Category: Garage

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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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Site Prep Begins for Garage

Garage Site Prep Begins

by Eric Fitts, Director

Solak Builders cleared any organic matter and topsoil off the site, setting aside clean soil that would be better-used in the gardens, so it would not get buried and wasted beneath tons of gravel and concrete. Once we have a final foundation plan from Bison Steel, we’ll be ready to mark out final corners and begin digging footers.

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Old Garden Tool Shed Demolition complete as we make way for Maintenance Garage

Old Garden Tool Shed Demolition/Salvage:
Demo completed as we prepare site for Maintenance Garage

by Eric Fitts, Director

Solak Builders took over where our Farm crews left off, as they demolished the remainder of the old garden tool shed. All of the locust posts were salvaged, which will be useful around the farm, and all metal was sent to the scrap yard for recycling. Topsoil begins to be removed from the site as it is prepared for the maintenance garage.

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Old Garden Tool Shed Demolition/Salvage Progresses as we make way for Maintenance Garage

Old Garden Tool Shed Demolition/Salvage:
Progress made as we prepare site for Maintenance Garage

by Eric Fitts, Director

I worked with morning chore groups and three Farm Crew days over Holy Week and Easter Week to salvage as much material as possible from the Old Garden Tool Shed as we demolish it to prepare the site for the future maintenance garage. Some of the material would not have been salvageable due to set in rot and moulding, and potentially damage caused by pests. The pests would first have to be cleared out by a service similar to https://www.pestcontrolexperts.com/local/florida/bradenton/ and any of the roofing or wooden panels surrounding would have been removed to move on to the next project. The crews from St. Martin de Porres HS (Cleveland), Xaverian Brothers HS ((MA), St. John’s HS (Shrewsbury, MA), Xavier College Prep (Palm Desert, CA), St. Joe’s Collegiate Institute (Buffalo), and Cristo Rey Brooklyn were pretty stoked to be able to take a sledge hammer to a wall or salvage roof metal for recycling, while also being careful to salvage old roughcut boards with finesse. We loaded an entire bay of the supply shed with beautiful old lumber that we’ll use for some finishing touches on the new buildings (as a memorial of sorts) and for other projects around the Farm.

“Rebuild My Church” Capital Campaign