All,
It’s hard to keep track of all of our accomplishments as there are so many.  The team work between our Mission Builders family and our Rejoice Fellowship team continues to amaze me. 

The plywood installation on the Sanctuary began.  Lots of time was spent reaching the tops of the walls which are so high.   

The roof that connects the narthex to the sanctuary was framed and then covered in plywood. 

The very involved side walls to the Sanctuary will all the windows was framed.  This included curved window headers to match the curved roof.

The temporary exterior door was relocated again.

A new side door was installed.

PVC facia boards were cut and installed along the curved roof to include an upside down curve on the lower roof.

Next we spent considerable time installing the Tyvek building wrap over the entire building. 

The new mechanical room walls were built to include the new men’s room wall.

Then another exciting milestone took place when we installed the windows in the pop up over the conference room.  We may have gotten a little carried away with the window caulk!

The rear Sanctuary roof top windows were installed.  

Next we started to remove the old classroom windows and installed new windows.  Another beautiful change to the building.  

The team works long and hard everyday building the church of our future.  Each of us learns something new everyday building our skills.  I am so proud to work with these men and women as we also build relationships as well.

Thanks for all that you do.
Steve

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

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

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. 

​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