I'm glad you asked!

Good question and part of the fun of watching construction.

Those are mobile man lifts. The unit is self propelled, usually with a diesel engine, drives from the basket, and is capable of lifting several workers up, turn them, keep them level, swivel them in case there is not room to go straight up to the work area, and allow them to work on a location that might otherwise be quite difficult to reach, even if you were to erect scaffolding.

Some of the uses of these are welding some of the steel in places that are difficult to reach and adding the wood edging around the roof line in places where workers cannot stand. This wood edging is to facilitate securing trim and roof decking.

I see lots of black pipes with red things on them hanging up. What are those?

Thanks for asking. Those are something we have not had previously. That is the distribution system for our new Sprinkler System for the new building. It is now required by the latest building code that applies, and it is going in as they work up in what will become the ceiling.

Some of you may have noticed that there is a large concrete box sticking up out of the ground with a steel top over by the new parking lot off Cobre Valley. That is the supply source for the sprinklers coming off the Clear Lake City Water Authority main separately from our other water supply.

O.K., why don't we add sprinklers to the other two buildings?

Two reasons: since we were only renovating and they are not designated for little children's use on a paid basis, we do not have to on the Church Life Center or the Sanctuary, AND, COST!

If we were to retrofit sprinklers to the Church Life Center, we would be looking at something around $200,000 to $300,000 for that building alone. Building them in is relatively easy and not too costly, retrofitting is extremely expensive.

What are all those vertical metal things along the edge of the slab on the first floor?

Those are the studs that are the start of the outside walls of the first floor. In your home, they are wood, but here they are steel and they are part of a wall system. First, the steel studs are more fireproof than the wood. Second, they go up very quickly, since they are just stood up and screwed top and bottom with self tapping screws, then later attached with the exterior wallboard on the one side and the sheetrock on the other side. This is all screwed to the studs about every 18' vertically, and each sheet of sheetrock is 4' wide, so it ends up attached to three studs. Where the edges are, they cover 1/2 of a stud, so two sheets are screwed to one stud, giving extra strength and rigidity. It really is a very strong system, and one that goes up quite quickly.

The studs along the outside are heavier or wider than the ones that will be used for interior walls. They have space for insulation and will have to support more weight, since the brick will be attached to the studs with little metal brick tabs later on.

I noticed that the big room has a high pointed roof and what looks like a pointed steel frame for a window? Did I guess correctly?

Very observant and absolutely right. That will be for a stained glass window. It will be installed once the building is completed. The contractor will install regular glass and the stained glass folks will mount the stained glass panels inside the regular glass, giving the stained glass a layer of protection from damage.

Damage was mentioned and it can come in several forms. The hurricane in 1983 broke the outside glass in the upper section of the chapel window, and two weeks later, the lawn crew broke the outside glass mowing when the tractor caught a rock and hurled it. In both cases, the outer glass took the damage and the stained glass was not impacted. The church also had a vandal try to break out one of the choir room windows one night, but they were unsuccessful.

The stained glass is in the concept stage that should lead to a design being submitted in the not too distant future. It is a memorial gift being donated primarily by one family in the church, and the overall design and funding will be handled through the Memorials Committee.

When I walked out to where I parked Sunday in the new back lot, I saw several black pipe things that looked like they were pre-assembled for something. What are those?

Great question and the answer is going to end up being hidden.

Those black pipe structures that are about four feet tall and about six feet long, more or less, are pre-assembled plumbing that will go into the walls between the men's and ladies rest rooms. This is the sanitary waste pipe assembly to handle several water closets as the architects call them or toilets as we know them.

If you think about it, all the water closets in our buildings are all "off the floor". They all are "wall hung" or mounted to bolts sticking out of the wall. Those bolts come from heavy cast iron frames that will be installed, with these pipe manifolds between the hanger brackets.

These manifolds will be carried into the right location, attached to the pipe coming out of the slab and the plumbers will move on from there quickly.

Think of the water and waste system in our buildings as being similar to our bodies. We have arteries to carry oxygenated blood and veins to return it for a fresh supply of oxygen.

In the building, we have water supply pipes (the arteries) and waste water pipes or drains (the veins) to take care of our water needs. These are all hidden either in the slab of the first floor or in the ceiling of the first floor under the second floor. This first floor ceiling is about four feet deep and is a very busy place with sprinklers, water lines, waste water lines and heating and air conditioning ducts, plus electricity for the lights and the lights themselves. If you were ever to look up there, you would be amazed at just how much is there.

Thanks for raising a very good question.

One of the ideas on some of the earlier drawings was for a covered drop off in front of the sanctuary. What ever happened to that idea? Also, it is great that they have poured all the parking in concrete, but what about the curved driveway in front of the Sanctuary. It looks lousy!

Two great questions and the answers are tied together.

The building committee and the finance committee have been working on those questions with the architects and have come up with a design that is as unobtrusive as possible, while still being as effective as possible. Cost is a major factor also, and trying to keep the cost down is a major part of what they have been wrestling with.

The architect is working the final details out now, and these details would also include redoing the paving there, but with some slight modifications, hence no work yet. The intention is to redo this last bit of asphalt paving when work starts on the canopy or Port Cochere'.

Thanks for asking about that. It is in the works.

I don't get around as well as I used to. How am I going to get upstairs to go to the church offices when the new building is finished.

Good question and one with a simple answer. By elevator. City code requires it and we want it.

The elevator will be in the center of the building, much like it is in the Church Life Center, and will be about the same size. It will be right next to the offices on the second floor, so when you get off the elevator, all you will have to do is turn right, go about ten feet and turn right again.

By the way, if you have previously worked as a Front Liner, or if you think you would like to volunteer to do so, the current thinking is that we will have a special place downstairs for the Front Liner volunteers to work. That is a work in progress that is not quite ready for daylight yet. More on that later.

O.K. I've got to ask. Just where is the 'front door' of this new building? How am I going to get in?

Good question and an easy one to understand the reason for.

The 'front door' is really going to be in the middle of the building. There will be doors on either end, and a sidewalk leading up to the loggia (that's the covered front walkway under the second floor overhang) from the Cobre Valley parking lot, but the primary entrance is going to be in the middle of the building, directly opposite the pair of doors leading out from the side of Philadelphia Hall and close to where the old church offices and info center used to be. They will lead into a lobby area that will be attractive and welcoming, with the front liner position, the elevator and stairs to the second floor right there. Also, it you were to want to go into the new Fellowship Hall, you would walk straight ahead, passing under the stair turn and right into the room.

When you enter, there will be classrooms on either side down both hallways, and the day school office will be to the right, towards the Church Life Center building. The church offices will be upstairs on the left end of the building as you face it from the Sanctuary, so Jack will have an office that looks out at the houses on Cobre Valley across the new parking lot.

My kids really enjoy going out to the playground. Is it going to stay where it is now and are they going to have to walk all the way around to get to it?

Good concern and a happy answer.

The playground is currently in a 'temporary location' for the duration of the construction. It was judged that this was the largest, safest and most desirable place to put it for the time being, but NO, that is not where it is going to stay.

When the construction is completed, the playground will be moved, lock, stock and climbing structures, including the one in storage right now, over to a location near where it used to be. It will be a little bit more freeform than it has been in the past, curving around the area between the building and the Cobre Valley parking lot, but current plans are to put everything back over there. The overall goal is to concentrate all of the elementary age activities in this new building, leaving the junior high, high school and adult functions in the Church Life Center.

Well, that is nice, but why am I going to have to go back to the Church Life Center to drop my baby off in the nursery?

As part of the concentration, the nursery and toddler function is moving to the new CE building. Everything for kids from 0 through 6th grade is going to be in this new CE building, so you will have to wander around a little bit, depending on the ages of your kids, but all in one building.

I have studied the plans that are up in the Information Center and I cannot find the library. Did we do away with having a library or did I just miss something?

Great question and one with an answer that may surprise you.

The library is going to be one of the last things completed, because, it is going to go in where the current nursery and toddler complex is, right next to the parlor. All of the entry area walls, where the changing tables and sink and refrigerator are, will be torn out and those two rooms are going to become one large combined library. There will be an area set aside for the children's books, just as there was in the old library, and tables and chairs for sitting and reading. All our books are in storage right now and all will be brought back. In addition, the rooms are going to be refurbished and fresh new carpeting laid so it should be quite a nice modification. There is a committee working on all that right now.

Thanks for asking and I hope you are pleased with the results next summer.

Nov 19, 2004