In last month’s Steeple Notes article, I said that we were right in the middle of all the things that had to be done in our project. Now I would say it’s “Crunch Time” or the big push to the end. It is getting close to the end of May as I write this and every day, we are updating what needs to be done.
First, I want to continue to thank all of the volunteers who have been coming out to help. I expected the volunteers to start getting tired of doing all of this work. Even if they are, they continue to work hard and, in some cases, do more than ever. So, a big “Thank You” to all of the volunteers! Special thanks to Peter Graf, who feels responsible for overseeing every part of the construction. Because he feels responsible, he puts in many, many hours to make sure that everything is finished correctly. Next time you see him, please let him know that you appreciate his efforts.
I’d like to break this article down into what is done or almost done and what still needs to be done as of this writing…
Plaster over the bricks in the Multi-Purpose Room – Several people have asked why we didn’t expose all the brick on the stage side of the stage/nursery wall. We did some exploring and realized that the whole wall would not be brick. So, we needed to cover up the brick at the bottom of that wall with plaster. Peter did all of that by himself in a few days.
Subfloor – There were some joist issues in the left corner of the auditorium. They are now fixed, and the subfloor can be finished.
The new bathroom in the Welcome Center has tiles on the floor and the walls are primed. It still needs a drop ceiling, tiles on the wall and to be painted. This room may be completed by the time you read this.
Welcome Center/Hallway wall – A few beams still need to be removed and the new support beam needs to be put in across the top. The wall where the right door used to be needs to be finished and more support beams put in there too. This wall will end up having much more support than it needs or than it has had for the past several decades!
New air handling unit – Will be put in where the stage steps used to be. We are finishing framing out those walls and drywalling them. We will also be putting lots of insulation in those walls to make sure that the unit isn’t too loud in the Multi-Purpose Room. We had a meeting with all of the contractors who are working on this part of the project and we are still expecting it to be done by June 30th. This new air handler will provide air to both the Multi-Purpose Room and the Welcome Center.
New walls and rooms – We need to finish the wall around the left storage area, build walls around the right storage area (both in the Multi-Purpose Room) and build a wall in the old conference room. We are hoping to mount the grave markers that we pulled up on the two storage area walls. We also need to finish the wall in between the new Welcome Center and garden closet. That will include framing and drywall.
Rock Wall – A faux rock wall will be going on the inside of the wall between the Multi-Purpose Room and the hallway.
Flooring in the bathroom hallway – This must be ripped up; joists have to be repaired and subflooring has to be put down between two consecutive Sundays. Neither Trinity members nor Common Ground folks can be without access to bathrooms on a Sunday. This work is tentatively scheduled to happen between June 2nd and June 9th.
Jobs for lots of involvement that are coming up – Priming and painting in all areas. Putting down the flooring should be easy and might be able to be done by lots of people. It just snaps together. It does not require nailing. So, if you’ve been waiting for lighter jobs, this may be your chance.
Finally, as we approach the end of the project, we will be reaching out to the inspectors from our grant. They will need to come out and see what we have completed to be able to provide the funding that we agreed upon at the start of the project.