Featured Post

October 2 - Meetings, Grading and Pews

Image
Another Status Meeting in the Church - A week ago Sunday the second status update meeting was held at the church. While there were some assembled pews, they were all in the sanctuary, and not in the dining hall where the meeting convened. So, everyone that wanted to sit had to bring their own chair. In the picture, Bob is standing but not because he failed to bring a chair. He wanted attention so he stood up in the front to give his status update. After Sam reported on the finances discussion ensued about whether or not to increase our self imposed debt ceiling. While the church could be 'completed' without the increase, some desired items like an epoxy sealed kitchen floor would have to be deferred. The congregation agreed to up the debt limit. Sam stated that the bank is fine with the new debt ceiling. Sam also said the projection stand in the picture is only temporary. With the current projected spending, we will still not have a completed kitchen so the eagle-eyed shoppers ...
Post a Comment

September 17 - Building the Big, Complicated Firewall

No Ordinary Wall -
The firewall, which is the back wall of the sanctuary, is covered on both sides by a double layer of Sheetrock. (Sheetrock is a trademarked name. Did you know that?) The Sheetrock must extend from the floor to the roof sheeting without any break for nuisance things like trusses or roof rafters. The design of the firewall is such that it is not a straight, flat wall. It has angled bends in it, designed to improve acoustics in the sanctuary. It has cement blocks laid immediately on the footing. No foam blocks allowed in a firewall. The cement blocks, which are filled with cement,  will extend about three inches above the concrete floor. A wooden base plate goes on top of the blocks, and the wooden studs then go up to the top plate, which is a fire resistant wood type material. It is noticeable on site because of the red paint on the edges of the boards.
Putting the plate on the cement blocks is relatively easy. Measure the segment, cut the 2x6 board and secure it to the block base with the bolts in the cement filling. The only trick is cutting the miter joint at the proper angle, Putting the top plate in its proper place is another matter altogether. Consider - the wall is not straight, and the roof is not flat, but pitched upward. Further, the roof rafters above cannot be put in yet since they will be attached to hangers affixed to the Sheetrock wall that is not yet built. Got it?
Putting Up the Top Plate -
Temporary place holder supports are attached to span the open, truss-less area. These supports are manufactured from a 2x6 and a 2x4 attached at right angles.  Charles is carrying one from the assembly area to the lift, from which it will be hoisted into place.

Bob and Brian move the supports into place and attach them with screws into the existing trusses. Once eight or so are properly positioned, the bottoms of the supports are marked with a chalk line. The spanning supports must be placed over the places where the wall bends since that is where the top plate pieces must be joined (just like on the base plate).
A laser beam is used to locate the corner of the joint on the temporary spanning support.



Brian is holding the chalk line on the support. If you look carefully, you can see the red dot of the laser beam. Bob is holding the other end of the chalk line somewhere in the upper chambers of the trusses. When the line is snapped, all the temporary supports will have a line with which the top plate segment must be aligned.

















The first long segment enters the building. Brian is using a strap with a loop to raise the right end of the board while the lift is used to hoist the other end of the board.









Brian anchors his end of the board on the far right as I view the scene. The screws holding the plate must be put in from the top since the supports are temporary and will be removed after the wall is built. After the wall is built the remaining rafters can be put in place. The roof sheeting can then go on the rafters and the sheeting will be nailed to the plate from above.













Brian crawls out on the trusses to attach the plate to the next temporary support. He gets to hang his head over to find the chalk line to make sure the plate is properly positioned. Then from this position he drills in a screw from above to secure the plate to the support.





Meanwhile, in the upper reaches, Bob and Kevin work to put the plate into position. Bob has the good fortune to be part of the structural framework until the plate can be aligned with the chalk line and more screws attached. After this segment of the plate is supported by screws, Bob gets a chance to relax his grip, but not until all the screws are put in.
















 As Brian gets a screw in, Bob progresses to being a one-arm support piece. Well, I guess his right arm is still being used as a support but he likely needed to restore the blood flow to the arm.















When Kevin got the final screw in, Bob could take a vacation, albeit a very short vacation.

I suspect if Bob did this every day he would not need a gym membership.






















The first segment of the top plate in place.
On the bottom plate, a miter joint is necessary at the segment junctions. On the top plate a miter joint is also necessary but with the additional complication of the roof sloping upward. So now a three dimensional miter joint is cut using a circular saw and a sawzall, without the benefit of a jig or a stationary miter saw. After the cuts were made, the segments were secured with screws.






While the acrobats were toiling at high altitudes, Steve was busy setting the bottom plate.















The top plate as it looked when I left the site. The remaining segments were being cut when I had to leave and I am confident after seeing the high level workmanship that the rest of the plate was successfully installed. All that remains now is the matter of building a wall to connect the top and bottom plates.
 




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

February 17 - Pouring the Floor, Part 2

Image
Pouring it On Sweatshirts and jackets came off as the morning wore on, the temperature rose, and that heavy concrete hose was dragged all over the church.  When I returned to the church at about 11:30 that morning, I saw the last of the concrete truck parade.  One truck was emptying its load, another was cleaning up, and a third was pulling away to return to home base. Inside was a surprise -- the floor was almost finished!  The last of the narthex, office, coat room, and mechanical room was being poured.  Here you can see the power screeding machine in action again.  The reference laser it uses can be seen in the distance, fastened high on the door jamb leading to the sanctuary, visible just above Brian's head. By now, everyone seemed to know exactly what to do and when to do it. The pump outside is controlled remotely by Jeff Wikman, via the yellow control box he's holding.  While Mark directs the hose, Jeff monitors the progress, ready to stop the pump i...
Read more

October 2 - Meetings, Grading and Pews

Image
Another Status Meeting in the Church - A week ago Sunday the second status update meeting was held at the church. While there were some assembled pews, they were all in the sanctuary, and not in the dining hall where the meeting convened. So, everyone that wanted to sit had to bring their own chair. In the picture, Bob is standing but not because he failed to bring a chair. He wanted attention so he stood up in the front to give his status update. After Sam reported on the finances discussion ensued about whether or not to increase our self imposed debt ceiling. While the church could be 'completed' without the increase, some desired items like an epoxy sealed kitchen floor would have to be deferred. The congregation agreed to up the debt limit. Sam stated that the bank is fine with the new debt ceiling. Sam also said the projection stand in the picture is only temporary. With the current projected spending, we will still not have a completed kitchen so the eagle-eyed shoppers ...
Read more

September 25 - Last Saturday: A Really Big Day

Image
Concrete Pour -  Another concrete pour, this time the sidewalks across the front and the walk under the portico. Two truckloads of mud got all the sidewalk done and half of the dumpster pad beyond the back edge of the parking lot. Sonny Johnson, Phil Johnson and Charlie Halonen from the Minneapolis congregation as well as Dale Muhonen from Rockford volunteered to help with the job. Once again, a helping hand from the neighboring congregations is greatly appreciated. It is always fascinating to watch this work - when the truck is spilling its contents, many hands and feet are required to coax the heavy goo into its desired location. Phil is shown pushing the goo around while Sonny and Dale operate the screed. After the concrete is leveled out, the bull float is used to smooth the surface. The float may reveal a spot lacking just a little material so the master adds a shovelful here and there to make sure the surface is just right. After the mix has a chance to set up a bit, the red ...
Read more