Look, Ma--no walls!

  Some of you may have seen a similar video on Face Book, but I can't figure out how to get the video off my phone to Picasa or from FB to Blog Spot. This is a brand new video and shows Fellowship Hall in its present condition--no walls.

   I mentioned in Tuesday Tidbits that the steel beams would be delivered today, but there has been an issue with the inspection schedule, so the beams may be delivered on Thursday or Friday. It will take about a week to get all of the beams and columns installed, so there should be plenty of time to stop by and see a work in progress.

  Enjoy the video.

Video-The walls come a tumblin' down

   This is my first attempt at posting a video on the blog. What you see is the walls of Fellowship Hall being dismantled. All of this is in preparation for the steel beams that will be installed on Monday, April 15th. By the weekend, Fellowship Hall will basically be a breeze-way filled with scaffolding. It will be a good view for the worshiping community on Sunday morning.
   The running time on the video is 1:03 (one minute and three seconds). Enjoy.

Little by little

   One day the construction site will be hustle and bustle with people and machines going every which way, then things settle down. Today has been a day for tedious detail work. As you can see in first picture, some of the siding is beginning to come off. The roof is being "peeled" back even more and some of the glass is starting to come out. The rafters protruding from the building will be cut back and a cut will made along the bottom, parallel to the floor, so they will sit on the steel beams.

  Monday is the day designated for the beginning of steel installation. Once the beams are in, they will begin rebuilding the roof. The plumbing pipes for the kitchen and restrooms are going in, as well as the conduit for the electrical

   At our meeting on Tuesday, I told HHJ there was only one big complaint on Sunday. When the workers left on Friday night, they forgot to turn off the rain. Hopefully, future Sundays will be drier, but just in case, they are going to construct a simple, non-skid "sidewalk" from the parking lot to the side walk that leads to the classrooms.

Hold on to the roof!

   Now my question is answered--how will they hold the roof up while the new steel beams (rafters) are being installed. Last week, workers were busy installing these devices in Fellowship Hall. Sometime this coming week, the outside walls/glass will be demolished to make way for the steel.  Right now, there is not much "wiggle room" in Fellowship Hall".

   The walkway to the bridge (leading to the Chapel) has been reconfigured once again to accommodate construction, but should remain pretty much the same for awhile.

   Don't forget, we are open for worship on Sundays!

Today's the day...

 

Insulation for the slab

Up and over the roof

Workers and watchers

Messy, messy, messy

Plastic and re-bar in place 
 

Cement truck hooked to pumper

It's obvious that I haven't figured out quite how to manipulate the pictures so you can piece them together in any order you wish. Just thought I would post some pictures of today's concrete pouring. This is the slab and stem wall going in today.







Reformed

   Yes, "Reformed" is part of our theological background, but it also points to the fact that HHJ is getting ready for another concrete pour on Monday (April 1st). Forms were removed from the footing pour and things have been "reformed" for the slab pour. Although machines help in this matter, there is also much human labor involved.

   When you come to worship this Easter Sunday, take a look around and see what is being accomplished. The next few weeks will be a combination of construction and on-going destruction. Never a dull moment!

The forms are no longer void

    By the time I arrived at the office this morning (8:00 am) most of the concrete had already been poured into the footing forms--front and back. By this afternoon, workers were removing some of the boards on the footing. The rest of the week, new forms will be built for the stem wall and slab that will be poured next Monday (April 1st).
   It is exciting to see a work in progress.