December 8 - Winter Arrives

Heat -
We who live in Minnesota can be pretty certain that winter will come and bring in some rather cool weather. This fall has been amazingly mild which allowed the roof to be completed and the windows installed before the cold stuff rolled in. All of which is very good.  Not quite so good was snow followed by very warm days which caused a very muddy approach to the church. Now winter is flexing its muscles and Canada has been very generously exporting brisk refreshing breezes this way. Which is good because now the 'driveway' from the road to the church is again solid. As in frozen solid. Now it is easy to drive on.
Foam was added above the sheeting on the ceiling. Randy blew foam over the flat ceiling and the south half of the sanctuary ceiling. I think the building would be nice and cozy if it had some heat added.





I asked Bob on couple of occasions recently when will the heater would be connected and working. He replied, "It is in negotiation." Well, apparently the negotiations were replaced by actions. I saw a propane tank resting along side of the building. Not only that, a fuel line is connected to a regulator hanging on the outside wall. I am not sure who was negotiating with whom, but whatever issues caused the delay have obviously been resolved. Energy so close you can almost feel the heat.

I said almost. Brian and Mark are working to connect the line from the regulator to the space heater hanging from the ceiling. Brian is stringing up the ducts for the exhaust. Maybe I will finally get got see some real duct tape action. I have my fingers crossed.

 Apparently running gas lines is fussy work. Mark says the joints can't be soldered like water pipes. The joint materials must be heated to red hot and then the brazing rod applied. It is probably important that the gas line does not leak, so take your time, Mark, and do it right.

But even the last step in getting heat inside is not straight forward. The heater was previously used with natural gas and propane burns hotter than natural gas so some modifications must be made to the heat exchanger.

I am rather proud of this write up. I think it makes me sound like I might know what I am talking about. With any luck at all I remembered Mark's comments and reported them accurately. If not, no worry. Like one man has often told me, don't let the facts get in the way of a good story.
Building a Water Table -
Andy was crouched down outside a window, looking like he would rather be working inside. When I asked what he was doing he replied. "Making a water table." I could visualize a unicorn story coming. I admit that it turned cold enough to do some ice sculpting. But the only reference I have for a water table is the ground water level relative the to the ground surface - that is how far down beneath the surface is there water hanging around in the pores and fractures. But Andy has not been one to deal in unicorns so I waited for further explanation but it was cold out there and all I remember was something about a skirt board and this bent aluminum needing to tuck in behind the window. The point of this is to keep water outside the building and not creeping in from under the windows. If I get smarter about this I will add the info to a later post. At any rate, making a water table seems to me like it might be better done on some sunny afternoon rather than a winter evening. Fortunately Andy is a rather hearty soul who is willing and able to work out in the weather.

Rocking the Ceiling -
The area of exposed trusses is greatly diminished. Sam, Markus and Dan work from the platform on the mobile forklift to hang one of the few remaining sheets. The hope was to have the last of the ceiling rocked by the end of Thursday evening.
While one crew did the hanging using only the minimum number of screws, Tom and Joe were flying around in the quidditch machine filling in the remaining area with the requisite number of additional screws.

Joe also operated the mobile forklift. When I inquired about his forklift operator training he pointed to the patch on his jacket that read US Air Force. Joe is earning his living these days as a computer programmer but he is using his previous military training, as a fork lift operator, to build the church.

 It will be good to get the high altitude work done. The gasoline and diesel engines do not make good air fresheners. A strip along the peak of the sanctuary ceiling has been left uncovered to allow the ridge vent in the roof to serve as a chimney to carry the exhaust out of the building but the air does get a little thick at times.

Inspectors - 
I have commented already about the mechanical rooms tucked up in the trusses being possibly used at Brent's private retreat. Thursday evening he brought  several family members to

inspect the space. Shown at left is the inspection team assembled in the kitchen area.

Ascending the ladder.



















Looking out at ceiling level.


No inspection report had been received by the time of this posting.