Brought to you by your representative on site: Jay Fritz
I know it seems like a lot should have changed because it has been 2 months since the last update, however not as much has changed as I would have hoped. When it was dry it was too cold and and when it was warm it was too wet but we managed to get some more work done.
The last time you saw pictures we were still waiting for the concrete to get finished. Although the tall portion of the foundation walls were done we still had the short portion in the southeast corner to get poured and that included the elevator pit which has to be 5 feet deep to make room for equipment. The first picture of the top row shows the completion of the footing portion of the foundation about 6 weeks later then we had hoped because of weather delays. The next two pictures are of the elevator pit floor and the finished walls of the pit. To give you an idea of its depth the top of the walls is the height of the finished floor in the lower level. The elevator, which is right inside the new East entrance, is one of the key features of the addition because it will give the East parking lot and the entire building handicap accessibility.
Along with the concrete, there was also a block wall that had to be completed to support the steel of the new addition where it is next to the existing building. It is not only a support wall but a fire wall also. The first picture of the second row shows the start of the wall at the west end while the concrete was being finished at the east end of the wall line. The next picture not only shows some of the weather that we would work through but also the the east end of the block wall. When you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see the elevator door behind the mason with the orange coat on. The block wall, which should have taken only 6 days to build, was started the Monday before Christmas and completed enough to support steel on the 20th of January because of the weather being ether too cold or too wet. The elevator shaft still needs to be built but it is not necessary for the steel to get started. The last picture in the second row shows the day had finally arrived for the delivery of the steel but it would take a lot more then a little snow that day to stop the steel workers from moving forward.
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The bottom row starts with a picture of what will most likely be the largest single item that will get delivered to the construction site. The north gable end truss was delivered in 2 pieces, the bottom piece in the picture is flat on top because the peak still needs to be attached once it is in place on the top of the walls. Traffic had to be stopped for about 3 to 4 minutes on Mexico road while the truck pulled in. Altogether there were 9 truck loads of steel delivered to the job, three on the first day. The next picture shows that between trucks the steel workers didn't waist any time and set the first piece of steel, a column in the Children's Worship room extending through the foyer to support the roof near the West entrance. The last picture shows the progress after the 3rd day, not only did they set all these columns and beams to start the foyer concourse, unload 9 truck loads, but also put together the 14 main roof trusses (in front of the gable end) which were delivered in two pieces.
Because of the weather, the progress has been slow and there hasn't been a lot to share, causing the long time between posts. Ice and snow does slow the steel workers down if they are doing high work but it doesn't play as much of a factor for them as it does for the other sub-contractors. My hope is to show you more in about a week, talk to you more then.
Jay
