Work weeks 4/4 - 4/16/2022

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

Click to watch the telehandler at work! (3 min)

Click to watch the telehandler at work! (30 sec)