Getting All Trussed Up

The big news today you ask? The trusses arrived. The west lane of 13th street was blocked off while the trusses were loaded into the parking lot next door. There was a construction update meeting this afternoon with all of the players (Contractors, Architects, Electrical and Structural Engineers, as well as folks from St. Luke's).

Chuck Pukanecz gives the following report:

"Weather has continued to be a concern, with rain each day for more than a week. But workers are maximizing the time between the storms and have been making good progress. The (estimated) date for completion of all work and cleanup remains Oct. 2.

In preparation for installation of the trusses, workers have been busy in the attic, reinforcing the heel joints of the existing trusses with a fiberglass rod system and epoxy filler, creating an incredibly solid joint through which to attach tie rods that will span from wall to wall, relieving some load from the lower cord of the old
trusses.

They have also been installing new, raised sill plates on the masonry walls to hold the new trusses and have been temporarily re-hanging the plaster ceiling to the
trusses and to new 4" by 4" steel angle irons spanning the old trusses.

Finally, a design issue on the ceiling fans has been resolved and new fans will be installed to create a ventilation flow through the attic and out the roof.

Demolition of the two defunct brick chimneys that pass through the roof will begin tomorrow, weather permitting. We were granted historical commission approval earlier this week to do that, a big relief for the project team."

For more pictures of the truss delivery check out the following link:

http://www.stlukeandtheepiphany.org/photo_album/index.php?action=photoset&setid=72157619064805129

Good Riddance To Bad Chimneys

Chuck Pukanecz sent the following update this morning

"I just got really good news from Luca at DPK&A (our architectural firm). He just received verbal approval from the historical commission that we can proceed to remove the two defunct chimneys, one on the north side and one on the south side, that project through the Nave roof. This is important for three reasons:

1) The chimneys are made of exposed brick and are in very bad condition. One is leaning badly and they would have needed serious work to shore them up. One falling on the new roof could have caused serious damage, not to mention if it had fallen the other way.

2) Any penetration through a roof is a potential leak. The flashing and overlap system of our new EPDM roof would minimize that, but not having the chimneys there eliminates a lot of work.

3) The chinmeys rose through the side wall that holds the new trusses. Their location would have necessitated shifting several trusses out of position, not a big deal with our new 1" thick roof sheathing that can safely span 4 feet. But this will make for a much cleaner and safer installation.

Luca at DPK&A has finished some revised drawings and we should be receiving written approval from the historical commission shortly. Work to bring the chimney's down will begin immediately, taking them down to the level of the top of the masonry walls under the trusses"

OK, It's Been A While

OK, it's been quite a while since the last post and obviously lots has been going on in the past few weeks. So...here's the scoop.

Workers have installed a massive, 40-foot by 60-foot tarp over half of the north side of the roof and they begun removing the roofing material and the decking from the second bay area - that's the space between the second truss from the 13th Street side back to the third truss. And the good news is that the tarps are doing their job. Not a drop of water got inside during Saturday's downpour.

Meanwhile inside the attic, the remnants of the original nob-and-tube wiring are being replaced by sparkling new metal conduit for temporary circuits. Also, temporary strapping to hold the nave's plaster ceiling in place during construction are being installed along with some new permanent steel brackets to hold the strapping.

Tie rods are now in the attic where they will be fastened to the ends of all the original trusses running the length of the lower chords to reinforce them.

Also on Wednesday, the left hand lane of 13th street will be closed as the 50 new light-weight wood trusses are expected to arrive. Once on site, those key structural elements will begin to be hoisted up from the parking lot by crane and lowered into place, spanning the 66 feet from sidewall to sidewall across the nave.

Something To Consider

Well today is a big day. Scaffolding is finally going up. The crane arrived this morning and began dropping off the scaffolding and this afternoon it began rising around our building.

But it seems that our minds are otherwise occupied. Our community has been shocked by two recent deaths. Dick Arenschield and Roy Dorton both passed away this week. So perhaps this is a good time for us to refocus and regroup a bit. Can we find in their passing a reminder that something greater is going on here? Maybe Dick and Roy's lives can remind us that while we are attempting to preserve the literal roof over our heads our true comfort and real restoration is found not in our ability to be successful in preserving our buildings but in the promise that God makes to each of us as individuals and as a community -- for all of creation to be precise. That through the life, death and resurection of our Savior Jesus Christ, God is preparing a new life for each and every one of us in the midst of his eternal creative presence. And that is a promise that neither moth nor rust or any amount of foul weather can ever weaken.

Creator of all, we pray for Roy and Dick, and for all those whom
we love but see no longer. Grant to them eternal rest. Let
light perpetual shine upon them. May their souls and the souls
of all the departed, through your mercy, rest in peace.

Finally!

Now to be perfectly honest it probably doesn't look like much to the casual passerby but....HEY there's a guy in a crane in the parkinglot next to our church! And he's checking out our cornices. And that means that something exciting is about to happen to the roof.

The current estimate is that L&I should/may/could possibly have the permits in place for us later this week. From what we've been told the scaffolding could start going up the day the permits are in the contractor's hands.

Did It Seem A Little Dark In Church Yesterday?

If you thought that the church seemed a little dark yesterday that's because it was. Despite the fact that nearly everbody present was wearing bright red and that a major theme of the Pentecost Celebration is...well new light, our electricians have begun removing some of our antiquated wiring in the attic over the nave. Currently only half of the lights that surround the medallion in the center of the ceiling are still connected. This was done to allow for the installation of the new wiring

The remaining lights will be removed sometime after June 13th. It's hard to say whether or not this means that we might be moving to the chapel for the summer earlier than our usual first Sunday in July. But stay tuned and we'll keep you posted.