June 16 - Porch, Pillars and Meeting

Back to June 9 -
Through the wonders of electronics, we have the ability to turn back time. Even though the porch slab has already been poured, we are able to step back to look at events preceding the pour, back to Friday, June 9. Return with us now to that thrilling day of yesterweek, to see the preparation for the pour.

Bob (notice the return of the yellow hat after a winter-long absence), pounds in a stake for supporting the slab form and at the same time teaches Felix about trust.

Sam drives in a stake using an even bigger hammer, relying on mother earth to hold the stake in place while being sunk.

Loren, Wayne and Jacob sharpen up their fencing skills. At the same time they are laying in reinforcement for smaller pads, like the one that will hold the air conditioning units.

Wayne, Tim and Bob add color as well as useful work to the evening.

It takes two Sams to level the form.

Troy and Sam carefully measure the form to assure the proper height. My dad used to tell me that two heads are better than one, even if one of them is a cabbage.

With all the components measured, leveled and with the rebar tied and propped up, the slab is ready to be poured.

Unveiling the Pillars - 
With the speed of electricity, we leap ahead to Monday, having previously reported on the big concrete pour of Saturday.
Sonny returns to inspect the pillars and to apply the finish coat which makes the rather coarse concrete a beautiful, decorative work of art.
The forms were made with a cross on the inside which left the impression on the concrete pillar. There was some concern that the impression may be damaged when the forms were removed. Sonny looks on with keen interest while Sam pries off the wooden form.

The forms came off slick as grease without any damage to the impression. Sam lets out a sigh of relief while Sonny talks on the phone.

First any residual oil must be removed so the finish coat sticks to the concrete. The oil allowed the form to come off without sticking. Now with the form off, we want the finish coat to stick tight to the concrete.

The artist mixes up his magic coating. It looks like sour cream is an important ingredient in the compound.

Painstakingly, the sauce is troweled over the pillar, filling the voids and providing a uniform finish. Sonny estimates the thickness of the finished coat to be about 1/128th of an inch.

Sam was eventually allowed to use a small knife to trim the grooves that make up the cross.

The finished pillar with a decorative cross on each face.













Congregation Update Meeting -









Wednesday evening, in lieu of Bible class, the congregation met inside the new church to get a thorough update on the building project.

Don Keskey presented the agenda and the financial report. I understood the agenda.

Bob, without the yellow hat, went over a list of tasks remaining. He assured the congregation that there is still work to be done.

Janelle reviewed the work of the design committee. Among the many tasks for the committee is recommending the exterior colors and pattern for the building. The congregation agreed that color on the outside would be good.