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Team,
It was just another busy week working at church. The concrete company poured the floors in both bathrooms, kitchen and the electrical boxes in the new slab. Turned out very nice. The site contractor installed the fire hydrant. So there work is done until Spring. We built walls in both bathrooms one day, which was a lot of fun. We removed the bathroom window and built a frame to fill it in and insulated it. We then built the small perpendicular walls for the double sinks in both bathrooms. We installed drip flashing on the fellowship hall former A/C wall openings. We installed a security bar on the double doors we installed a few weeks ago. Just gives us more security. We built framing for the electricians breaker box in the fellowship hall. Made a dump run, which is a common theme at a construction site. The most exciting work we did was install the PVC facia boards on the curved roof. Before Steve Schenk left for home we cut the curves and compound cuts, but ran out of time to install all of them. So we all gingerly climbed the ladder carrying tools and materials and started installing the facia board on the easier side, which we could reach by standing on the lower roof. Though we did have to hang out over the edge to nail in the end. Next we got up on top and crawled to the front edge and the four of us lowered the facia board in place. We then hung over the edge nailed it in place, screwed it in and hammered in the plugs. It went well. Next we tackled the most difficult section, which was the side. Together we held each piece in place and repeated the process to install it. To my surprise laying on your stomach with a team member holding your belt or legs made the process all that much better! The facia boards look really nice. Nice work guys. We worked 62.5 hours this week, which is impressive. Hopefully we will take a short break next week for Thanksgiving. Thanks for all that you do to build our church. Thanks Steve Team,
We had discussed taking some time off once Mission Builders left to kind of re-group and catch up on tasks around our homes. Well that didn’t happen! This week we worked 47.5 hours at church. Nice work. We finished securing the tarps with exterior and interior strapping. Let’s hope and pray this protects the building from the Winter winds. The loose floor tiles in the conference room were all removed. During the last few weeks working at church a lot of debris had piled up so that warranted one trip to the dump. More trips to follow. Might have to burn all of the wood scraps to keep warm this winter! The men’s room interior wall and closet wall were all removed. It’s always fun to swing a sledge hammer hanging off a ladder. To my amazement both walls came down fairly easy. The clean up was the most challenging part. Even the steel door frame came down fairly easily as we have so much experience in that area. We took 2 truck loads of rubble to the dump to be recycled. We also had a very large pile of metal that needed to be recycled, which filled 3 trucks full. We had a special helper this week to cart off what we refer to as the pay dirt. A collection of aluminum and copper, which paid off at $279.68 while the overloaded trucks of scrap steel only paid $ 45.40. We said our final good bye, but see you soon to Steve Schenk as he departed for home on Sunday. Steve has been an amazing carpenter and leader for the team. We look forward to his return in the Spring. Steve arrived safely home this week to Missouri. Bonnie and Gordon also arrived home safely this week to Montana. Thanks for all that you do to build our church and I look forward to accomplishing so much more this Winter. Thanks Steve Team,
We had a very busy week as a few very important milestone took place. We worked side by side with the electrician digging trenches in the gravel so that he could run all of his electrical conduit and A/V conduit across the space. Once he was done we then filled it all back in and leveled out the gravel. Next the pest control company came on-site and pre-treated the entire slab area for termites. The concrete team arrived on Tuesday to put down plastic and lay down the wire mesh and rebar rods connecting the existing slab to the new slab. We had a going a nice cooked breakfast on Tuesday to celebrate our joint accomplishments and a send off for Bonnie and Gordon. Such great people to work beside. They will be surely missed. We just pray they have a safe journey back to Montana. If you would like to send them a thank you card, please contact JT at rejoiceelca@gmail.com. We built temporary double doors in the office wing to better lock down the building. The doors were all recycled from existing doors we had on site. Great work guys! Next the team worked on putting up the metal studs in the fellowship hall along with insulation board around the existing concrete block pillars. Now it’s ready for the electricians to do their work. Then on Thursday the site was hopping with activity. Concrete pump truck was in place and then the concrete trucks began arriving. I believe it was around 38 yards of concrete that was poured, raked and smoothed out which took hours and hours to do. Attic doors were built from recycled boards and trimmed out. Both look really nice. Then on Friday we worked on cutting the PVC a trim boards for the conference room curved roof. All of the pieces have been cut to fit and will be installed soon. Next we worked on Saturday to re-secure the Narthex roof trusses. They are tided down in several areas and supported in several places to also secure them. Winter winds could potentially attempt to lift them up. Then we installed tarps to also close in the Narthex and protect it further from the wind. The tarps are used billboard signs made of heavy material. For their size and weight they were relatively inexpensive. It was kind of exciting to open each one to see what advertisement was displayed. Thankfully nothing political or sensitive, but we displayed the reverse side. Lol. We then went inside and built wood studs to support the tarps from the inside. Lots of staples, staples, staples and countless screws secure them in place. Saturday night we had a very nice dinner hosted at Brian and Jane’s house to celebrate Mission Builders and to wish Steve Schenk safe travels home. Just a nice way to show our appreciation. Even though the Mission Builders team have left the site, the work will continue with the Rejoice Fellowship volunteers. All of us have been working non stop since the beginning of July and it’s been exhausting but rewarding. We have a laundry list of things that have to be completed before Spring and I am confident with help from the congregation we will be ready for Mission Builders in the Spring. During the 20+ weeks we broke a few tools, bled a few times, misplaced a few tools, laughed all of the time, got wet in the rain, got drenched from 100+ temperatures and one guy wore out his construction boots! Like I say every week. None of this could have been possible without your commitment to the project. Thank you for your time and talents. Thanks Steve Team,
We spent a lot of time this week continuing to install the 3 layers of fire rated drywall. It’s a tedious job but completely necessary. Each layer the seems have to be offset and caulked with fire rated caulking. We have questioned the need for this and wondered if it really worked. Steve Schenk put together 2 samples and attempted to burn them and it was amazing to see how it passed the test. So we are now believers. A larger floor opening had to be broken out in the warming kitchen. Another fun job hanging on for dear life to the impact drill as it often sends you spinning and wraps you around the drill. We built the soffit structure that will house the air ducts in the conference room. We also got up on the roof to re-secure some of the water resistant roofing paper. Still trying to get a roofer on contract. You would think that would be an easy process but not the case as we have standard asphalt roofing and rubbering roofing for the curved roofs. We removed the A/C cabinets from the wall in the fellowship hall and built studs and plywood to in fill the space. Insulation to come later. We started installing the metal studs in the fellowship hall. Plumbers were very busy digging trenches to run their sewer pipes under ground. Site contractors dug across Quarterfield Road as they work to install the new fire hydrant. We spent time moving temporary support posts on the front of the church in preparation for the concrete slab pour. We spent a few days cutting and installing furring strips in the conference room pop up. Thankfully the scaffolding is still in place! Concrete contractors insulated the foundation, sealed the foundation and back filled the foundation. It’s really hard to keep track of what we do everyday and even more difficult to take pictures all day as we are just working hard. So proud of the team and your accomplishments. As Steve reported on Sunday the amount of volunteers hours you put into this project is over the top. Congratulations to each of you for a job well done. Thanks Steve Team,
Lots of accomplishments this week, but no one will ever see your hard work! Lol As you know we had to make several access points into the new attic space. Removing the original plywood ceiling and joists. Next we had to build stud walls to support 3 layers of fire rated drywall. Lots of measuring and cutting odd shape sizes of drywall to fit through the roof trusses. Much more work to do in the up coming weeks. We saw so much progress this week as the foundation crew were hard at work building the walls to support the concrete floor. No work was done by the site crew on the fire hydrant. Plumbing supplies were delivered this week so the plumber can get started. We spent early Thursday morning way before the sunrise searching the sky to see the space station fly over the church property. It was just a bright light and it passed over at exactly 6:22 am and was out of site within 5 minutes. We then spent some quality time together eating breakfast at the Honey Bee restaurant and introducing our Mission Builders to scrapple. I don’t think they will be stocking up on scrapple to take home! On Saturday we worked on installing the rake trim boards that were cut with a rabbit cut that we will slide the siding behind. We also had a little excitement while on the roof as we heard a car skidding out of control and landed very close to Steve’s camper. Lots of police and fire crew activity followed. The driver was unhurt , Steve’s camper was not damaged and the car had to be towed away. We closed in an opening on the pop up roof as it just made more sense to do it now. We also spent time saying good bye to Carole Schenk as she flew home to St. Louis. Carole will be surely missed as she constantly reminder us to stay hydrated all summer long. She always thanked us for our hard work which was so encouraging. Thank you for all of your hard work and continued dedication to the project. Steve Team,
We accomplished so much this week it’s hard to put it into words. We started the week off building temporary support posts to hold up the roof trusses in the Narthex. Had the concreted been poured a few weeks ago it would have made our life easier but that’s a discussion for another day. Then we hoisted a truss into place and the telehandler started having issues so we had to stop the truss work and call for a technician. The following morning the tech arrived and within a few hours we were operational. We finished lifting the remaining trusses in place and secured them. Next we added the facia boards to the end of the trusses. The basket we built has really come in hand to make the job safer. We then learned a new plywood dance step….2 foot, 6 foot. You had to be there to appreciate the directions we received. We were able to cover the entire roof which was a big push. Next our expert carpenter taught us how to hand build joists to make different level roofs come together to form a valley to collect and move the rain water off the roof. It truly was an amazing feat. The pictures don’t do the work it’s justice. We then put down the waterproof paper to protect the plywood until we have a roofer on contract. Everyone loves to staple, staple, staple, push out the wrinkles and staple more! Then we used the new fangled stapler to place large staples with plastic washers in specific spots on the roof. I can honestly say that it appears we have master the tool with very limited jam ups. We closed in the rear of the building where the truss tied into the existing roof over the fellowship hall. Also put up a temporary piece of plywood on the end so we have access to the attic space over the fellowship. We did lose a 4 foot level and after thinking about it and when we last saw it, we returned to the roof and found it inside the attic. Lol A considerably amount of thought and work has gone into supporting and securing the narthex roof from winter winds from lifting it up. More work next week. We made one dump run this week. We re-stacked the trusses into one stack. There are approximately 34 trusses that will have to be cut with a curve like the pop up. So we spent some time laying out the 70 foot radius and cut our first truss. We will use it as a template. They have been now been covered with plastic to protect them over the winter. Lastly, we took some time to use the telehandler to trim the large oak tree and the one entrance tree to the parking lot. The cinder block and supplies arrived this week The site company is supposed to start working to install the fire hydrant next week. The electrician is close to finishing wiring the classroom wing. We do not have a drone to fly up in the sky to take pictures of the building, however we do have a guy who has no fear of the guy driving the telehandler nor heights! The pictures he took are just awesome. Like I say every week the work you are doing is so impressive. Your dedication to the project continues to impress me. We learn something new everyday for which I am thankful. Thanks for all that you do. Steve Team,
Like every week we start our work week morning with an opening prayer and then we place bets on the accuracy of the weather forecast for the day. Fortunately the weather apps are usually wrong! This week so much work went into finishing the last 6 trusses on the fellowship hall roof. With the area surrounding the church blocked off with the silt fence it made it very difficult to extend the telehandler to reach the roof. The last truss install took several disconnects of the lifting straps and reattaching them to bump the truss forward inch by inch. Then it was time to start putting down the plywood sheet by sheet and nail by nail. The tops of the trusses had to be planed to make them even. All of the trusses had to be secured with some type of hurricane strap which is a lot of nailing. This took most of the week to complete. The constant use of the air nailers is great for arm strength and hearing loss! We rebuilt the header support with cinder blocks per the Architects direction and added more threaded rods through the block wall for support. We spent time sorting out the remaining roof trusses in preparation to the Saturday work day. Sunday Dennis Kiser and his wife Donna returned to their home in Williamsburg, VA. Dennis will be surely missed for his great attitude, carpentry skills and his awesome sense of humor. We thank God for both of them. If you want to send them a thank you note, please contact JT at Rejoicefellowship@gmail.com for their address. Saturday work day was a big success. It was time for the fun of putting down the waterproof paper on the plywood. Again thousands of staples and then the fun of adding the heavy duty clips and staples with countless jams of the new fangled stapler! Many hours crawling on your knees. A well oiled machine working together to finish the roof. Great job guys! The team attacked the much need cleanup aspect of the project. Lots of wood debris, plastic sheeting, drywall scapes, stones, electric debris, rocks etc… were hauled away. Floors were swept and the wood scrapes were hauled to our burn pit area. We built temporary headers and support legs to hold the trusses located at the front of the church. Steve Schenk spent countless hours reading the plans, running string lines, measuring, measuring and more measuring to determine where the trusses would land on the headers. If you have visited the Church recently you will know that access to the front of the building is cut off due to the footers and the trenches. This made installing the front trusses a real challenge as the truss had to be lifted high in the air over the power line and blindly lowered in place with the help of our spotter Bonnie Stoner. We managed to put 6 trusses in place with the help of our ground crew lifting the truss off the ground, attaching tag line ropes and securing the lifting strap. I am so proud of each of you, your efforts and of course your dedication to building our Church. Thanks Steve Team,
What a great week. Building, building and more building! For so long we did demo work so it really feels great to be building our church. It was a busy week to say the least. The concrete contractor finished pouring the new sanctuary footers. So access to the building is now through the side door. We spent a considerable amount of time placing fire rated drywall on the inner roof truss. Three layers to be exact. Fire retardant caulking was placed between the seems and we covered it in plastic sheeting to protect it in case of rain. We spent most of the week installing the remaining plywood on the wing roof and the pop up. And just for the record plywood does bend over a curved truss! Lol. Hanging off the pop up roof installing a plywood filler on the front of the building was so much fun! A roof cricket was expertly designed, built and installed to curb the water on the roof. We then covered the entire roof with water resistant roof paper. Staple, staple, staple for hours on end. Then the team used a new fangled tool to place heavy duty plastic washers with a staple in the center to provide more holding power until the roofer puts down the shingles. We installed plywood on the remaining side of the pop up using our awesome platform which really made the job safer. The windows have been cut out and the Tyvek material covers all of the exterior walls. We prefabricated the end roof truss for the fellowship hall. Much easier to do it on the ground. Friday the remaining roof trusses were delivered for the narthex area and the new sanctuary. The custom joists that we built to blend the new roof to the existing roof turned out terrific. One trip of debris was taken to the dump. Saturday we installed the facia boards on the fellowship hall trusses. We also lifted and set the three remaining trusses on the far end. Hurricane straps were installed on all 40 rafters and pieces of wood were attached to the trusses to prepare for the roof vents. The lateral bracing boards were also installed providing more stability. At one point we had three nail guns going at the same time. Chris and Karin Dunker left for home Sunday morning. It was so nice to work side by side with Chris and we all learned from him. Chris and Karin brought so many talents to the team to include their Christian spirt and their musical talents which we will surely miss. Plus Karin’s expert tag line skills will be missed. We pray for safe travel for them. We were blessed to have them working on the project. If you want to send Chris and Karen a personal thank you note, just contact JT in the office at Rejoiceelca@gmail.com to obtain their home address. I want to thank everyone for their hard work and dedication to this project. I realize working full time 5-6 days a week on this project is very difficult and tiresome to say the least. Time is running out for Mission Builders and there is still so much to do. We can’t do this alone so stop by Tuesday - Saturday and lend a hand. Thanks Steve P.s. Due to the large amount of pictures they now appear at the top of the page in a slideshow format. Team,
Another busy week getting ready for day 2 of the truss installation on the fellowship hall roof. We spent time last week putting some of the plywood on the roof trusses we installed last weekend. It takes some planning to get it started so it’s all squared up. We installed the rafter vents on the front side of the building. Not an easy task hanging off a ladder or working under the plywood. We then put plywood on one side the conference room pop up and cut out the window openings. We spent some time working on the fellowship hall roof removing the old kitchen and bathroom vents. Removing roof shingles and installing the 2x6 lumber where the trusses would lay on the roof. We moved all of the trusses from the parking lot to the rear of the building and staged them for the Saturday install. Did one test run to ensure the telehandler could reach far enough on the roof and it worked perfect. The telehandler had an overheating issue but thankfully the mechanic arrived Friday morning to fix the issue. We built a 4x8 platform with railings and a door to be used to install plywood and other items and to be lifted by the telehandler. Just too difficult to work from a ladder. One more electrical breaker box was removed. We moved all of the fire rated drywall into the hallway and staged it for install next week. This is to be used to create a fire break in the roof structure. The septic tank was completed to include the new pumps. It was a bit wet so no digging or concrete work was done this week. Thank you all for your continued support and heavy lifting. At least the demo work appears to be done now! LOL Saturday the big lift took place with Bonnie doing a terrific job running the telehandler and Karin holding on to the tag line while Mike was the spotter. It really takes a team to make this happen. As you can see there were like 40 trusses that had to be lifted, aligned, plumbed and secured. Many hands on the roof guiding and securing the trusses. We appreciate all of the Mission Builders and church volunteers helping to build our church. Without you this would not be possible. Thanks Steve
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November 2021
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