Snowed in, iced over and movin' slow

This wasn't a week that generated a lot of news from the church construction project. Here's a little slide show from Saturday afternoon, Dec. 20.

N-n-not muuuch n-n-new today

Frozen hoses, frozen pumps and getting them working again occupied Warren much of the day. The concrete contractor showed up mid-afternoon and will start work forming up the foundation walls tomorrow. Even if that gets done by the end of the week, it will likely be too cold to pour concrete.

Still, the work on footings under the Bruce Hall and sanctuary floors will go on. Comfort on the job depends on wearing proper clothing, Warren assures us. And keep on the lookout for that landscaping tractor mentioned below. Click on the link in the item below to see what one looks like. Likewise the concrete saw.

Please, click on COMMENTS below this item to let Warren know if and when you'll be able to help. He'll check to see whom to expect and when.

Walls, footings and a little tractor

Walls
Our contractor will be building the forms for the new classroom, office and fellowship area foundation walls this week. If the weather stays relatively dry, they ought to be ready for another concrete pour by the end of the week.

Footings
Meanwhile, Warren and volunteers need to build two more footings -- one under the new wall for the hallway to the classrooms wing and one under the new wall in the sanctuary.

The classroom wing footing involves digging a 40-foot trench under the floor of what was Bruce Hall. The ceiling is a bit low but there is lots of sunlight under there now. And no snow or rain.

The sanctuary footing involves using a concrete saw (like a chain saw with a diamond-tipped blade) to cut two 3-foot-by-3-foot holes in the concrete "rat slab" on the ground under the sanctuary. Then, the holes have to be dug out, framed in and concrete poured in them when the walls are poured. Warren's figuring this noisy, dusty duty will fall to him.

A little tractor
Warren is searching for a little landscaping tractor with a backhoe and with a bucket/scoop on the front that is sitting idle. He is thinking you may know a landscaper who is through working for the season and may be willing to loan or rent his to the church for a very reasonable fee. These tractors can be rented, of course, but the fees aren't as "reasonable" as we're hoping for.

The tractor will be used for another large but delicate job: digging and filling footing drains. That means going around the outside of the whole new construction area plus the existing sanctuary, digging drain trenches, putting perforated pipe, landscape fabric and 100 cubic yards of drain gravel in them and then backfilling a lot of the dirt now piled up in Mound Emmanuel. If we can find the tractor, work can begin immediately around the sanctuary.

Please, click on COMMENT below this item to let us know if you'll be able to help and when. Warren will be checking to see whom to expect.

A note from Warren

Warren sent this note late Thursday:

I wanted to thank everyone who came out today. The work they did was not glamorous, but was necessary, and they did it well. Like their faith, our church now has a solid foundation. Thanks again.
Warren

Answering the call

Men, women, large children and small ones, too, turned out Thursday at the church to brush rebar, and muck out forms, says a reliable source, who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of embarassment in the blog, but who is close to Warren.

Way to go, Emmanuel!

The big turnout allowed Warren and his contractors to finish the initial concrete pour for the footings, the source said.

The source said one crew used wire brushes to knock dried clumps of mud off the rebar in the forms and another crew scooped mud and water out of the forms before the concrete was poured in.

If any of you who were there have photos, please email them to me at lee.rozen@gmail.com and I'll add them to the blog.

Please, click on COMMENT below this item to let us know if and when you'll be able to help. Warren will be checking to see who to expect and when.

Urgent need for men, women, large children

Your help is really needed Thursday at the church. Here's what Warren says:

I need 'bodies' wielding hoes to help clean out the concrete forms. I also need people to help brush off the rebar. We're scheduled to pour the concrete at noon. Wear your Wellingtons -- old or new -- on Thursday. This isn't just a male endeavor -- women are welcome as well. Not a lot of strength is needed, just time and patience.

No joking around here. If we are to get this project done on time -- before the preschool starts up again next fall -- and within our budget, we need help from the congregation. You don't need to commit to the whole day, but please try to come by and help for an hour or two if you can.

Please, click on COMMENTS below this item to let us know if and when you'll be able to help. Warren will be checking to see who to expect and when.

A request for help

I'll quote this exactly so as not to be accused of any insensitivity my own self.

Warren says he "needs some highly skilled operators to run the 'Norwegian Backhoe.' ... There's some sloppy digging to be done."

Here are some photos of the site a bit after noon on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. You'll see what he means.



Please, click on COMMENT below this item to let us know if and when you'll be able to help. Warren will be checking to see who to expect and when.

What a weekend!

At noon Sunday, Emmanuel held a formal groundbreaking ceremony on our property.



Several relatively new slideshows are included below, as far back as last Friday's Moles and Mountains entry.

After our first worship service in our new temporary home at St. Brendan's church -- marking Bob's 90th birthday, commissioning the Neah Bay mission workers, blessing of the stewardship pledges, communion -- we trudged or drove up the hill in the rain. Crowding into the narthex, we heard inspirational words from Warren, Steve, Sydney, Presbyter Corey and Pastor Steve. We went back outside as the rain stopped and several of us took a turn breaking ground.

Just as we ended the ceremony, a truck loaded with forms for pouring concrete pulled up. The crew will begin building those on Monday; concrete should start flowing mid-week. Steve noted at one point: Warren cautions that the new building will go up more slowly that the old ones came down. But there'll be more joy in watching the progress.

Steel rebar was delivered Saturday, and Warren had gotten Mound Emmanuel covered with plastic sheeting just before it had started raining Saturday night.



Saturday night actually was our first function at St. Brendan's with a wonderful potluck dinner, testimonies from Steve and Susan and a musing on the nature of faith by our old friend, Mark Rieke. The choir introduced us to our new electronic piano with the singing of Christmas carols. We practiced our setting up and taking down arts in this new place.

Moles and mountains

The excavators have not only dug quite a precise hole where the pre-school building used to be, they've also built a rather impressive mountain of dirt on the grass south of where Bruce Hall used to be. It's even more impressive with a huge piece of machinery sitting on top of it. Here's a video of it and, below that, a slideshow.





Work goes on all weekend. Warren expects the steel rebar for the concrete to be delivered Saturday and for the forms for the foundation pour to begin being built. Don't forget: Stewardship dinner at St. Brendan's gym Saturday night at 6 p.m., and our first morning worship there on Sunday.

Can you dig it?

Excavation began early Thursday morning in the fog and the chill. Here are some photos as work got started.



Here's a video of the crew at work removing the last of the old broken up concrete.



Please, click on COMMENTS below this item to let us know if and when you'll be able to help. Warren will be checking to see who to expect and when.

"Unbelievably romantic"

That's the way Warren describes the opportunity he has for you to help.

He needs to get old pipes, wires, wood and other debris out from under the Bruce Hall floor before concrete pouring begins, probably Monday. There's a lot more light under the floor now, he says, since the north wall has been removed below floor level.

(Warren is such a kidder.)

On Wednesday, all the concrete was ripped up and hauled away. As was the stump between the pre-school building and Bruce Hall.

Thursday, excavation begins. Among other things, they'll be digging a 4-foot deep trench in front of the church and the main door to the sanctuary building. If you want in, bring your ladder. Or go around to the door on the east side.

Both the concrete contractor and a city inspector will look things over on Friday. Prayers are in order, as always.

Click on COMMENTS below to let Warren know if and when you'll be able to help - or if you just have something to say.

Demolition complete

Bruce Hall is now only a memory. Well, a memory and a floor, actually. Warren and Steve will be building the new classroom building at least partly on top of the Bruce Hall floor. There should be a slideshow playing below that shows debris removal around Bruce Hall, three two-picture sequences of the demolition of the back wall of the kitchen, a look at the truck that carries all the debris away, and finally the truck that moved the grand piano and the organ to storage. I added some more photos from Larry from the beginning and the end of the day.



Larry and Paul put up an orange plastic fence to discourage Maywood Hills students from exploring the demolition site, and a black fabric fence to corral any silt that might try to escape the property.

Tomorrow, excavation.

The walls come tumblin' down

Well, we had selective demolition last week, finishing up Sunday afternoon.

Monday morning general demolition started with the pre-school building. By noon only the women's restroom and the chimney were left standing.

Here's a new slideshow of photos. Click on the arrow to get it started. Larry contributed several photos at the beginning and end, since he was there all day and I just stopped in for a while in the morning.



Demolition of Bruce Hall should be complete by the end of Tuesday. After that, excavation begins.

Warren needs some help putting up plastic safety fences around the construction site.

Remember, please click on COMMENTS below this item to let us know if and when you'll be able to help. The construction manager will be checking the comments to see who to expect and when.