May 13 - A Great Day for Work, Both Inside and Out

Landscaping Has Begun -
Friday morning I received some pictures in my email from Troy, via Brent. It seems the landscaping has actually started. A size large track hoe and a dump truck were hard at work improving the parking area in front of the church. Well, I hope that is the long term effect. For the moment is seems to be making craters in the front and mountains in the back.  I trust that this is only a temporary situation.

Right now it does not seem like improvement. I was surprised by the equipment being used. Saturday Sam mentioned that the company's bulldozer is being repaired so these were the only machines available. I hope the bulldozer is successfully repaired.

It does offer an interesting view of the church between the machines and over the chopped up front approach.

A Good Turnout - 
A couple of Sundays ago, in his weekly update to the congregation, Sam mentioned the need for workers. It was encouraging to hear that last week a good turnout was recorded. Today the parking area was  pretty well filled up. All the help was put to good use both inside and outside the church.
The Front Doors -
Here Sam and Ami hang the last of the front doors.It needed some additional adjusting so Ami went off to other tasks while Sam adjusted. Put in a shim here, replace a shim there with a little thinner one, loosen the hinges and nudge the door a little higher, so on. While Ami is out of sight and the hinges need to be adjusted, another person is called into service.

I don't suppose Jen came to install doors but she was standing there at the right time when another pair of hands was needed. So, she got to lift on the door while Sam tightened the hinge screws.













Two virtues are readily observed in our esteemed project leader. One is that he is not reluctant to call on available resources when needed. In times of dire emergency, he has even enlisted the aid of the chronicler.





The other is, that as nature abhors a vacuum, so Sam abhors idle hands on the job. I am thinking his mental database contains a thousand or so necessary tasks that can be done by unskilled labor. So when an unskilled laborer, like an insurance salesman, is idling in Sam's vicinity, he is soon seen trimming the shims around the recently installed doors.

Windows Over the Doors -

As the front doors are swinging into place, the windows over the other doors are also being installed. Wayne on the inside and Steve on the outside collaborate on installing the glass panels. Assisting Wayne on the other side of the ladder is one of his daughters, identifiable only by her sneakers.

Steve is identifiable by his smiling face on the other side of the window. After meeting some unsolvable difficulties working this way, Wayne moves outside to complete the task.

Painting -

On a nearby window, Dave is finally allowed to paint a surface that will be visible. No more intumescent coating for this painter. From here on out it is all front line, visible to the public, Michelengo-like stuff.

The inspection team of Jen and Jodie are there to make sure he does it right. Or they may be checking the color scheme for the exterior.

 Sheetrock -
Remember, this word must be capitalized since it is a brand name.
Phil and Aare team up to cut and hang some of the many, many panels of drywall that need to be installed. Aare is barely visible here as he strives to enclose himself in a confined space.

As the drywall goes up, navigation around the interior becomes more circuitous. I am still able to navigate back to Aare's enclosure. There Phil is cutting and helping to make Aare invisible to the outside world.

It is fun to watch folks, who know what they are about, use their skills.

Phil cuts a round hole for a pipe to pass through. A quick slice with the knife and the sheet is divided so the two pieces can be hung with the pipe through the hole. It happens so quickly that I think Phil must have done this before.

 A bit later in the day, Aare again is able to work in the open daylight as he encloses the kitchen.


















Meanwhile, Out on the Back Porch -

The first thing I notice out back is, whatever conundrum existed with merging the three roof surfaces, it was successfully resolved. See for yourself. Three surfaces, all coming together with canal and shingles, work together to keep the weather on the topside. Clever fellows those construction folks.


Bill and Aaron team up to install a framing piece for the ceiling.

As the framers frame, Ed is making sure that the size large beam holding up the roof does not go missing in action. Bob said, draw up the nuts and bolts as tight as you can. Aaron adapts the proper position for supervising Ed's work.

 With gritted teeth and audible grunts, Ed launches into the task. One nut made a complete revolution, giving Ed visible satisfaction, Then Aaron commented,  "Ed, the bolt is turning on this side." I think I heard Ed sigh, "That's 'nuff," (or words to that effect).