All of the efforts of cutting the roof trusses with a curve on top were finally put into place. Once the ground crew found the center lift spot on the truss for the lifting straps the process began to hoist them in place.  With our seasoned veteran telehandler in the driver seat one by on they were lifted into place. Our roof team adjusted and secured their end as the scissors lift team secured the other end.  The process really moved quickly.   Later hurricane straps were added at both ends. 

Next the rear facia boards were cut and installed by our roof crew.  

The next big job was to build two curved roof sections with 8 foot look out boards on the ground.  Creating the same curved roof trusses on the end.  With blocking every few feet to strengthen the structure and keep in square.   With our experienced ground crew we hoisted each section into place and secured them to the top plates.  It’s always fun lifting items up and over the power lines.  

Next the front facia plates were cut, fitted and screwed in place by our Saturday lady volunteers.  It was nice to see them hoisted high into the air and using hand tools to do the job.   

Our roofing team made quick work of putting down the roof plywood on the curved roof. From the ground all you could hear was the constant sound of 4x8 sheets of plywood being dropped into place and the constant sound of the air nailer driving in nails all day long.   What a wonderful sound to hear! By the end of the Saturday work day all of the roof plywood was in place.  Just an amazing amount of work completed.  

Steve Schenk put into place the tradition of “topping out” the building by adding a life tree branch to a cross he built and he asked Mike and I to place it at the top of the building.  It was an emotional moment for the building team!

On the ground Gene lead the team with installing the 1st level of plywood on the front wall.  Lots of time was spent trying to get it perfectly level.  The ladies used a level, T-square, circular saw and air nailer which was really nice to see them working with the tools.   Great work!

The wall sections for the roof were built on the ground and hoisted into place.  Every day the towers height grows.  Lastly, we built the final section of the tower to include the wall plywood and ice and water shield was laid on top for temporary water protection and it was hoisted into place.  It really looks so nice.

The rain slowed us down a few days and we lost power one day when a squirrel decided to test out the transformer!  BGE responded quickly. 

On Saturday we were faced with down pours all day so we went to work inside and secured all of the metal door frames in the classroom wing.  I would like to see it was a quick and easy process but that wasn’t the case!  Lots of cleaning took place and rivers of water pushed outside. 

So thankful for all the work that the team does and the great working relationship we have with our Mission Builders friends.  

Sadly we had to say goodbye to Arvin and Susan as they left for their home in Minnesota. What an amazing couple who will be truly missed by everyone. 

Thanks for all that you do to build our church.

Steve

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