The Lower Level Has a Floor

On Thursday, August 28, the concrete floor of the lower level of the new addition was poured. In the photograph above, workers smooth the floor with power machinery; the edges were done with hand trowels. The photograph below shows the new steps from the center courtyard up to the level of the playground and parking lots. This staircase is also part of the emergency management plan, allowing people on the lower level of the existing building as well as the new building to leave quickly in an emergency.

Kit Cone

Portrait of the Construction Management Team

This family team visits the construction site each evening around sunset to make sure that the day's work has been done properly. It is a family business, involving a mother and her two children.

Kit Cone

Ready to Pour the Concrete Floor

The installation of reinforcing rod for the floor of the lower level of the new parish hall wing has been completed. For this purpose, the metal rod is supplied in welded mats, which are very strong and speed up the installation process. The next step is to bring in the concrete, pour it, level it, and finish the surface. In the photo above, white pipe fittings can be seen at left where bathroom facilities will be located.

Kit Cone

The Munchkins Are Here!

That's their real name: Munchkins. They are very compact and very efficient boilers for heating the water that keeps the church warm in the winter. On August 21 we posted photographs of the old oil-fired boiler, and of the empty space in the boiler room after it had been removed. Today, August 27, the two Munchkins were put in place, and over the next few days they will be connected into the existing system of pipes that carry the warm water to radiators all over the building. Some changes are being made in this plumbing to improve the efficiency of the system as a whole. The Munchkins are so efficient that they don't need a chimney for the hot exhaust gas! The exhaust is warm, not hot, and will be carried up the old chimney in a plain PVC pipe. All the rest of the heat in the fire will be been extracted by the Munchkins and put to use in the building. The system is so effective in this heat extraction process that the expected payback for the new equipment is only four years!

Kit Cone

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.

Kit Cone

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.

Kit Cone

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.

Kit Cone

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.

Kit Cone

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.

Kit Cone

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

Backfilling Begins around Foundation

On August 9 we posted a photograph of work on reinforcing rod, and on August 11 the same spot with forms in place, ready to pour concrete. On August 18, after a week for the concrete to cure, the earthmoving subcontractor started backfilling behind the new wall. The photograph above shows the area along the east side of the new addition as soil was moved to fill behind the wall; the brick wall of Nieman Hall is visible at right, and the new construction is in the background. Below is a view after the backfilling was completed. It was to support the weight of this soil that the poured concrete structure was required. The wall will protect the east end of the courtyard outside the Epiphany Chapel and the Madison Day Care classrooms.

Kit Cone

New 6" Water Main Enters the Church

A new six-inch cast iron water main has been completed from the intersection at Kings Road under the former church exit driveway, across the old parking circle, through the church foundation, and into one of the former Madison Day Care nap rooms. In the photograph above, the new water main is visible at the bottom of the trench, going into the hole that was cut through the foundation. In the picture below, the big pipe (with a temporary cap) comes through the masonry wall and into the nap room. This new line will serve the fire sprinkler system that is being installed in the existing church basement and the new addition, and will also feed the domestic water supply in the church for running water in bathrooms and the kitchen.

Kit Cone

The Masons Reached the Peak!

The photograph above was made on Saturday evening, August 16. The previous posting, a photograph made shortly after 10 a.m. on Saturday, shows the masons reaching the last full-width course on the north wall of the new parish hall. By late afternoon, they had finished work on the gable end peak! This was a big crew, and they were clearly serious about laying concrete block! The "attic" formed by the peak will enclose the HVAC equipment, rather than have it sit out on the flat roof like the present air conditioner on top of the choir room.

Kit Cone

A Big Crew of Masons on Saturday

Even on Saturday, the work on the expansion of Grace Church moves forward at a rapid pace. This picture was taken on Saturday afternoon, August 16, when a large crew of masons was at work on the north wall of the new parish hall, adjacent to the existing church. In this photo the masons have reached the final course of blocks on this section of the wall. The big red machine at far right lifts pallets of blocks up to the scaffolding where the masons are working, and then can be driven around to the parking lot where more blocks are stored.

Kit Cone

Say Goodbye to the Doors

On Thursday, August 14, two Nieman Hall doors were closed as part of the construction of the new parish hall. Above, Gene Carpenter is shown in the kitchen with what used to be the door into Nieman Hall. In the photograph below, a workman closes up the doorway that used to go from the church hallway, near the baptistry, into Nieman Hall.

Kit Cone

Masonry Walls Going Up Fast

With the walls for the lower level of the new church addition completed, scaffolding has been erected to continue building upward on the walls of the new church hall. A mobile material hoist has been brought in to lift pallets of concrete block up to the second floor level, where they are stacked on the scaffolding to be used in building the walls. At lower left in this photo, a workman applies waterproof sheeting to the finished concrete block walls of the lower level.

Kit Cone

Amazing Progress in Nieman Hall

On Monday afternoon, August 11, a crew of three carpenters put up the steel framing for a partition wall in Nieman Hall! The photograph above was made at 3:24 p.m.; the photograph below was made at 3:43. Less than 20 minutes! In addition to being much quicker than wooden 2x4s to install, the steel studs are fireproof.



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Ready to Pour Concrete

On Saturday, Aug. 9, we posted a photograph of the installation of reinforcing bars on the construction site, and today, Aug. 11, the form is complete and ready for concrete to be poured. The steel walls, supported by braces, make a "box" to contain the soupy concrete. After the concrete hardens, the forms are removed. The completed structure will be a retaining wall to protect the enclosed courtyard outside the Epiphany Chapel and the Madison Day Care rooms on the lower level of the church and the new addition.

Kit Cone

How Firm a Foundation

Masons are shown in the photograph above wiring together the reinforcing rods that will be inside a poured concrete section of the building foundation. Poured concrete is used where concrete block would not be strong enough: there are no joints or seams in the poured section, even at the corners. The location of each rod, and the way it ties into the concrete block wall that had been erected earlier, is all shown in detail on the engineering drawings. At left in the picture is the lower portion of the east wall of the new addition.

Kit Cone

New Retaining Wall Completed

A new retaining wall (shown in the photograph above) has been completed to support the driveway on the east side of the property, adjacent to the municipal athletic fields. This driveway will provide access for the garbage removal company to back a truck in from Kings Road to empty the church dumpsters. Another retaining wall has also been finished at the back of the main parking lot, replacing the old railroad tie wall that supported the playground.

Kit Cone

A Significant Departure

On Friday afternoon, August 8, a big combination backhoe and bucket loader was removed from the construction site on a flatbed trailer. The machine had been sent to Grace Church to work on the excavation of the foundation for the new parish hall. That work is done, and with the walls up to the floor level of the existing church, the machine was not needed any more! It's gone on to another job somewhere else.

Kit Cone

The Asbestos Removal Is Done!

A huge step forward for the construction project this week: the
removal of the asbestos from the existing building has been
finished! In some places there was no need to remove it, so in the
view of Nieman Hall above only the portion of the floor where new
bathrooms will be constructed has been cleared of floor tiles. The
completion of the work means that we can now "have our church
back," open the office, conduct daily services, have the mail
delivered, and return to being a fully functioning church. Hester
Wharton officiated at Evening Prayer on Friday evening, August 8 -
- the first service conducted after the completion of the work.

The View from the Window

Windows on the lower level of the new addition are taking shape. They will look out over the courtyard formed by the new addition, the Epiphany Chapel, and the Madison Day Care rooms in the existing building. The white cloud is concrete dust raised by a mason with a power saw evening up the edges of the window opening. The white plastic above covers the kitchen windows, and what used to be the main entrance to the church is visible in the top left corner of the picture.

Kit Cone

New Retaining Wall Going Up

At the back of the main parking lot, masons are working on a new retaining wall. The new masonry structure replaces the old railroad tie wall that had supported the edge of the playground. The playground is used by the Madison Day Care Center as well as the Madison Co-Op Nursery School, both of which are housed in the church. In the new plan, the playground has been moved much closer to the church, so the little children will not have to walk through the busy parking lot. At the same time, the parking lot has been extended, to provide additional parking.

Kit Cone

The Masons Have Reached the Floor Level

The top of the masonry wall at the rear of the church has reached the level of the church floor! In the photograph above, made on August 5, a mason fills the top row of blocks with concrete to form a solid base for the beams which will support the floor of the new parish hall.

Kit Cone

Lower Level Is Almost Done

The concrete block walls of the lower level of the church addition are nearing completion. In this picture, made on August 4, masons are laying the last few courses of blocks before reaching the main floor level of the existing church. What used to be the main entrance to the church, between the choir room and the kitchen, is now an empty opening which will connect with the new addition. Inside the building, asbestos removal is proceeding, and today a second shift of workers was brought in to work in the afternoon and evening.

Kit Cone

The Co-Op Nursery Room

The asbestos tile has been removed from the floor of the co-op nursery room. Usually filled with all sorts of kid-friendly tables, chairs, equipment, art supplies, fish tanks -- and little children -- the room is now an empty echo chamber. The door leads to the small room housing the rotary air compressor for the pipe organ.

Kit Cone

More Machinery Arrives

The key to keeping a construction job going is having everything on site when it is needed. So on Saturday afternoon, August 2, a flatbed equipment trailer arrived at the church with a Deere backhoe and bucket loader combination on board. The tractor will start work first thing Monday morning.

Kit Cone

Epiphany Chapel

It has not been possible to make photographs of the asbestos removal operation, but on the weekend the church is clean of any hazardous contamination. The photograph above, made on August 2, shows the Epiphany Chapel after the removal of the asbestos tile from the floor.

Kit Cone

The Madison Day Care Center Main Room

The main room of the Madison Day Care Center at Grace Church has been transformed into the center of the asbestos removal operation. Some walls were removed as part of the construction project. Equipment, plastic sheeting, and even a special heavy- duty electric line have been set up in here by the asbestos removal contractor.

Kit Cone