot of mess. Thanks to all of those who continue to support building our church. Thanks Steve The much needed and sought after roofing contractor came on site to install the shingled roof and the PVC roof on the curved roof over the conference room. It was a hectic few days as there were a few issues and questions but we got through that. Phase 1 was to roof over the classroom wing, 1/2 of the roof over the Narthex and roof the fellowship hall.
The entire roof was covered 1st with ice and water shield and then a layer of felt paper over that. Wood had to be cut like a wedge to be installed at the ridge in order for the ridge vents not to leak as the roof pitch is not very steep. Plywood had to be put down on the top rows of the fellowship roof as the existing insulation was insufficient to nail into. That was a change order but we had to do it or the roof would fail. Roofers worked long days and completed phase 1 in 3 days which was really impressive. Take note of the roofer carrying a sheet of plywood up the ladder with the plywood on his back! Based on product availability (color and style) we insisted that all materials be purchased at one time and be delivered on-site. So there will be no product issues when phase 2 takes place. Plus we locked in the current rate for the materials. The HVAC contractor was on-site for the first time and started installing duct work in the attic. We expect more work in the upcoming weeks. BGE was on-site and installed all new power wires from the pole to the building. Made all of the connections inside the building and installed a new meter. Power was restored to the building. February became the month Mike and I dreamed about where contractors were working through out the building. For the 1st time it really looked like a construction site which we were so happy to see.
We worked hard at removing the old ladies' room partition walls and fixtures. Then we attacked removing the block wall between the old ladies' room and men's room. We have become experts at knocking down walls! They aren’t afraid of challenges for sure. In fact I think they like swinging the sledge hammer and blowing a big hole in a wall! We still hate shoveling up the debris and hauling it to the dump which took many trips. Removing the wall exposed the copper plumbing in the men’s room so we found every scrap of plywood in the building and built a wall to secure it from theft. Masons continued to fill in block openings through out the old sanctuary, warming kitchen and hallway. Plumber installed the new water supply with a cut off and hose bib and installed the plumbing roof vents. The electricians came back on site to demo the old electrical breaker boxes and cabinet in preparation for the new electrical supply BGE would run. We worked side by side with them even helping remove the old electrical mast and install the new one which probably weighed 300 lbs. We were grateful the electricians had a generator we could share. Lots of emails and phone calls being made to obtain lumber quotes, siding quotes, roofer contract signing etc…. Lots of checks written by Teresa to move the project forward. I am so grateful for your continued efforts building our church. You guys are amazing workers. Without you the project would not be possible and you have learned a valuable lesson that “Suspenders” are the key to success! LOL Thanks Steve The building team has not stopped working I just fell way behind on the weekly blogs.
We accomplished a lot during December and January in spite of the terribly cold weather outside and inside! It’s difficult to work with so many layers of clothes on and wearing winter gloves but we pushed through. Running water became a real issue in spite of turning off the main water supply and draining the pipes the lines still froze in the walls. So we rented a porta potty for us and the contractors. We began the process of removing all of the existing copper pipe. Lots of the cinder block walls were repaired where they had broken during demolition. We built the attic entrance in the classroom wing. The masons were on site to begin the work of cutting a doorway into the new bathroom and installing a concrete header. They also did the same thing for the rear storage room. Next they cut out one of two pass through into the warming kitchen and the new doorway. Installing headers in both locations. This project has been a low priority to the contractor as our work hasn’t been urgent so when the weather is bad they show up to work. It’s worked great for us and them. The building was there daily to haul away truck load after truck load of block rubble and to board up openings that left us vulnerable to theft. Many contract estimates were requested, reviewed and some signed during this time period. This is probably the most time consuming part of managing the build process. No one calls you back. No one replies to your numerous emails. Contractors are just crazy busy with work. Very frustrating at times. Thanks to the building team for all of their efforts building your church and doing a lot of very difficult demo work! Thanks Steve A slightly less productive week as we are running out of construction work we can do without roof shingles on the building.
We are busy trying to finalize the HVAC contract and specifics related to the units to be installed. Still working with a few roofers and we are now close to making a selection. Working on getting pricing on the exterior Hardie board and PVC a trim. We finished installing the three layers of fire rated drywall on the exterior eaves. Glad that job is done! Took a few more trips to the dump with debris. One trip to the metal recycle center weighing over 400 lbs and made $12.80. During the Summer the sidewall connected to the ladies rest room had to be removed, which had the cornerstone in it. Not sure why the cornerstone was not located on the front of the building. We had the site contractor simply pull the entire wall over and we kept the cornerstone dated 1963. It’s part of the history of the building and so we just didn’t throw it away. Later in the Summer as we removed all of the structural steel holding up the Narthex roof it left a void in the stone wall. So we have decided to relocate the cornerstone into this area and block up the rest of the opening. The corner stones is crazy heavy and too large to fit in the opening. So in cutting it down to size we discovered inside was a time capsule. So glad we just didn’t discard the cornerstone as we wouldn’t have been able to see the historical documents. Inside was a copy of the Lutheran magazine dated March 1964, several copies of the Maryland gazette, coins, church incorporation, bi-laws, ground breaking and cornerstone laying ceremonies and a picture of the 1961 confirmation class. We will have to create a time capsule and corner plaque for our new sanctuary. Cut all of the cinder blocks to fit in the Narthex wall opening. We worked 21.5 hours this week. Thanks to the team for all of their continued hard work on this big project. Steve Team,
A lot was accomplished this week. The plumbers finished the water line rough in’s for the three bathrooms and the conference room. The boiler room chimney, which will no longer be used was insulated and closed off. The exterior vents and door vents were also insulated to keep out the cold air. More door security was added for the men’s room and the former sanctuary. The former sanctuary front wall is covered with tongue and groove wood, which did not extend to the floor as there were multiple levels leading up to the Alter. We couldn’t match the wood so we covered it with drywall as this area will be a storage room. We also patched the one sidewall with drywall where walls intersected. Lots of pieces had to be cut and trimmed to fit. We installed drywall in the Fellowship hall where the electrician will hang the new breaker box. We made a few dump runs carting off more debris. We spent time cleaning up the fellowship hall and organized it. Jane Hudgins stopped by to do a thorough job cleaning the warming kitchen and refrigerator. Organized the remaining snacks in plastic containers. Even cleaned the table tops and floor. Place looks great. We also had a visit from Tom and Wendy Crowe. Tom’s recovering from knee replacement surgery and physical therapy it is going well. Looking forward to seeing Tom return to the work site in the Spring. We met with a security system company to determine what we can do to protect the construction site now and what we will need in the future. Still working to obtain a roofing contract. You would think this would be easy! Thanks for your continued support. Steve |
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May 2022
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