Project LLCER Building

Doors, Hanging and In-Process -  Several exterior doors are installed but not yet operational. They are all wired shut with size large "Do Not Use" signs plastered on the face, so I assume they are not yet operational. Tempted though I was to see if they worked, I resisted and let the doors rest in peace. Not all the doors are hanging yet. The frame for the main entrance is assembled and on Thursday evening was in quiet repose, propped against the back wall. On Saturday, Sam was diligently working to install the frame in its final resting place. Sam demonstrated his dexterity by using both a tape measure and a level while standing on a step ladder. I was duly impressed as I dare not ascend such a device without digging my fingertips into the side supports of the ladder. Since this uses up both of my available hands, I am not then able to grip either the tape or the level.  I tend to follow the advice an uncle of mine often gave. "A good eye is better than a bad rule....

The Big Blue Box Revisited - I was impressed by the vain efforts to move the blue container where it will be out of the way of the landscapers. The tractor, the forklift and the tractor-forklift tandem struggled mightily and vainly to move the box. Friday I was at the building site and notice the doors on the blue box open. Peering inside, I could start to appreciate why the wheeled vehicles charged with making this beast move were thwarted. The box is full of stuff. Heavy stuff. While the in-floor heat tubing is of trivial weight, and the blue duct pieces add very little, the generator and the dirt compactor are somewhat heavier. These trifling details pale by comparison to the front half of the box. Therein lumber is piled half way up to the top of the box. Seeing the contents makes it a little easier to understand the stubborn resistance of the box. Maybe we have to add the entire congregation tugging on a tow strap attached to the forklift which is chained to the tractor which is f...

More Walls Rising - The interior space is being divided with partition walls giving each area its appropriate space allotment. The front corners of the sanctuary will each own its own room. Andy, Bob and Steve were the designated wall builders on Saturday. Andy on the left, and Bob on the right rose to the occasion. While Andy climbed the stairs, Bob rode the elevator. The scissor lift looked like so much fun I asked the operator if he allowed sight seers. He did and so I got a few pictures from the high spot of my day.  Sam is in the doorway at the far end of the room. Andy and Steve are making long boards into short ones in the carpentry shop. Andy pauses to use his newly built wall segment for an arm rest. Unfortunately a tall ladder is required to use this new feature so it will not be popular, especially with us older folks. The space beyond Andy is being made into a room which will hold organ speakers. By the end of the day, the room, shown here over Andy's head,  was ne...

Cleanup Outside -  Sam announced at the crew-chief's meeting this week that with the mild weather and likely nearby lifting of the road restrictions, the excavators may arrive week after next and begin the outside landscraping and landscaping work. That sounds like another major, visible step forward. Of course it also means that the winter's accumulation of scrap material and other debris must be cleaned up. Further, the container that was used as a tool shed must now depart the premises. Some of the younger workers built recreational-sized fires to make scrap lumber disappear. A watchful attendant sprays the dry grass to make sure the fires can't attack dry grass on a windy day. Naturally the dumpster fills rapidly with many hands finding miscellaneous junk accumulated through the winter. Sam employs the trusty mobile fork lift as a size large trash compactor. The operation reminded me of an elephant I once saw in a zoo, thrusting its trunk out and rearing up on its back ...