New Flooring Downstairs

As part of the extensive renovation of the classroom space on the lower level of the existing church, new flooring is being installed to replace the old asbestos tile. On August 25, work started on laying vinyl tile in the hallway outside what had been the Madison Day Care rooms; in the new configuration these will be occupied by the Co-Op Nursery School. Madison Day Care will return from St. Paul's Church in Chatham next month to occupy the former Co-Op rooms adjacent to the Epiphany Chapel, and then will expand into the new classrooms in the parish hall addition when that space is completed.

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Rapid Progress Restoring Classrooms

The classrooms used by Madison Day Care and the Madison Co-Op Nursery School are being restored in preparation for the resumption of the academic year. The whole lower area of the existing building had been in chaos as a result of the difficult process of removing asbestos. In the photograph above, one of the MDC classrooms is shown after it was painted. In addition, all new ceiling lamps have been installed, fire sprinklers are in place, there are new electric outlets, a few walls have been moved, and the heating pipes have been insulated with fiberglass to save energy and to protect little fingers. All that's needed now is some trim paint and new flooring! In the photograph below, similar work is shown at the Co-Op rooms.

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Our New Fire Protection System

Every fireman in the world will agree that a fire sprinkler system is the best protection there is against a serious building fire. At Grace Church we will have this kind of protection in the classroom areas of the basement of the present building, and in all of the new wing. Shown above is the "brains" of the operation as it is being installed. At right is the six-inch ( ! ) water main coming into the building, in one of the former Madison Day Care nap rooms. Attached to the end of the black cast iron pipe is a large "T" fitting, where the water supply to the bathrooms, kitchen, and sacristy will be tapped off. Lying on the floor, ready to be connected, are the first red sprinkler shutoff valve, and then the preassembled unit that connects to the sprinklers. If a sprinkler head is activated by the heat of a fire, water begins to flow through this unit. The flow is detected, and automatically an alarm is sent to the alarm company. While the fire engines are on the way, the sprinkler head is already on the job, putting out a deluge that resembles a gigantic shower head to douse the fire while it's still small. The system itself costs money to install, but besides protecting the building from fire damage it saves money on the church's fire insurance bill.

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Masons Open Walls in Former Chapel Space

Two doorways have been created in what used to be the Epiphany Chapel in the basement of the church. One of the new openings connects the outside hallway to the chapel space, and the other passes through the exterior wall of the existing building. They will form a passageway leading from the existing building into the new construction. The photograph above is of the hallway opening as seen from inside the Epiphany Chapel; a triple beam of reinforced concrete has been installed as the new lintel over the doorway. Below is what was left of the doorway after the demolition had been completed.

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Steel Framework Is Going Up

Early on Thursday morning, August 21, steel trusses arrived at the construction site, and during the day they were put in place. As shown in the photograph above, the beams rest on masonry pillars that were built as part of the wall structure. Below is an overall view of the work at the end of the day.

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New Heating Plant on the Way

In connection with the current construction project, the old oil-fired heating plant is being replaced. The new gas-fired system, with the intriguing name of "Munchkin," is so much more efficient than the old equipment that in only four years it will have paid for itself in fuel savings! The Munchkin boiler, which will also heat the domestic hot water, extracts so much of the heat from the gas fire that the vent is just a piece of plastic pipe.

The photograph above is of the old boiler; below is the space on August 20 when the boiler was removed (in very messy surgery) to make way for the new equipment.

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The North Wall is Finished

The mason crew has finished the north wall of the new addition to the church. This is the wall that is contiguous to the existing building. In the photograph the space where a door will be made into the present kitchen is visible on the upper level, and to the left of that is the former "main entrance" to the church. When the addition is completed, this hallway will again be the main entrance, with the exterior doors opening through the new wing.  The windows on the lower level open into the courtyard formed by a "U" in the building: the existing Madison Day Care rooms, the Epiphany Chapel, and the lower level of the new parish hall wing.

Kit Cone