Floored!

Floor finishing has begun in the parish hall. This is the last major step in the process of finishing the space.

The white oak flooring has been stained in a color selected to complement the other colors in the room. It is somewhat lighter than the wainscoting and window trim. The array of wood colors gives the room a rich and formal look.

After the stain, the floor is protected by multiple applications of polyurethane. The coating is applied and allowed to dry overnight. Then the next coat is applied. We are midway through that process now.

We have finally received the light fixtures for the parish hall. They will be installed as soon as the floor is dry.

The celebration and thanksgiving is scheduled for August 15 at the conclusion of our 9:30 service. All are welcome to attend.

Making it Beautiful

A lot of the work to date on the parish hall has been about safety and functionality. We moved the stairway to a safer location, improved lighting, relocated the rest room to open the space and added storage and prep space outside the kitchen.

Now the crew is adding finishing elements that give the renovated space its new look and feel. Painting is almost completed. The hardwood floor is installed and awaits finishing. The wainscoting has been stained and lacquered. Trim around doors and windows is being completed and finished. New handmade light fixtures are being shipped at this moment.

The design of the room is meant to be harmonious with the appearance of the nave and in keeping with what was likely its original appearance in 1888: elegant and formal. One of our clues for that look and feel came from the pillars that support the 2nd floor office space above the west end of the parish hall. The ornaments at the top of those pillars had been hidden above the old acoustic ceiling. Removal of the ceiling tiles revealed them, complete with their original finish. The building work group used them as a starting poing for selecting paint and stain colors for the new parish hall.

Floor finishing takes place early next week. Our celebration of the completion of the work will be August 15 after our 9:30 Eucharist. All are welcome to attend.

A Step Up

For years we have struggled with the south entrance to the parish hall. The door was deteriorating. The steel stairway had steep and uneven rises between the steps. The solid construction of the stairway caused ice and snow accumulate on the steps in the winter, making for hazardous footing.

The sidewalk leading to the stairway from the parking lot was in poor condition. It was difficult to clear and keep clear of snow and ice in cold weather.

And, it was ugly.

Changes began last summer when we replaced the old door with a new custom made mahogany door. Soon we will have a new stairway in that location.

In preparation for the installation of the stairs, the crew poured concrete for a new section of sidewalk. It will reduce the likelihood of water pooling in low spots and freezing in the winter. It also looks a lot better.

Leveling

Our project is now only 2-3 weeks from being finished. The next big step will be to install the flooring and wainscoting in the parish hall. Both of these will give the space a beautiful finished appearance.

The south part of the building where the parish hall is located was the first section to be constructed. It is 123 years old. Needless to say, it has settled a bit since then. When old floor coverings were removed early in the project it was discovered that flooring had been laid directly on top of the floor joists with no underlayment to stabilize and "stiffen" it. This exaggerated irregularities in the level of the floor produced by settling of the building.

Renovation on both ends of the basement had an impact on the parish hall floor also. Thirty-five years ago, when the west basement was remodeled, the earthen foundation was replaced by concrete. The present renovation of restrooms on the east end of the basement involved the installation of concrete in that area also. The parish hall floor rests on beams and supports in the basement. Any time those are changed, the floor upstairs changes.

Efforts to level the floor have achieved incremental success, but areas near the windows on the south side of the parish hall still showed an obvious downward incline toward the south wall. The low areas were identified and marked and have been filled in with a liquid that hardens with a level surface. You can see the red lines on the floor in the first picture before the coating was poured and afterward in the others. The new oak flooring will be laid on top of it.

Huge Changes

For several weeks, the work progressed steadily but it was hard to see the changes. Now they are obvious almost from one hour to the next as the crew works to prepare the space for the installation of oak flooring.

Painting is nearly complete in some areas of the basement as it progresses upstairs in the parish hall. Doors have been stained and installed. Light fixtures in the basement are working now and plumbing has been connected. Updated fire safety features including exit lighting and upgrades to the sprinkler system in the basement have brought the building into compliance with new building codes. The new stairs are now equipped with handrails.

A major enhancement of the parish hall is the new prep and storage space in the vestibule outside the kitchen. New cupboards will provide storage for items we use regularly. Additional countertop and prep space will make it easier to prepare for dinners, parties and receptions.

The ivory plaster finish walls in the parish hall give the room a sense of light and elegance. When wainscoting, flooring and wood trim are completed, this room will fully complement the beauty of the nave. Handmade light fixtures are being built and will arrive in another week or two.

Plans are in progress for the official opening.

Change of Scenery

There were a couple of weeks when the work that was being done was hard to see. Things changed from one day to the next, but the difference was not obvious. Now that the walls are being finished and the doors are being prepared for installation, the changes are more obvious.

Walls in the parish hall are being skim coated right now. Ceilings are next. The skim coat assures that the east, west and south interior walls which are newly constructed of sheet rock are of identical appearance with the north wall. Original plaster on the upper part of the north wall has been repaired.

The lower sections of all three walls will have alder wainscoting.

The building work group finished selecting stain and paint colors last Sunday and the painters are at work downstairs and in the upstairs restrooms. The parish hall will be painted once the skim coat on the walls has dried and been sanded. Restroom and basement walls are already being primed and painted.

The parish hall will not be open for the reception following first Summerfest concert on July 11, but all of the new restrooms will be operational.