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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. |
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July 2022
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