Category: Master Facilities Plan/Rebuild My Church Capital Campaign

Posts that describe and give updates about our Master Facilities Plan and Rebuild My Church Capital Campaign

Maintenance Garage: Steel Building Construction, Part III copy

Maintenance Garage:
Interior Framing, Jan 2023

by Eric Fitts, Director

Having worked in 2022 to frame out walls, posts, beams, and joists in Bay 5 (the first one we are framing out), then laying the loft floor and beginning the loft knee wall in that bay, we began 2023 from that point.

In January, with six days of work from Alvernia and St. Anselm, we completed the loft knee wall in Bay 5, then framed out walls, posts and beams in Bay 4.

Next, we’ll continue framing out the interior, run the wiring, install the vehicle lift, insulate the auto shop and wood shop, sheath the interior walls, build out the work benches and shelving, and outfit the auto shop and wood shop.

“Rebuild My Church” Capital Campaign

Maintenance Garage: Steel Building Construction, Part III

Maintenance Garage:
Steel Building Construction, Part III

by Eric Fitts, Director

More cinder block cores poured, window jambs modified and bolted in, person doors and windows installed, insulation and some metal siding installed, roof insulation and part of roof metal installed.

Next up is completing the roof, installing 16-ft shed roof, installing rafters and roof for the 24-ft trailer shed, installing siding above the shed roofs, and installing trim work, gutters, and downspouts.

“Rebuild My Church” Capital Campaign

Maintenance Garage: Steel Building Construction Begins

Maintenance Garage:
Steel Building Construction Begins!

by Eric Fitts, Director

We thought we had an erection crew all lined up, until they failed to commit at the last minute. Thanks to some extra hussle by Patrick, we lined up a new crew and they already have one week of work under their belts.

All materials was accounted for, steel beams were distributed around the building site, forklift and bucket were delivered, the far wood shed and picnic shelter area were framed out in steel, and the main steel rigid frame rafters were bolted in place. Now we can see the basic shape of the building and boy are we excited about all of the space we’ll have to serve our home repair program into the future!

Thanks to Caretaker Patrick McGinnis for lining up the bids, All Construction for connecting us with the steel erection crew, and Richard, Steve, and Ethan and the crew at Blankenship Consulting for doing good work for a good cause. Blankenship Consulting out of nearby Summersville, WV, is led by Brian Blankenship. Patrick and other Caretakers have been assisting on-site as needed.

Next steps are diagonal bracing, purlins, girts, and rafters for the near-side 24-ft trailer shed.

“Rebuild My Church” Capital Campaign

Maintenance Garage: Cinder Block Complete

Maintenance Garage:
Cinder Block Complete

by Eric Fitts, Director

You’ll recall that we just completed the slab pour. Next came the cinder block knee wall.

Thanks to Caretaker Patrick McGinnis for lining up the bids, All Construction for connecting us with the masonry crew, and Steve Cash and the crew at Cash Masonry for doing good work for a good cause. Cash Masonry out of nearby Covington, VA, is led by Steve Cash, who is backed by a solid crew, including his son Andrew, Chad, Noah, Tristan, and Jerome.

They laid 3 courses of 8″ cinder block around the perimeter of the garage site, so that none of the steel building will sit on the ground. They left rough openings for the garage doors and person doors. The Caretakers then followed up, by filling every cinder block core adjacent to a doorway with concrete and rebar, as well as filling a core every four feet with concrete. This will enable the knee-wall to last a long time.

Next step is erecting the 112’x54′ steel i-beam building. It looks like we’ll be working with a crew of three from Beckley, WV, with 1-2 Caretakers or Summer Servants as laborers on the project each day to help them along and keep costs down–we’ll keep you posted with progress shots!

“Rebuild My Church” Capital Campaign

Maintenance Garage: Slab poured!!

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Maintenance Garage:
Slab poured!!

by Eric Fitts, Director

An update is overdue!

After months of planning, one contractor pulling out at the end of last year, several bids reviewed, and a winter weather delay, we now have a slab poured for the Maintenance Garage!

Thanks to Caretaker Patrick McGinnis for lining up the bids, All Construction for connecting us with the concrete crew, and Harry Bowles and the crew at Top Dog Concrete for doing excellent work for a good cause. Top Dog Concrete, out of Fayetteville, WV, is led by Harry Bowles, who is backed by a great crew, including his son Bailey, Justin, Louie, Shawn, Clyde, Eric, Stevie, and Ronnie.

After grading and forming the site last week and pouring the picnic shelter area Friday, today they poured 6 truckloads of concrete, finished it, sloped it into our trench drains in each garage bay, and cut a slope at the entrance of each bay to shed any rain that gets in. They also helped us use the excess to pour the last few parking bumpers for the expanded parking lot. They covered the slab in concrete blankets for the night and will make the relief cuts tomorrow.

There should be crew out here later this week to lay the 3 courses of block to finish the foundation, after which point we’ll be ready for Arnold Grey and the steel building erection team.

“Rebuild My Church” Capital Campaign

San Damiano Center for Sustainability: Siding in progress, Roofing complete! Part II

San Damiano Center for Sustainability:
Siding in progress, Roofing complete! Part II

by Eric Fitts, Director

An update is overdue!

We hosted engineering students from the University of Dayton’s ETHOS program, who learned sustainable practices around the Farm and helped insulate the solar hot water system, replace the old side curtains on the high tunnel greenhouse, and install underlayment and siding similar to stucco siding panels on San Damiano. A thin layer of material, such as fiber, felt, rubber or foam, serves as flooring underlayment. Speaking of underlayment, we figured that it is something really interesting. It is a thin layer of material that provides cushioning, sound absorption and insulation, as well as reducing wear on your flooring. It is apparently imperative to install underlayment, especially under a laminate flooring. Laminate floors are floating floors, so they must be evenly distributed across the subfloor. Floor underlayment such as ones like Gypsum Leveling, provide stability, support, noise reduction, and supports locking mechanisms to ensure the sturdiest floors.We completed the underlayment on the west and east walls, which means underlayment is complete and we are dried in before winter. Oh, and all of the siding was measured, labeled, and stacked where it will be needed. And the first two pieces of siding were installed.

Meanwhile, the roofing crew from Forbes Copper Works, Josh, Tim, Chris, Tyler, and others, completed the installation of the standing seam metal roof. It was similar to the metal roofing installed by Four Seasons Kanga Roof, which is a great comfort heading into harsher weather. Metal roofing has a number of benefits. Unlike wood and other roofing materials, metal roofing is fire retardant. So, it won’t burn in case of a fire. In summer, metals reduce heat gain by reflecting radiant energy from the sun. Furthermore, metal roofs can be easily insulated to keep homes cozy throughout the winter, keeping energy bills down. Therefore, it could be understood why the chosen roofing crew, who tend to provide services similar to a roofing contractor Winston Salem, focused on installing a metal roof.

Next steps are installing the root cellar door, pouring concrete into cinder block cores around the posts to firm them up, installing the 36″ ³ steel door to the picnic area, completing the metal trim and siding, and plenty of interior work. Work has slowed as Eric focused on the garlic planting and admin work, and as we have fewer hands to help at this time of year.

“Rebuild My Church” Capital Campaign

San Damiano Center for Sustainability: Siding, Roofing in progress, Part I

San Damiano Center for Sustainability:
Siding, Roofing in Progress, Part I

by Eric Fitts, Director

Siding and roofing have begun!
The ShelterKit kit has finally been exhausted. (Just a few latches remain!)

Eric, Gemma, Raine, and Steve pitched in, completing a few small door adjustments that remained on the slider and loft door, staining/sealing exterior trim for the loft door, completing the underlayment on the north gable wall, running some trim pieces for the siding (high ladder acts III and IV of V are now complete!), and learning about standing seam metal roofing from the roofing crew similar to Precision Roof Crafters, a roofer in Houston, TX.

A well-built roof is essential to the value and durability of a property, protecting it from rainy and windy weather. It is surprisingly easy to overlook the importance of roofing. Whether built by yourself or by a specialist like 99Roofers, a solid roof is as important. In some cases perhaps even more important than a strong foundation. Consequently, if you would like to learn more about the steps that go into improving roofing for new construction, then you can find plenty of helpful resources on the following construction website – check them out here.

As for our roofing project though, the next steps are completing the underlayment on the sheathing for the west and east walls, installing the 36″ steel door to the picnic area, completing the metal roofing, similar to that available at seiroofing.com/service-areas/arlington/, and metal trim and siding, and plenty of interior work (interior work is quite appropriate at a place named after San Damiano, since that’s where St. Francis’ interior (soul) work began).

“Rebuild My Church” Capital Campaign

San Damiano Center for Sustainability: Framing in progress, Part XI

San Damiano Center for Sustainability:
Framing in Progress, Part XI

by Eric Fitts, Director

Exterior framing was completed!
The ShelterKit kit has finally been exhausted. (Just a few small door adjustments remain on the slider and loft door.)

Eric, Gemma, Vern, Sr. Glenna, Sr. Toby, Tom, Andy, and Steve pitched in, with covert help from a top secret veteran volunteer. Special cameo from Will to troubleshoot a slight oversight on my part 😉

Masters Week progress:
We installed some more underlayment on the north wall. We trimmed out the two 9’x10′ bay door openings and began installing base trim (called “rat guard”) for the metal siding. We stained and installed both 9’x10′ bi-fold bay doors (shout-out to Andy and Vern for making this happen through sheer willpower!) We installed the sliding door over the 9’x8′ bay door (thanks to Tom and Steve on the install and Glenna and Toby on the staining). On the last morning, we capped it by installing the loft door, which we had to hang in the door jamb ourselves, with some fancy router work.

The stain is a non-toxic product from Vermont Naturals called PolyWhey–it uses whey protein as the hardener and is a beautiful stain. We got it from www.greenbuildingsupply.com

Next steps are completing the underlayment on the sheathing, a few tweaks on the doors, installing the 36″ steel door to the picnic area, installing the metal roofing and metal trim and siding, and plenty of interior work (interior work is quite appropriate at a place named after San Damiano, since that’s where St. Francis’ interior (soul) work began.

“Rebuild My Church” Capital Campaign

San Damiano Center for Sustainability: Framing in progress, Part X

San Damiano Center for Sustainability:
Framing in Progress, Part X

by Eric Fitts, Director

Framing continued, with Eric, Bobby, Gemma, and Marty pitching in.

We installed all the underlayment on the south wall, and half on the north wall, installed all 6 windows on the north wall, and installed the exterior bathroom door. Marty stained the materials for the entry roof, we built the entry roof over the loft door, and installed underlayment on it.

Masters Week is coming! Next steps are completing the underlayment on the sheathing, installing the sliding doors, bi-fold doors, and loft door, and installing the metal roofing and metal trim and siding.

“Rebuild My Church” Capital Campaign