A Worker on the roof of the choir suite preparing to place flashing on the top of the
curved section of the south wall.

MONDAY, MARCH 4:  At 8:30 AM the temperature was about 28 degrees outside; inside the new building it was a little warmer.  Workers in the choir suite were flooring the tiers; plywood decking was being screwed to wood framing, using bugle head deck screws.  About half the heads broke off the screws as they were seated.  This necessitated installing another screw at each such location.  Asked why nails were not used instead, the reply was that the nails would back out over time and come up through the carpet.  The windows were open in this room, "so I can breathe" according to one worker there. There were no Reddy heaters running there.  Other workers upstairs were laying air conditioning grilles and registers in the ceiling grid.  They use short sections of flexible fiberglass insulated duct from round metal branch ducts previously installed in the attic.  The flexible ducts allow ease of placement of the registers and grilles in the grid.  Some workers were also patching joints in the drywall.  A breeze blew through the building from the open front door out the windows in the choir suite until the intermediate door between the office suite and the back hall was closed.  The temporary light circuits upstairs have been disconnected, as permanent fluorescent lights have been installed in all rooms.  Downstairs,  electricians were connecting light fixtures in the fellowship hall.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6:  The skeleton support structure for the front porch is up, as is the roof structure over the drive through on the back.  This roof is covered with tarpaper.  The air conditioning technician and electrician connected up the wiring to the heat pump outdoor unit for the upstairs east end of the building.  The air conditioning technician stated that he would pull a vacuum, charge, and probably start the unit Friday; he has to install a 3 ton unit in Georgia Thursday.  After choir practice the building was locked (for the first time).  Access to the building is available, however through the back door of the main building, although it is necessary to crawl under a plywood barricade attached to the door frame.  On the tables in the round room were plans detailing the wall finishes for the various rooms.  Weather, incidentally is quite comfortable, with daytime temperature in the 60's, and expected night-time lows in the low 40's.

FRIDAY, MARCH 8:  The front porch frame has received its skin: a curved plywood sheathing matching, roughly, the curve of the front of the adjoining church.  The rafters are in place, and at midmorning workers were installing pearling, short spacers, between the rafters to stiffen the roof structure.  Inside, downstairs, workers were insulating remaining uninsulated sections of the duct work.  In the front equipment plaza, an air conditioning technician was having some trouble getting the "back" heat pump unit to run.  There seems to be some control wiring problem.  A jumper across two terminals started the unit, only to reveal that a rain shield on an outdoor fan was loose from the motor shaft, resulting in a squawking noise as the fan turned.  It will probably be necessary to replace the rain shield, which is secured to the motor shaft, under the fan blade, by a hose clamp.  On the roof, workers were constructing the dormer gable extension over the north entrance.

SATURDAY, MARCH 9:  Early in the day, someone was gathering up the masonry debris from the front of the building and loading it into a pickup; there was some debris left at about 2:00 PM.  On the north side of the building, workers were washing down the brickwork.  It appears that the masons have finished.  A walk through the building at about 2:00 PM reveals that all of the air conditioning grilles are in place;  there are cabinets on the site, none yet installed.  There are not yet any TV cables in the rooms.
The lay-in ceiling lights appear to all be in place; some of them, designated as night lights, are on; the others in the rooms will operate when switched on.  There is one incomplete drain line from one of the downstairs air conditioners (has not been run to a floor drain).  Shingles are on the roof of the drive thru, but not on the north gable over that entrance.  Stucco has been applied on  all except the north walls (above the brick line).  There is no roof on the porch; the walls caps are not yet in place, and there is no cap on the front fence wall between the buildings in front of the equipment plaza.
The elevator cab has not been enclosed.  No finish painting has been applied, and the floors have not received their final treatments.  None of the rest room fixtures or kitchen equipment are at the site.

TUESDAY, MARCH 12:  Heavy rain and tornado watch.  Inside, is it mostly dry.  But in the kitchen, water drips through the roof at several points at the corners and along the walls.  Explanation: the final work has not been done on the flat roof.  Some water also drips in the nursery, under the flat portions of the roof at the second floor level.  This is attributed to work done on the roof after the roof of the wings was completed.  In any, case, the roofer will correct the problem.  Downstairs, the air conditioning installer was connecting the control lines for the outdoor air dampers.  When the blower for either air conditioner starts, a damper on the outdoor air duct associated with that unit opens.  When the unit blower shuts down, the damper closes.  The electrician inquired as to where to connect the fire alarm interlock, and was told to "break the red control wire."  A fire alarm will shut down the air conditioning system.  In the nursery and classrooms, cabinet work has been installed; each downstairs classroom has a lavatory (sink) in its cabinets.  The workers were expressing consternation that the plumber had not set any fixtures in the rest rooms.  "Just one would be enough. . . ."  The air conditioner drain line previously not connected has been routed to a floor drain.  The construction superintendent was using a scraper tool to smooth away chips of mortar and concrete from the block walls inside.  As to the television cable, the installer has been told to pull his cable into the empty boxes.  The telephone line has been brought in from the street and terminates at an interface box adjoining the electric panel.

THURSDAY, MARCH 14:  The air conditioning systems are all up and running; TV cable has been installed to all the rooms.  Workers are trimming out the windows, that is closing the gaps between the window frames and concrete blocks inside.  This is done with sheet metal angle members similar to the support angles around the perimeter of the ceiling.  Caulk is used to seal the final joints. Window sills will be wood.  Baseboard and decorative trim is being  installed.  According to the carpenter doing the work, this wood is redwood, although not all is actually red. "Termites won't touch it," according to the worker. Ceiling mold and decorative columns are being installed in the parlor.  The decorative columns are necessary to cover the steel support column evident in one wall.  The steel beam protrudes about one inch beyond the surface of the wall, so a decorative wood beam encloses it, and additional decorative columns are constructed to match the effect on the opposite wall and at corresponding locations in another part of the room. There are still no plumbing fixtures or kitchen equipment.  Nor has the water heater been installed or the elevator car been completed.  A blue cage recycle trailer has appeared on the site.

SATURDAY, MARCH 16:  The handrails on the stairs received additional extensions Friday.  The blind man's rails now extend past the end of the stairs and turn down and back in toward the stairs.  Also there is a handrail on the wall side of the stairs.  The porch has received full decking on the roof, and there is a plastic membrane cover secured in place to protect the plywood. The TV cable installation has been completed, with all outlet branches tied to the master cable.  The west half of the top of the north wall has received stucco; the east half still has only styrofoam plaster base in place.  The heat pump outdoor unit for the office has been installed in the lower equipment plaza;  it is about three feet from the building wall to prevent drip from the eaves from hitting the unit.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20:  The front doors have been hung: Both the pastor's office and the lobby office doors are insulated solid metal doors.  The tops of the gable end walls are being covered with tan colored sheet metal caps.  The front porch is supposed to receive roofing today.  Inside, all doors have been hung, but no hardware or glass has been installed.  Most of the inside doors are solid wood doors with a single vertical light on the knob side.  Signs of presence of a plumber:  There is a newly cut trench from the northeast corner of the building to a manhole across Academy Street.  This trench apparently has received a sewer outflow pipe which is now covered with gravel.  Academy Street remains closed, as it has been for several months, both to accommodate the construction on this site, and as a result of repairs by the city to a water main at the corner which was found to be leaking.  No plumbing fixtures have been installed yet, but one drain line cap has been removed; as a result water in the sewer system, which had been under test spilled onto the floor, leaving puddles in the downstairs hall and classrooms.  The parlor is receiving trim which gives the appearance of wainscoting; there is a chair rail at about 3 feet.  The elevator car has not yet been enclosed.  The front steps have not yet been poured.  The wall side handrail in the stairwell has been removed, extended, and waits for reinstallation.  The latest welds in the railing have not yet been ground smooth.  No work has begun on the cutter of the walls between the old and new buildings.  Two brick columns stand at about four feet, uncapped, one on each side of the north entrance at the curb line.

FRIDAY, MARCH 22:  Noticed but not mentioned earlier:  At the east entrance, in the brickwork is a "tombstone" which proclaims "Dedicated 2002."

Inside, the wood doors and cabinets are receiving their first coat of varnish.  The varnish is painted on, then, before it has a chance to dry, is rubbed smooth.  This prevents raising of the grain and results in a super smooth final finish.  There is evidence that the elevator car is being constructed (panels are outside the elevator door downstairs).  The baseboard in the parlor is being completed; the columns and related cornice work in the office area is being completed.  The heat is not on in the office area, and it is uncomfortably cold there (the air conditioning was running there yesterday).   Out back, between the transformer and and the Oak Street entrance  drive thru,  the grease trap has been installed.  The front porch is receiving its fascia, which will resemble the trim work on the previous building, although curved to match the main building next door.   The north entrance roof has received shingles.  Upstairs, in the choir room, there is a puddle of water; also downstairs in the northeast classroom.  This (downstairs) water is probably a result of spillage earlier in the week from the plumbing;  the source of the upstairs puddle is not immediately evident.  In the stairwell, a worker with an electric grinder removes welding sputter from the hand rails.  The wall side hand rails have not yet been reinstalled.

SATURDAY, MARCH 23: Handrails have been installed on the wall side of the stairs, also, along inclines in the halls.  Cabinets have appeared on the kitchen wall backing up to the old building.  All temporary lights and associated wiring have been removed.  At mid-morning a roofing crew arrived and ; the construction superintendent was present ; it appears that there will be some roofing work on the porch.
 
 

It's called a kettle, harkening back to the days when roofing tar was melted in cauldrons surrounded by burning wood and hoisted to the roof in buckets by ropes.  Today's version is built on a trailer chassis, is propane fired, and the material (usually asphalt) is pumped up the pipe barely visible at the rear.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON:  Zeke Farmer with an associate was at the Crow building to determine the possible salvage value of the building material.  There are 4x12 beams in the downstairs ceiling, but the building contains concrete brick and portland cement "mortar".  And, within the past month, the roof has caved in.

TUESDAY, MARCH 26:  The north entrance porch is ready for pouring; however, because of showers in the middle of the morning, the concrete truck drivers have all gone home.  Forms are being placed for the back drive-thru.  Inside, carpenters are framing for the shelves in the pantry, which will occupy the small niche formed by the old boiler room and the northeast narthex.  The shelving will be above the concrete beam which covers the foundation of the old building and forms the foundation of the block wall of the new building.  The kettle has been moved from the site.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 4:40 PM:  The north entrance porch has been poured; it extends out to the street and presents a curb height of something over six inches.  The sidewalk will ramp to the porch level.  The sidewalk east of the entrance will be poured to six inches above street level, and will extend over the existing curb to the street.
The east entrance drive-thru has been formed for pouring, but no reinforcing is in place.  It appears that this will be a thicker slab than others have been.  Between the buildings, a slab extension has been poured around the pad supporting the air conditioner for the old building;  it had to be formed to provide for drainage to a grate, since the original pad is not level, and is slightly below the top of the retaining wall.  The smaller York air conditioner will be moved to this pad.  Earlier in the week, the gas company ran a gas line to the existing kitchen; the meter is just outside the existing building at the front equipment plaza.  The "pit" which is the equipment plaza, while it has an opening in the wall, will not have stairs from front ground level to either of the levels inside.  This pit also serves as outside kitchen wash area, with hose connection and drain grate. There was some discussion between the superintendent and someone who appeared to be an architect's representative about the location and protection of air conditioning pipes and conduit in the area.

THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 4:40 PM:  The drive-thru pad has been poured, as well as the steps on the east side.  The sidewalk along Academy Street between the north entrance and the building line at Three-Notch Street has been removed.  A portable air compressor putters in the outer foyer at the north entrance.  Inside, downstairs, the air hangs heavy with varnish fumes as painters spray varnish on cabinet doors laid out on makeshift tables in the fellowship hall.  Other painters are preparing cabinets for finishing with the spray guns.  The room doors are all smoothly finished, still looking sticky, inviting a "touch test".  (The varnish is fully dry).  The elevator door operator mechanism sits in a shipping carton next to the downstairs elevator shaft door.