Week Six Wrap-up

During week six a lot of work got done, but the visible changes were subtle. The installation of studs for drywall on the ground floor and in the basement was the big task. Sheet rock will be hung next week. First the sheet rock is secured to the studs, then it is taped and sanded multiple times to create a durable and smooth surface for painting.

Sheet rock will also be installed on the parish hall ceiling with insulation inside the ceiling joists. The insulation will help to moderate the temperature during hot and cold weather and save on heating and cooling costs.

The building work group met this week and began to select colors for various parts of the renovated area. Floor tile and counter top materials for the vestibule outside the kitchen have been chosen along with a stain color for the cabinets in that area. The group will look at samples of stained wood for the parish hall floor and wainscoting at its next meeting.

The old floor in the parish hall is gone - completely covered with plywood underlayment for the new floor. The plywood was first glued to the old flooring, then secured with wood screws. The new oak flooring will be installed on top of the plywood.

Week Six - Walls and Floor

Work progresses on the walls and floor of the ground floor of the parish hall. Studs for installing sheet rock are being set in place and the underlayment of the new floor is almost completely installed. Sheets of plywood are first glued to the floor, then secured with wood screws.

The walls of the vestibule outside the existing kitchen wall clearly outline the configuration of that space. Plumbing for the new upstairs rest room is beginning to take shape.

Heating and cooling the new space have been a major aspect of the work this week, but one which does not lend itself easily to visual images. The welcome news is that once the renovation is complete, the temperature in the basement will be much more comfortable both in winter and summer than it has been in the past. Ductwork is being routed that will dramatically improve the heat in the pantry storage room at the east end of the basement. This space is notorious for burst pipes during cold weather.

Week Five Wrap-up

Week five ended with the new ground floor and basement floor plans beginning to take shape. You can really start to see the new configuration of the two spaces.

The installation of plumbing in the new basement restrooms continues. It is a painstaking and detailed process of putting small segments of pipe together to fit into the allotted space and connect in all of the right spots.

On both floors, the metal framework that will support sheet rock for the new walls is being installed. On the ground floor, plywood underlayment for the new floor is being installed. As each sheet of plywood is secured, shims are placed beneath it to help level the old floor which shows the effects of 120 years of settling.

One of the most noticeable changes at the end of this week is the new room outside the kitchen on the ground floor. The existing wall between the kitchen and parish hall remains in place. The old cafeteria serving window will be filled in. Directly west of that wall is the first segment of the new stairs. They are enclosed in the new "vestibule" at the east end of the parish hall along with a prep and storage area on the north side and an ADA restroom on the south side.

Upstairs Downstairs

Remember that stairway that went down to the basement - the one you saw as soon as you stepped inside the parish hall door? It's been transformed into a floor. An entire cart full of sheet rock is sitting on it right this minute. Floor joists were constructed in the gap in the floor where the stairway had been and they have been covered by the plywood underlayment for the new oak floor in the parish hall. We considered cleaning and refinishing the original floor. It's made of douglas fir and has lots of "character" meaning gaps, divots and uneven spots. There were serious questions about whether it could ever be cleaned well enough to refinish properly.

Initially, our building work group had hoped that the original flooring would be removed and stored for another possible use. A new oak floor will be installed in the parish hall. The problem with that idea was that the floorboards are nailed directly on top of the joists - with nothing underneath. Once the flooring was removed, the construction workers would have had to cross joists like tightrope walkers to get the new flooring installed. It simply wasn't practical, so plywood is being laid over the old flooring. It will continue on among the things seen and unseen that make up the fabric of the building. The plywood that is being laid over the old floor will give the new floor extra stability and help to level some of the uneven spots.

Getting the plywood installed is a noisy business. From the basement, the crashes and thumps sound ominous. They are frequently followed by little sluices of dust and grit that fall through the floorboards above. It's all part of getting the job done.

Meanwhile, the plumber works quietly downstairs fitting together all the small segments of pipe required for the restrooms. The guys working on the floor above did him the favor of installing the plywood directly over the area where he is working before he arrived.

Technical Details - Part 1

Work progresses rapidly on the renovation of the parish hall. Seeing it come together piece by piece and hearing discussions among the carpenters, electricians, plumbers and other building tradespeople gives me a sense of all of the details that have to be taken into consideration with a project like this one. Not only does everything have to fit into limited space, work properly and look good, it has to conform to the health and safety standards that are reflected in building codes.

The parish hall basement is a good example. It's a very compact space that was originally constructed in 1887. The building codes of 2010 that apply to heights of ceilings and doors, fire safety regulations, wheel chair access and modern plumbing and electricity were not in effect then, but the renovated space is required to comply with them. With this small space, the metaphor of fitting five quarts into a gallon jar applies.

To get things like ductwork and pipes where they need to be and have the finished product look good, the builders use a chase. It is an empty space enclosed by walls on either side that accommodates and hides the "inner workings" of the visible fixtures. The first and second pictures show the chase between the mens' and womens' restrooms in the basement. Toilets will eventually be attached to the pipes and bolts extending on either side of the chase shown in the third picture.

On the ground floor of the parish hall, the air conditioner ductwork which has been exposed will be enclosed in a soffit after the renovation. A soffit is the underside of any element of a building. It can be finished to resemble adjacent elements, reducing its visibility or decorated to enhance the appearance of the space. Construction of the soffit that will enclose the ductwork began today. The section above the ductwork is pictured here. Eventually portions will be attached at 90 degree angles on either side of this piece, and then another section attached on the bottom to form a box around the ductwork. The soffit is built from sheet rock which is attached to the ceiling joists above. Building code requires that enclosed spaces which are not visible to occupants of a building be shielded by non-combustible materials. This reduces the likelihood that a fire could become out of control before it is detected and action taken to evacuate the building and suppress the fire.

Walls, Floors - All the Modern Conveniences

Week five begins and the changes from one day to the next are huge. The demolition is almost completed - only the old parish hall restroom awaits removal. That will happen as soon as the new one is up and running.

The new stairway is in, the old one is gone, and floor joists are being installed in the space where the old one was. Soon the new floor will cover that.

Materials for new walls have been delivered. Their installation begins some time in the next day or two. After much deliberation, the conclusion is that sheet rock is best. It will be installed with proper ventilation to avoid any accumulation of moisture from the brick behind them.

Downstairs, the concrete floor is being evened by an additional skim coat of concrete. It will be finished and sealed once it has cured. Plumbing is almost ready to be enclosed in a chase for which the framework is in place.

Big Changes Downstairs

The space in the basement is really starting to take shape with the framing of the walls and construction of the new stairway. You can really begin to get an idea of what the finished space will look like.

During week three it was difficult to see the changes that had taken place. A lot was happening, but it was more subtle and in smaller increments. That was not true during week four. The screech of power saws and drills was unending toward the end of the week.

In the basement, the new stairway occupies the southeast corner of what was the old womens' restroom. The stairway initially runs from west to east. There are six steps, then a landing, then the stairway turns north-south. There is a hallway that extends toward the west from the foot of the stairs.

Two of the original windows in the basement that were uncovered by the demolition of restroom walls will be retained as decorative features of the downstairs hallway.

Say Goodbye

The old stairway and the worn-out brown carpet that has covered it lo these many decades will soon be history. The gap left by the demolition of the stairs will be filled in and the stair will be relocated in the southeast corner of the room. The available floor space will be dramatically increased and the appearance of the finished room will be much more coherent.

Framing of the walls downstairs has begun and the beginnings of an opening for the new stairs have been cut in the parish hall floor.

A strange thing happened this week. The kitchen door would not open. It wasn't locked and there was nothing blocking it, but it would not open for anything. Were the ghosts finally expressing their opinion about the renovation? It turns out that the process of leveling the parish hall floor by pushing upward on the beams in the basement with temporary supports changed the position of the door in the frame. It will all get sorted out eventually - luckily the kitchen has a back door. Frames for all of the new doors upstairs and down have been delivered.

Week Four - Upstairs and Down

Tuck pointing of the interior south wall of the parish hall has been completed. The masonry at the top of the wall where it intersects the ceiling had been affected by leakage from the old roof. The new roof was tested by heavy rains at the end of last week and performed brilliantly - not a drop inside the parish hall or kitchen. With repairs to the inside wall, interior walls and floors can be finished without fear of water damage. What a relief.

While he was on site, the mason also repaired loose bricks in one of the arches in the balcony above the nave. The mortar joint had deteriorated over time and the brick was gradually responding to the pull of gravity and putting the integrity of the arch at risk. Now everything is back in place.

New concrete in the basement will cure for a while, but it has hardened enough to allow framing of the new walls to begin. The first step is to position downstairs ceiling beams so that they level the floor above to the greatest extent possible. The building has settled over 120 years and, the application of flooring directly on top of the basement ceiling joists has amplified the natural effects of gravity, resulting in a difference of nearly two inches in the level of the floor between the east and west sides of the stairway opening. Construction crews have placed temporary supports under the basement ceiling beams that can be used to change the beams' height. Raising or lowering them also raises and lowers the floor above. The effect is to make the floor as level as possible. Once that is achieved, the basement walls can be framed at a height that will maintain a more level floor in the parish hall upstairs.

Fast Start for Week Four

After a third week in which visible changes indoors were relatively few, week four started quickly with major work in the basement. On Monday, the earthen foundation which had been uncovered when floor tiles and underlayment were removed, was prepared to receive concrete. Joists were removed, the dirt was leveled, plastic sheeting laid on top of it and rebar placed on top of the plastic. The rebar was reinforced in areas where new supports will be built under existing beams.

On Tuesday, work started early. A concrete truck arrived just after 6:30. A crew of five were ready to shuttle concrete in wheelbarrows, pour it on to the basement floor and level and smooth it. Once the concrete is mixed, the crew has about one hour to get it in place, leveled and smoothed before it begins to harden inside the truck. The work is both effortful and exacting. The concrete is heavy. It has to be moved quickly, positioned carefully and finished accurately - in a hurry. The five crew members worked together in perfect cooperation and good humor - even when a cranky wheel and an uneven floor caused one wheelbarrow load of concrete to be overturned on the floor. They dived in with shovels and got it moved where it was intended to be.

The finished floor looks great.