September 24, 2009 (photo credit: Bob Sher)

Have you been by the church in the past few days? Have you noticed anything? Anything missing perhaps? That's right, the scaffolding is gone. The roof project is complete. Thanks to all who have supported us and shown patience with us during this long, complicated and sometimes scary process. We now have a roof that will last for decades and will ensure that the building that houses The Church of St. Luke & The Epiphany will stand as a witness to the grace of God in our lives and the lives of those around us for generations to come. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

Umm....What's That Thing Do?

Falcon Wire Rope and Stainless Steel Self-Retracting Lifeline


Miller HP High-Performance Harness (as worn by a professional model - not just some random dude they pulled from the warehouse)



Roof Access Hatch Stairway

Chuck Looking Down The Roof Access Hatch

For years whenever Victor, our Sexton, needed to get onto the church roof to clean out the gutters, unblock the snow or ice or just to get a good view of the Philadelphia skyline he took a really tall ladder to the back of the building and started climbing, dragging his tools behind him. Those days are long gone. The new roof now has this spiffy new access hatch, along with a safety harness and lifeline pictured above. These are OSHA approved devices that will make the job of maintaining our building safer and more efficient for Victor and his staff. Honestly, considering all the work that they do for us day in and day out, the roof project is worth it for this alone. Thanks Victor and Bob! Enjoy your new access hatch.

Right On Time!

West Facing Chimney At The Beginning Of August 2009 (Before)

Same Chimney One Month Later - Septemnber 2009 (After)

Everything is on target for the roof project to wrap up right on schedule in just about a month.

During the semi-monthly progress meeting yesterday, Construction Manager John Farrell of J.S. Cornell and Sons reported that painting of the exterior is about 85 percent completed while the interior patching and painting is finished.

The scaffolding that was constructed inside the nave to patch some holes, skim over some cracks and repaint some water spots, will be removed next Wednesday, in time for us to return to our normal Sunday schedule as planned on September 13. Once the scaffolding is down, cleaners will move from top to bottom in the nave, scrubbing and dusting to make sure no signs of the construction remain inside.

The new electric wiring has already been run and the lighting inside was retuned to normal on Wednesday. The only abnormal thing will be that several of the light fixtures that for years have had missing rosette rings at their base have had those rosettes restored. The plasterer cast a mold from one of the better rosettes and five missing ones have been put in place.

Outside, you may want to remember your sunglasses this weekend. The garden area is completely coated with a fresh coat of very white paint. The only area needing work there are four window sills that were badly rotted and will be replaced with new Spanish cedar next week.

Out front, the columns and walls have been painted. Two details remain there. Tomorrow morning, Victor and construction supervisor Lou DiCicco will begin installing two new scrolls on the capital atop the second column from the South side. There, an original scroll fell to its destruction around 1850. With the scaffolding up, we removed one of the other scrolls and had a cast made of it and two new scrolls will be installed on that capital, once again completing the ornate leaf and scroll work of these cast-iron Corinthian capitals.

Also while the scaffolding is up, the fixtures that flood the front wall with light will be updated. Several of the old mercury-vapor fixtures were in very bad shape and a bulb needed to be replaced. Tomorrow morning, we'll replace one of the fixtures with a new two-light fixture with compact fluorescent bulbs to test the light tone and brightness. We expect to replace all of the fixtures and bulbs, increasing the amount of light by about 40 percent and cutting electric use there by more than 50 percent, all at the same cost as it would be to just replace the mercury-vapor bulbs.