A SIDE NOTE to start the new year: Can anyone imagine the panic which might have struck when people awoke on new years' day to find their cable off?   The reason:  Ford F-150 pickup truck vs power pole, University Avenue (Chancellor's house in background, right)  5:30 AM: killed power on South Brundidge St., Normal Avenue, St. Paul St., Bypass all the way to Dairy Queen.  Driver not injured, allegedly blood alcohol level 1.9.  Air bags deployed.  This photo taken about 10:00 AM.  Power had been restored to all except Chancellor's house.

JANUARY 1, 2002:  The morning started CAVU (Ceiling & visibility unlimited), but some clouds rolled in.  Snow had been forecast, however, the weather is cold and brisk, and by 11:30, the sky is again mostly clear.

Back lighting renders this picture dark, but does show the progress of the construction from the library parking lot.

It is customary to top off construction of high rise buildings with a Christmas tree.
This building is topped off with a Coca Cola Bottle.
(The pastor is, incidentally, an Emory graduate)

This is the view of the front lobby from the center of the building. The cathedral ceiling begins just above.

This is a view from the front door toward the back Eventually the back wall will be closed and the last ten feet or so will be walled off as a mechanical equipment room.  The air handling unit presently sits at the center of the corridor.

This is a view into the choir suite corridor.  Room on left has doors both into the practice room and the corridor outside, would presumably be choirmaster's office, or perhaps robing room.  On room on the right, maybe choir library and/or equipment storage, opens only into the practice room, straight ahead. The door in the center straight ahead splits the entrance corridor.  Wall at rear of choir room is curved, south wing wall.

 

View of the southeast corner.  The brickwork is up to full height on the curved portion.  Above will be stucco.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3:  Despite two cold days, work has progressed.  Vinyl sheeting over the major openings kept the snow out.  Gypsum board is going up on the hall side of the downstairs corridor walls.  Insulation will follow, then the room sides will be walled up.  There is evidence that the electricians were on the site upstairs, as conduit and boxes have appeared on the hall ceilings there.  Downstairs, in the fellowship hall, the fake beams overhead have been covered with gypsum board.  In the kitchen, melting snow from the unfinished roof drips and accumulates into puddles on the floor.  At dark, the temperature is 32 degrees.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 5:  Roofers put on about ten squares of shingles today (1000 sq. ft): From the crossover corridor half-way to the front of the building, on the south slope.  The coke bottle disappeared.  Pink plastic foam insulation has been applied across the back as high as the brick will run, an partially up the north wall.  The weather has moderated, but predictions are for rain Sunday.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 10: Most, if not all of the shingles are on the roof this morning.  The front porch fill is about three feet below finished floor lever, and workers are continuing to fill the area.  (There has not been an inside walk thru since Saturday).
Correction:  It was stated earlier that the "pink insulation board" had been installed to the top of the brick line. In fact, the pink styrofoam board only rises to the level of the second floor; above that level the wall will be insulated internally.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 11:  A walk through Thursday night revealed that there is gypsum board on one side of all the walls downstairs, except where the roof is not finished.
Some walls have board up on both sides.  The elevator operating equipment is installed, and the piping appears to have been run.  The elevator equipment appears to have been wired in.  Upstairs, the trunk duct work for the large air conditioning system at the east end of the building has been largely installed, and branches attached and stubbed out.  The supply and return ducts are installed installed parallel and offset both vertically and horizontally, which allows branches from one trunk to pass easily over or under the other.  The closet for the small air handler has received wall board, as has the electrical closet off the upstairs corridor hall.  This closet now sports an alarm control center.  The fill under the porch has reached about two feet below floor level, having been filled with fresh dirt and tamped firm after each layer.

By This afternoon, the shingles are on the crossover corridor roof, which should finish the shingled part of the roof. Still to be completed are the small areas of flat roof over the south wing and kitchen.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON, JANUARY 13:  The front door casing from the old building now stands at the east end of the upstairs foyer.  All of the walls, upstairs and downstairs, have gypsum board on at least one side, except for the choir suite, which still has a section without a finished roof.  Water is puddled on the upstairs floor and is dripping through around openings for pipes.  There is no evidence of provisions for television connections in any rooms.  The air handler for the small, front air conditioner has been unpacked, and stands at the door of the equipment closet upstairs.  some duct work has been run in the attic.

TUESDAY MORNING, JANUARY 15:  The E.E. Bentley Insulation Company truck is on the site. There is some activity on the (flat) roof over the south wing: Temporary vinyl covering was being thrown from the roof.

WEDNESDAY 8:00 PM:  Insulation has been applied to most of the downstairs interior walls, as well as much of the duct work.  Apparently the same  contractor is insulating the duct work and the interior walls.  The indoor section of the front upstairs air conditioner has been set on a metal frame which has been enclosed as a return air plenum and is ready for installation in the equipment closet.  Duct insulation has begun on the duct in the attic.  The duct insulation is  two inch thick 3/4 lb/cu ft fibreglass wool with a foil-skrim-kraft backing.  The seams are closed with outward clutch staples and sealed with a foil-skrim-kraft tape.  This makes for a moisture proof seal which prevents the duct work from sweating.  Sweating would result in water logging of the fibreglass wool and loss of insulation effect; also it would result in rusting of the duct work.

"Whips" have been installed on the electrical boxes which will supply the lights which will be mounted in the suspended ceiling grid work.  These are armored cables about six feet long which electrically attach the light fixtures to the fixed wiring in the building.  Since they are flexible, the fixtures can be connected and laid into the ceiling grid easily.  The whips are 3/8 inch nominal size flexible conduit containing #12 white, black, and green wires which carry the current to the fixture and provide a grounding path for the fixture frame.

Brick work has risen on the east end of the  north wall to the second floor level.  More dirt has been filled into the porch fill.

Rhae Swisher reports that the contractor feels the project is on schedule, and will be finished by late April.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 17:  Roofers with tar kettles were on the site at midday, covering the south wing.  The superintendent was relaxing with his front end loader at 11:00.  By quitting time, the brick line on the east end of the north wall has topped out at window sill level.  The access opening at the east end of the building has been closed.  The air handling unit for the front of the upstairs has been put into the closet.  True to tradition, the furnace, although less than thirty inches wide, installed behind a sixty inch door casing is so located that the west side is three inches west of the west door casing, preventing removal of the front access panel without a bumping the wall.  If the coil has to be removed, *!&*.  (What do furnace installers have against furnace service personnel?) The kitchen roof has not yet been started, nor have the two small segments of flat roof over the nursery outside the choir suite.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 18:  The flat roof segments over the kindergarten have been dried in, although a final coating will be applied after the adjacent wall finish has been applied; the kettle has been moved to the front, where workers are applying the kitchen roof.  Drywall workers and sheet metal workers are swarming the top floor, where green wall board is being hung in the rest rooms.  One new development: the air handling unit for the front section upstairs has been moved east about 3"; just enough to allow the panels to clear the door.

Discussion with the superintendent brought to light:  Attic ventilation is by soffett and ridge vent.  There is a continuous covered opening along the ridge of the roof, and vents under the eaves.  This allows a rising air flow through the attic.  This is a common means of attic ventilation used in many modern truss roof buildings.

In a  building of this nature, construction is by many trades.  For example, the drywall contractor happens to be the same contractor who put up the studs, but this is not always the case. The shingles were put on by one contractor, the flat roof by another.
The air conditioning contractor installs the air conditioning units, which may be connected to duct work installed by a sub-contractor of the air conditioning contractor.
The duct work is insulated by another contractor.  The building insulation is by another contractor, and the plumbing contractor may have sub-contracted the insulation work on the plumbing.  The elevator is installed by a specialist, and the kitchen equipment will probably be installed by yet another contractor.  The ceiling grid system is installed by yet another contractor.  The air conditioning controls may be installed by another specialty contractor, and the air conditioning contractor may be expected to bring in an "air balancing contractor" to tune the air distribution system to the mechanical engineer's specifications.  And, of course, the masons do the brick work; perhaps another mason contractor will do the blocks, and there will be a stucco contractor, painting contractor, ad infinitum.

Other items of possible interest:  The railroad crossing at Walnut Street is open again, having been closed as a new switch was installed between Walnut and Academy Streets.  This apparently becomes the north end of the Conecuh Valley Railroad (Formerly the Central Of Ga. tracks).  The "diamond" crossing, just north of College Street has been removed; trains on the CSX no longer have to stop if there is no interchange traffic.

Trees are being set out in the new parking lot constructed at the corner of Market and Walnut, and continuing around the remaining buildings facing Walnut Street from the south, to the northeast corner of the square.  Lamp Posts have sprouted there as well. This lot has been paved and curbs have been installed.  Walnut Street, however, remains stripped, pretty much, of its asphalt, leaving a very rough surface of brick and gravel.  Curbs and gutters in the project are not yet continuous with the street, there being a gravel bed separating them in many places.

SATURDAY MORNING (JANUARY 19) Finds workers cleaning the brickwork on the north wall, using chisels and detergent.  Another worker on the east side shovels broken brick and debris into a wheelbarrow.  Upstairs inside, drywall installers are busy installing gypsum board.  Mournful construction site music emanates from the dilapidated oversized walkman.  Not the music being played in the sanctuary. The kitchen roof has not yet received its cover.  An extension cord is placed through the back door of the church building so the ladies' class which meets in the "Parlor" can plug in an electric heater.  .  .  .  Correction:   The parking lot described in Friday's commentary has not been completely paved, but the curbs are there. Also irrigation piping.

TUESDAY MORNING, JANUARY 22:  For the first time, there is a portable heater in operation.  Dry wall finishers are applying compound ("mud") and tape to the joints in the wall of the downstairs corridors.  The elevator door downstairs is closed.  Brickwork will probably reach full (window sill) height on the north wall today.  The part east of the entrance is already there; the west end, except for about twenty feet is there; only a section just west of the entrance is not up.  Roofers are covering the kitchen; the roof starts with a flat deck applied over the ridged metal decking, attached with asphalt; on this is laid an insulation board consisting of two inches of expanded foam insulation ("styrofoam") sandwiched between paper covers.  These boards are laid on the flat decking, which has been coated with asphalt.  The deck is then again coated with molten asphalt, and felt ("tarpaper") is laid into the asphalt, lapping so that there is a 200% cover over the entire roof.  The felt is turned up on all side walls, and sheet metal flashing will be installed, cut into the brick walls, or nailed to the frame walls before application of the stucco, above and lapping over the felt. There will be a spout at the center of the west side of the roof to direct the water into a down spout.
On the east end of the building, workers are covering the top of the wall with felt, starting with the north end.  There is evidence, thru the windows, of workers hanging wall board at the west end of the building.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23:  The roof is on the kitchen; the top of the front wall is covered with felt, as is the east wall.  The brick work is to full height on the north wall, except for the area of the entrance, which is left open for construction of the entry portico.  Inside, insulation has been installed in the attic, and roof spaces.  The attic insulation is R-30 fibreglass, that is a nominal ten inches.  Walls have 4" nominal insulation.  Sheet metal workers are installing the last few sections of duct work for the upstairs east air conditioning unit.  Alas, the air handling unit is installed so that there must be a special through-the-wall access door to change the filters, and the heating elements will be inaccessible for removal unless through-the-wall access doors are provided.  When asked about this, the installer said he tried to persuade "them" to turn the unit another way.  Dry wall installers are installing gypsum board on the walls of the kindergarten and nursery, and finishers are following closely with mastic and tape for the joints.  One of the finishers is about eight feet tall due to the additional height provided by his pogo shoes.  This allows him to work the high points of the gypsum board without a ladder.  The front porch brick work is up to floor level.   The brick work for the east and west sides will extend to the full height of the building, whereas on the north and south walls the brick work only extends to the second story window sill level.   Wall board is up in most of the office suite.  And, per the request of the pastor, there is provision for an electrical and communications outlet in the floor under the desk.  The air conditioning duct work in the office suite has not yet been completed.  At 4:00 PM it is about 70 degrees and the sky is mostly clear.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 27:  The north entrance has two rectangular columns, one on each side, about three feet by one foot, spaced about two feet from the wall, which will support a porch roof.  These columns are up to about full  height, and their covering brick work is up to about six feet.  Inside, all wall board except for some of the downstairs rest room walls and north entrance hall is in place and has received joint treatment.  Upstairs, the duct work to the back air handling unit is not quite complete, nor is that to the front indoor unit.

MONDAY, JANUARY 28:  Workers arrived to find a pane broken out of the back (kindergarten-play area) door.  Also, the pastor arrived to find the door of the office at 200B E. Walnut Street broken.  Taken: Apparently only one TV set from the round room.  Nothing apparently missing from the office.

Shortly after noon, Charter Cable workers removed the one remaining cable along the south side of Academy Street.  And in dismantling the cable along Three Notch Street, they caused the mid span pole to collapse, resulting in disruption of cable service for some Troy Cablevision subscribers, which has not re-routed its cable away from this pole.   By late after noon the Troy Cable service had been restored.  The Troy Cablevision system signals will eventually be re-routed; in the meantime the Troy cable hangs from a Bellsouth telephone cable by cable ties.

Inside, the wall board has been hung everywhere except for a foot wide column at the corner of the center corridor and the east side of the north entrance.  Upstairs, the duct work for the rear air conditioner has been connected and insulated.  The duct work for the office air conditioner has been partially insulated.  Switches and Receptacles have been installed in most of the offices and classrooms.  The ceiling has not yet been insulated in the office area.  Downstairs, the duct work in the center corridor is partially insulated.

On the east side, brickwork has reached a level within one foot of the eaves on the north side.  Essentially this leaves only the gable area for brickwork on this end of the building, although there will also be some brick work involved in the construction of the drive-thru.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 29:  The process of fill-and-tamp continues on the front porch.  The fill has reached what appears to be the bottom of the slab; workers are raking fill dirt back from the niches for the doors.  At 8:00 AM there is a mist; masons have not arrived yet.

A visit to the Church office reveals that the person responsible for yesterday's break-in to the church building and office waits in the city jail for the signing of a warrant, after which time he will be transferred for a "long stay" in the county jail.  The alleged culprit is a crack cocaine addict whose name need not be revealed here and now.

LATE TUESDAY:  Three decorative louvres have appeared on the east end gable.  Brick work will go up framing them.  They may also become air intake grilles for the air conditioning system.  The masons did not work here today.

Other notes of possible interest: The street paving contractor has laid blacktop on Walnut, Oak, and Elm Streets, as well as the newly refurbished parking lots between the old post office and the Square.

WEDNSEDAY, JANUARY 30:  The large air conditioning condensing units are in place: Two on the upper equipment plaza in front of the Kitchen, and one in the new niche formed by the south wing, the new building and connecting corridor and the old building.  Electricians, however did not pre-install the conduit as the masonry went up, so they are having to drill and cut the masonry to accommodate the conduit.  Refrigerant piping, likewise, was not planned for, and the structure must be cut and drilled for this piping as well.  At the north entrance  a temporary support beam is in place which will support the masonry beam during its construction.  This entrance will have a short dormer type gable roof extending over the sidewalk.  Forms and reinforcement grid are in place for the floor of the east entry way.  The masons were not on the site.