November 26 - Rocking the Ceiling and Some Outside Work

A Big Flat Ceiling -
The ceiling over the kitchen, dining area, narthex and restrooms are all in one plane. The current project is hanging the drywall from the trusses to close up the ceiling over all of those spaces. Being inside work, it can be as easily done after sunset as during daylight hours. No matter when it is done, it is heavy work. A twelve by four foot sheet can be carried by one strong man but it is a workout.

Hanging the material on a ceiling means you must fight gravity the whole time. My father used to talk about innertron, the solid matter that is lighter than air. He claimed you could put some in your pockets to hold up your pants. He was in the bakery business and said it was useful for moving 100 pound flour sacks to the mixer - much easier than carrying them. I never saw the material but I recall it being often mentioned as I was growing up. Watching the guys hoisting, positioning and then attaching the large drywall sheets made me think that a little innertron would come in mighty handy for this job. With no innertron available, manual labor was employed.

Aare and Eric would draw pencil lines across the sheet using a t-square. The lines are drawn 24" apart, the same as the truss spacing. These guidelines are then where the screws are to be located when the sheet is hung. They then carried it to the lift where the screwy hanger guys waited.

The lift was jockeyed into position for the next sheet to be hung. The three men in the lift, in this case Ed, Dave and Phil, gripped the edge of the sheet, and on the count of three (or seventeen depending on how much of a rest they needed) flipped the sheet over and and maneuvered it into the next available spot.

Then, using their heads, this time for holding up the heavy panel and not for thinking, pulled out their drills, spit the screws out of their mouths and following the guidelines provided, proceeded to drive a few dozen screws into the sheet, securing it firmly to the trusses above. The process was then repeated over and over and over and over. Well, you get the idea. It is a size large area and many panels are needed to cover it.
Meanwhile, in the entryway and coatroom,Eric, his son Byron and Loren were going through similar gyrations to rock that ceiling.

Big Flat Ceiling Done -
When the last sheet was installed by lunchtime on Saturday, about 150 four by twelve sheets of drywall had been screwed into place. Each sheet requires something in the the neighborhood of 50 screws to hold it. Heavy work and repetitious work. But now this task is completed.

The Front Door -
With the windows installed and the service doors covered, the main gate, the front door, had to be covered to keep the wind and weather on the outside. Large equipment, like lifts still need to get in and get out. So, an operable door is required. The first iteration was re-implementing Ken's ratchet pulley and boat anchor rope mechanism attached to a 2x4 and a large sheet of poly. This system worked well, but alas, it is again short lived.










Ami works in the garage door installation business and came up with a really-o truly-o all season garage door, shown here both closed and open. This is real class. Not many churches can claim an overhead door as the main entry. We are now one step closer to a heated building.













There is a space heater hanging from the ceiling waiting for a fuel line to be connected. Bob mentioned something about on-going negotiations to get some propane hooked up. I did not follow the whole thing very well so I can't accurately report on the status. I can tell you that the heater looks nice and I expect it will put out adequate heat for the building should the fuel line ever be connected.

In the meantime, some folks are concerned about the possibility of cold weather sinking its icy fingers into the ground before the heater is connected. In Minnesota, winter weather is certainly a distinct possibility. So, to prevent those icy fingers from penetrating under the footings inside the building, preventative insulation has been imported in the form of hay bales. With the Christmas season now upon us maybe the Sunday school Christmas program could be held in the new church, with genuine hay bales to make a more realistic manger scene. But I suppose not many people would agree with me on this thought.

Warm Weather Continues -
While it is necessary to prepare for cold weather, we are enjoying unseasonably warm temperatures. Saturday saw bright sunshine throughout the day which melted the snow off the roof. No gutters have been installed on the new roof so the folks installing material on the soffits had to deal with a bit of drip from the roof. But no worry here. A little ingenuity, a little poly, and a few staples and voila! A runoff protection system that is much cheaper than gutters. Bob, Brandon and Eric do the assembly.

 I believe it was dry and cozy under the rain sheet. With the sun beaming as it was I suspect it was like a hot house under the plastic.

Other father and son teams were working together on Saturday. Eric and Brandon were already noted.








Ben and Laif Huhta installed soffit covers on the gable end, riding together in the lift basket while at ground level, Ed and son Justin installed the ground skirt.

Runoff from the roof also required some civil engineering work to get the water away from the building. Aaron keeps his gardening skills sharp by using a hoe to dig irrigation trenches.