August 23 - The Inside Story

Walls near full height -
The gable end in the sanctuary is nearing full height. The window buck for that wall in in place. An orange string shows the final block height on this wall.

No more foam bricks beyond the orange line.

Kevin and Pete build towards the peak.

Pete, ever concerned about productivity, brings his son Gabe along to take care of his phone calls while he works. I admire his dedication.

The Writing on the Wall -

Still today, as in ancient times, the future is foretold by writing on the wall.

Unlike the astrologers, the Chaldeans and the soothsayers of Babylon, Ken and Ben are able to interpret the writing. 

We will find out if their interpretation  is correct if the footings end up in the right place.

Then, seeing this hand come through wall, I couldn't help but wonder if this hand might be responsible for the writing on the wall. Well, I suppose not, but I do wonder.

Holes in the Walls - 

Brand new walls and many holes have already been punctured. In addition to the windows and doors, holes have been made for HVAC ducts, exhaust pipes for the furnaces, piping lines for the air conditioning condensers and probably more things.

Brian Byykkonen and Pete are not playing peek-a-boo. They are collaborating on installing a buck for a ventilation duct.

More Footings for More Concrete -

The firewall, which will be the back wall of the sanctuary, will be continuous from the floor to the roof. The wall is starting with this footing form. The block of concrete, the corner of which is shown here, and its twin, shown below, are the footings for the four posts which will ultimately hold up the roof on the main entrance side of the building. 

Sam says the large concrete masses are also there to help hold the roof down, as if gravity may be slipping a little. The structural engineer says that a wind of 90 or so miles per hour directly on the side of the building could potentially tear the roof off. So, these blocks, which are connected through various linkages to the roof, will provide additional weight to keep the roof from blowing away. So, these concrete footings will keep the roof up and also keep it down,  

Dan and Joe carry a size large, heavy footing form into position. As they gingerly step into the recently wet, now semi-dried mud, crew chief Ken calls out, "Be careful so you don't lose your footing."

Markus Lohi moves some dirt so forms can be built in their proper homes.

Steve Wikman puts a hole in a brand new footing. 

Steve tests Adrian Pirness's aim with the hammer by holding the rebar that is pounded into the newly drilled hole. The rebar will anchor the footing to be poured with the existing slab of concrete. In a similar fashion on the outside wall, crew chief Ken removes the foam so a new footing can be anchored into the outside wall.