Project LLCER Building

Work Continues on the Inside  - With the drywall taping perhaps behind us, the seemingly endless amount of mudding, sanding and re-mudding continues. Matt diligently muddles muds along, patiently and efficiently slathering on the mud, then sliding the blade quickly down, leaving a smooth wall seam behind. I have to admire the patience and persistence of Matt and the others who do this work. Back in what is rapidly becoming one of the bathrooms, Charles and Kevin are hanging grid work for the ceiling panels. The red line on the long grid piece is the laser beam marking 'straight'. It looks to me like they have the piece perfectly positioned.  Tom took advantage of the beautiful evening to do his duct cutting on the back porch. Tom and Pete were cutting and fitting ducts in the dining area.   Out in Front, the Next Big Thing - Early in the week, I stopped by to check up on the portico progress. Sure enough, the beams connecting the posts to the building had been installed....

Achievement - The firewall was finally completely double layered this past week. Sam and Loren worked on a warm humid evening to place the last panel high in the peak of the vault. There remained some lower pieces to be put in place after this picture was taken, but all were complete by weeks end. Walnut Trim -  In a process reminding me of the T ale of the Shoemaker and the Elves , the stack of rough cut walnut boards is shrinking and the supply of sized and planed boards is growing. It seems that each week a load of boards disappears and after a day or two more bundles of trimmed trim boards appears. Rumor has it that the boards are being carted off to Bob's shop where this transformation is taking place, not being done by elves while we sleep. Significant Beginnings - Paint is going on the interior walls. Not the intumescent stuff for adding fire resistance to firewall surfaces, but the really-o truly-o wall finishing stuff. Well, not the final coat yet, only the primer, but you...

Building Project Update- Construction boss Bob gave the customary building update to the congregation after the sermon and just before the last song of the morning service. He noted that on Tuesday, July 18 it will be one year to the day since construction started on the church building. The blog post with that date is entitled 'The Work Begins' and one picture shows a brown dirt patch in a green grassy field where the excavation was started. In his update, Bob stated that the end is perhaps now in sight but a great deal of work remains before the end is realized. He encouraged the congregation to remain diligent in working on the church. The sooner our building is ready, the sooner we can make the school into a memory. The service closed with the congregation singing song #253. It seemed odd to me to sing a 'wedding song' at the closing of services. As we sang, the words penetrated my wee mind. "You made us for each other, God, You gave us one another." Clear...

Tuesday Was Rock Picking Day - A family oriented event, rock picking brings out folks of all ages, but especially the younger end. Larger rocks that would likely cause the mowers grief are hand picked from the area that will soon be grass. Farmer Paul drives the tractor and the multitudes fill the trailer with rocks. I did not get a picture, but I did see that when the multitude needs a lift, they all pile on the trailer. On arrival Tuesday evening I was surprised to see the still-gravel lot with yellow lines demarcating parking spaces. I figured that paving generally precedes striping, but maybe that just continues to reveal my ignorance of construction. I do wonder what will happen to the stripes in a sand lot when the rain descends and the floods come. We will see when the time comes. Taping and Mudding - When I walk into a building with painted walls, I might admire the finish on the walls but I have never stopped to consider how many sheets of drywall were used, how many screws we...

Blame It On A Power Outage - The power went out at our home the other night, in the wee small hours of the morning. I awoke, as is the habit I share with 98% of senior citizen males, and needed to find the plumbing facilities. We have a street light outside our bedroom window, but when the power is out, the streetlight is also out. The bedroom is dark, really dark. I fumbled my way along the dresser and turned towards the biffy, but somehow the house was not the same as in the light. The hinges for the door were on the wrong side and I lost my confidence. Retracing my steps for a ways I opened the blinds and was able to regain my bearings from the light of the lightning bugs outside the window. Somehow being cloaked in darkness brought to the forefront an incident previously residing in the recesses of my brain. The target I was taking a break from my bike ride when a stranger rode up and joined me on the bench. I could read him as a man of culture and wisdom since he was also riding a...