Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Building Update
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January 2008 |
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Progress! |
The walls are going up |
Drywall is delivered for the bathrooms |
Day-By-Day Updates (scroll down for more photos and the Building Committee's monthly update)
Monday, January 28, 2008 This morning a construction truck delivered dry wall and plaster for the new bathrooms. The floor has been poured for the Sanctuary basement and the walls are beginning to rise from the earth.
Friday, January 11, 2008 Wow! The progress is AMAZING, you've just got to stop by "the pit" and look into the depths. The main support pillars have been constructed from concrete molded to form. The indoor plumbing area now shows the support frame structure for the walls to go up soon.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008: Work continues steadily on our "pit" as the cement trucks bring in more and more cement to pour the footings. Indoors, the plumbing preparations continue on the new larger bathrooms.
Building Committee Update – The excavation for our new sanctuary is now complete with much ground being stored on our site for backfilling around the new building. Reinforced concrete footings for the new sanctuary (the big hole) and for the two-story addition (1st floor - lobby/narthex/kitchen; 2nd floor – administrative offices) between our existing building and the new sanctuary should be finished by the first week of January. The locations of the 8 sides of the octagon sanctuary, the 4 support pillars for the sanctuary floor, the 2 stairwells, and the elevator are now clearly visible in the “hole.” (Please take a look, but stay outside the fence!) The outline of the two-story addition and the pillars that will support long steel beams and the second floor are also visible in the area between our existing building and the “hole.” After the footings are finished, the first courses of concrete block will be laid, drain lines and electrical conduits will be installed, and the concrete floor will be poured.
Progress on our new bathrooms has been slowed by the need to acquire 4 plumbing permits from WSSC (1. inside the building; 2. outside the building to the meter vault; 3. the meter vault; and 4. from the meter vault to the manhole on S. Westland Drive). The concrete floor has been cut and all of the drain lines have been installed. The drain lines will run under the two-story addition and initially connect into the temporary sewer line near the bus stop on Rt. 355 and eventually into the permanent sewer line (down S. Westland Drive). With the permits in hand, the drain lines have passed inspection and will be covered with new concrete. We anticipate more rapid progress on the bathrooms during January 2008.
We continue to work with the companies that will supply our sound & video system, new stained glass windows, access control system, and telephone system. Elise Bowman heads a committee that will work with Statesville Stained Glass (Statesville, NC) on the design of our new stained glass windows. Final proposals are being considered for access control and telephone systems. The Lawless-Johnson Organ Company (Green Castle, PA) installed and maintains our organ and is the likely mover of our organ. A detailed organ pipe display for our new sanctuary is expected in January.
The building committee has chosen the exterior split faced block (sample wall outside the new bathrooms) and the stain for the laminated arches and ceiling planks. The stain is MinWax “Golden Pecan” which provides a light warm tone on the yellow pine boards that will be a primary feature of our new sanctuary. A small subcommittee is being formed to coordinate the finishing touches (paint, carpet, tile, sanctuary furnishings, etc.) for our building project. If you have a particular expertise in this area, please contact Ernie Kessler (301-963-5910).
Total Construction has provided a detailed progress schedule for our building. As of now, we are a bit behind schedule due to permitting issues and weather. Weather related delays are likely to increase during the winter months. Total Construction, the subcontractors, and the building committee are committed to moving the project along as fast as possible. But a first rate quality building is more important than an early completion date. A cooperative working environment, with attention to details and no cutting corners has served us well until now and we pledge to continue in this spirit. As we begin 2008, I remain enthusiastic and excited about our building project and hope you share in the excitement!
Ernie Kessler – Building Committee Chair
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Bathroom plumbing works |
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Footings being poured |
Cinder block outline is placed, plumbing added |
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| Cement is poured | Footings being poured |
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| The hole being prepared for the laying of the foundation | Walls are starting to "grow" |
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| Supports for bathroom walls are in place | Work begins on the foundation with the laying of gravel |
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| Our wooden cross still stands tall above the construction site | Workers laying more cinder blocks |
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Last Updated: 04/11/08 07:59 AM