JANUARY 31, 2012 TUESDAY
DAY #532

17 Volunteers
3 Contract Carpenters
2 HVAC Technicians
1 Contract Electrician
4 Contract Drywallers
1 Construction Consultant
1 Rented Jackhammer!

All of the beautiful support beams and posts were bolted into place on the east entrance! The jackhammer was utilized to chip concrete out of the doorways in Rooms 1 and 2 to improve the aesthetics of the entrances. The Doorman wrote: "putty, paint, putty." Lots of finishing touches to our many salvaged doors. With the stitches out of his finger, I expect the job was easier.

TOMORROW: We need a special crew, in addition to grinders and tilers, to MOVE ALL OF THE ROLLING CARTS AND EQUIPMENT (see photo right) out of the Sanctuary into the Social Hall to give the sheetrock crew a clear space for working as they sand and dress up the sheetrock. If you arrive in the morning it helps, so we know there are enough people to get the job done before the sheetrock crew arrives. We want to make the best use of their time and our money!

The first grind was done in the South and East corridors and the North entry floors. It was a steady job all day, and at day's end the grinders were seen signing up on the white board in the project office for yet another tour of duty (photo right). Progress is being made. I am not aware that the grooving saw or planer were used.

The tiling crew has almost finished placing the tile on floors and walls with the trim around the top in the men's northwest restroom. The grout is not yet in. The westside women's restroom floor is laid out and preparation was done for the wall tile.

The electrician put in appliances (switches, plug-ins and trim). Hey, but don't try using them just yet - they aren't hooked up to power. The east side insulation was tweaked a little. There was cleanup of debris and tools. Food was delivered, the kitchen cleaned, and dishes washed. The sheetrockers sanded and textured the offices.

Tomorrow, before dawn, Mark Doonan, our Construction Consultant, flies west for a working vacation in Molokai and will be gone for ten days. Judy Sawyer has been reassigned to focus on rental policy and rates. During Mark's absence, Ed Zack will be the onsite operations coordinator. If you can volunteer, please sign up on the white board in the project office, and check to see who is the crew boss for that day. We continue to move ahead full tilt.

QUOTES OF THE DAY: "Look out, there are two Irishmen in the room -- there will be some drinking and fighting."

Overheard in the northwest men's restroom: "God, this is such a beautiful design on this tile. It's just as Mark sketched it on the door frame."

JANUARY 30, 2012 MONDAY
DAY #531

16 Volunteers
2 Contract Carpenters
1 Contract Electrician
2 HVAC Technicians
1 HVAC Supervisor
1 Contract Tile Technician
3 Visitors
1 Construction Consultant
1 Electrical Inspector
4 Contract Sheetrockers
6 Attend BPOC Meeting

The east entrance passed the electrical inspection, so the crew jumped right in and installed the last of the insulation so the area can be sheetrocked tonight. A new lumber cart was fabricated to hold the long finished boards after they are run through the planer. We don't know where each of these boards will be used, but it will be trim around windows or doors. Too bad we haven't put numbers or something on all the boards we tore out of the building and saved so we could track the different ways they have been used.

The walls of the social hall have been textured and refinements will be made to the sheetrock in the sanctuary - some smoothing around joints, etc. Stored along the south wall of the sanctuary is a row of posts and struts for the east entrance overhang -- they are all sealed and ready to be bolted into place.

The contract tiler did work infilling imperfections in the floors (a valley where conduit and plug box were removed, various conduit stubs, etc.). The east corridor concrete floor had a first grind and the perimeter of the west hallway had a first grind. In other rooms grinding continued. One volunteer noted she discovered a new secret weapon, but was too tired to write down what it was....Alas, I learned at the BPOC meeting that the secret weapon is adding sand during the grinding process - it works as a binder and keeps the machine from getting clogged.

Mark Doonan reported to the BPOC that he is using rooms 1 and 2 for grinding, grooving, patching and polishing. We hope to get delivery on the second grinder this week -- perhaps by Wednesday. But Mark stressed - we need more grinders and assistants. There are miles to go. He is exploring the possibility of getting additional tracks for the grooving saw. The tracks we have now are ten feet long, which means we can groove an 8 foot length and then have to reposition the saw. So picture groove, reset, groove, reset, groove, reset. The Sanctuary floor has a mile of grooves. Having to move and reset the saw every 8 feet could get pretty frustrating. The additional track is expensive, but could save considerable time.

The planer was going, there was sanding, and as one said, "The Daily Grind." The tiling crew put the trim row on the wall of the NW women's restroom. They are meticulous and the restrooms are looking good. (Photo right: planer in the chapel)

Food was delivered, the kitchen cleaned, and the dishes were washed (twice!).

Because of the service auction this weekend and the flurry of activities related to it, we are not attempting to schedule an evening or weekend work day this week. Of course if you want to put together a grinding crew and know the drill, you are more than welcome to do so. Just let me know so we can point you to the top priority grinding area.

QUOTES OF THE DAY: "Insulation is itchy. But the last of it went in. I can't imagine any more going in unless we make new holes in the walls." (Except in the storage area.)

"We need more grinders, we need more grinders, we need more grinders. Floor preparation is the #1 priority."

"The sound booth is a favorite napping place."

JANUARY 29, 2012 SUNDAY
DAY #530

No Known Volunteers

I bet there were some people who were at the BUUB, but husband Ed and I only stopped by around 2 PM to drop off five pounds of coffee and I was not there later in the day. If anyone out there in radio land volunteered today, be sure to let me know so I can correct my records.

Bob Kaeser has been working for many hours on the grid for the grooves to be cut in the concrete floors for the hearing assist loop system. There is more of a trick to it than you might expect. For instance, in Room 1 there is the new section of concrete where the old "beer room" was taken out. So rather than the walls being the starting point for designing the grid, the perimeter of the new concrete determined the pattern. Each room has some anomaly that requires multiple trips to the drawing board. I expect he draws on instinct, knowledge, reason, creativity and hunch. It turns out, there are even more things to consider - like lining up with the doors in the sanctuary. Thankfully, he has seemingly bottomless patience. it's a good thing we aren't paying him for change orders!

(Photo above: Room 1, grooved floor, still wet from the grooving saw.)

The Building Project Oversight Committee (BPOC) is now meeting almost every week because of our need to be up to date on progress, expenses and staying within budget. When I work on preparing the minutes, there are things I think would be good to include in these reports. Usually, there is so much to report that I put it off. Today I have room to spare.

A wrinkle we had not expected is having EWEB insist that we ramp up our service panel to 1000 amps! This was not in the plan and came as a surprise to us, the electrical engineer and the electrical contractor. The mammoth panel was delivered and has been stored outside for several weeks because it is 37 inches wide and five feet long. There is no room inside for it. We are still in discussions about this because the city does not require it.

We are waiting to hear back from Harvey & Price regarding their interpretation and quantification of change orders for the fire suppression system. We hope to get the rest of the system installed within the next 2-3 weeks so we can get the east entrance completed and inspected.

At each BPOC meeting, several other people attend - Bob Kaeser as the liaison to the Board of Trustees, Mark Doonan as Construction Consultant, and Jake Walsh as liaison to the project. This makes for a great working relationship.
 

QUOTES OF THE DAY: Both received in emails this evening - just in the nick of time!

"I love how the [new] masonry underneath the south side windows ties in with the pillars on the south entrance! Seriously, I just told my husband today about that after driving by the other day. Those concrete blocks under the windows may have been there for awhile, hence why I put "new" in brackets, but this is the first time I've really seen them clearly (maybe the dirt, maybe because I'm not there that much ...)."

I know what she means because I usually go out the back side of the parking lot to 12th avenue, and don't drive past the BUUB on 13th.

"This is too funny. Last night, getting ready to go to sleep, I noticed the 400 days hadn't come in yet. I wondered...Now, almost bedtime again, I'm checking my email for the first time today (Sunday). Still no 400 days. However, On my computer, I have many 'mailboxes', one of which is '529 accounts' (college funds for grandkids). Hmmm. there's an email there. hmmmm 400 days. Oh, I'll bet it's Day 529. Sure enough. Good little mail system. There's a rule that says put anything with 529 in the subject line into that mailbox. And it did. Now, I'll read the rest and then see if I can stay awake long enough to see Day 530 come in."

And so it goes..... I hope I remember to hit "send" tonight!

JANUARY 29, 2012 SATURDAY
DAY #529

10 Volunteers
4 Contract Sheetrockers
1 Tile Professional
1 Construction Consultant
2 Visitors

Overnight the sheetrock crew worked on sanding and touch-up on walls and installing sheetrock inside the skylights in the social hall.

The majority of volunteers worked on grinding floors. Before even the first "ON" button is pushed on the grinder, there is a ton of preparation that needs to be accomplished, each and every day. Unfortunately, we have only one grinder, and only one person can stand behind it at a time. Believe me, every person on a grinding crew is just as important as the person operating the grinder. There is the set-up - making sure the surface is clean before grinding, and then the constant job of emptying the buckets on the wet vacuum. If this isn't done, then time is lost while the buckets get emptied.  (Photo above: Grinding north entry hallway.)

We have done at least one grind on all of the west side rooms. After we finish the second grind, and we move into finer and finer grinds, it will require flooding the floor during the grind and having a buddy or two working side by side using the wet vac and emptying those buckets of sludge. We still need more people working on floor preparation. The next step will be to do the first grind in the corridor so the level of the floor will be the same in both rooms and corridor. The first two grinds are the most difficult. After they are completed, each grind should only take about 45 minutes per room. YES!

Did you ever think you would get so much information about grinding floors?

The section of tile that was missing in the middle of the southwest women's restroom is in place after today, and the floor is protected with paper so the sheetrock crew can install drywall on the upper portions of the walls and ceiling tomorrow night.

The layout for the grid for floor grooving was marked and other volunteers indicated they had scraped floors, dug holes to be filled, given a tour to a son, and done "stuff."

There is no "official" work day scheduled tomorrow, but if you have a key and have worked on floors and want to prep floors, you are more than welcome to come by. The light system has changed again, so the switch inside the north door no longer works, but there should be enough light to work....

QUOTE OF THE DAY: I didn't get a quote from anyone, but the following was read for the opening words at the last BPOC meeting. It reminds me of all the courage our volunteers exhibit day after day, month in, month out.... It is from A Cherokee Feast of Days by Joyce Sequichie Hifler:

"We are always rich when we have courage. It is not the circumstance in which we find ourselves but how we handle it that makes the difference. If nothing ever challenged us we might not know our strength -- we might never feel the power to overcome something that gives us courage to tackle another mountain. Giving up does not come on us suddenly, but we cultivate it on a daily basis. Everything, success or failure -- or even mediocrity -- settles on us as we get ready for it. When we think and talk failure, it happens. When we think we can do something, we can do it. It takes as much effort to lose as it does to win -- sometimes more. But to think courage, to think strength, is the breath of life."

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all our wonderful volunteers.

JANUARY 27, 2012 FRIDAY
DAY #528

21 Volunteers
4 Contract Sheetrockers
1 Tile Professional
1 Mechanical Engineer
1 UUCE Music Director
1 Construction Consulant
2 Visitors from Next Door Neighbors
5 for Chinese dinner

The tiling volunteers finished the bottom row in the northwest men's restroom and cut 150 triangles and 51 border pieces and worked out a handsome and interesting design for the top row. The floor in the southwest women's restroom is almost finished, except an area in the middle where there is an uneven floor. There was more prep work done in the east restrooms. The whirring of the tile cutting saw could be heard from one end of the building to the other.

(Photo right: George Struble and Judie Hansen look at tile layout pattern.)

Meanwhile, in rooms 6 and 7, the majordomo of grinders was working its magic. Two hand grinders worked on the perimeters of floors in the reception area and copy room. If the din from those machines were not enough, the planer was running in the chapel. The crew was going full tilt starting at 6:45 AM and still going strong at 6 PM when two people were cutting grooves in the floor of Room 2. Room 1 got grooved and the result is a floor that has a totally new personality, and it's all good. (Does a floor have a personality?) The floors in all west side rooms (not corridors or chapel) have had the first grind.

All of the odds and ends of brackets, angles, bolts, etc., left over from various framing projects and the entrances were rounded up, matched with their invoices, boxed up and are ready to be returned to Edge Construction on Monday for refunds. And a variety of building materials, also odds and ends, will go back to Jerry's. Much of this stuff was stored in the vault (not necessarily for safe keeping, but in order to keep it all in one place for easy tracking), and it took our master organizers to get it boxed and matched up. Our recycling guru rounded up several wheelbarrows full of plastic, metal and cardboard for proper disposal.

I learned today that two IT volunteers came in a couple of nights last week to scope out the work needed to string internet and other wires through the baskets in the attic. It was after hours and the sign in sheet had gone home for the night. The sheetrock crew did additional mudding and sanding overnight. Before we know it, we will be working 24 hours a day. Dream on.

Food was delivered, the kitchen cleaned and dishes washed. Over and over on the sign-in sheet were entries about sweeping and cleaning. One recruit came for a tutorial on cleaning respirators. We have every day covered for cleaning respirators except Tuesday and Thursday. There were several people scraping goop off of office floors in preparation for grinding. One person put up signs with a chart by each door so that each grind could be documented rather than relying on memory. All floors will get 4-5 grinds. Another person noted: "Pluggin' away". Then there was the person who scribbled "lights from attic" but the writing was so bad I thought it said "lights romantic." That's a nice touch.

TOMORROW there will be a crew working from at least 9 AM and going well into the afternoon. If you find yourself bored and in need of a little exercise, stop in and help.

NEEDED: A church member called today to ask the Clutterbusting Information Line if anyone in the congregation has a recliner with electric motor. The one they have gasped its last breath and they need another one. If you have one that needs a new home, contact me directly. 541-335-1637 (You may recall that back in the dark ages of 2010, we inherited such a chair from the Scottish Rite, but sold it.....)
 

QUOTES OF THE DAY: "I was expecting to find the whole building in a cloud of dust and come out looking like a coal miner, but I didn't have a problem."

"The sweepers and vacuumers get a GOLD STAR!"

"It's going to take another nine months to grind the floors..." J.O.K.E.

"Is Isabella here?" (Wrong building)

Fortune Cookie - "Any doubts you may have will disappear early next month."

"Today it was a wet grind. That sounds a lot dirtier than a dry grind. And it is."

**New photos added Jan.25-17

JANUARY 26, 2012 THURSDAY
DAY #527

22 Volunteers
2 Contract Carpenters
1 Contract Electrician
4 Contract Sheetrockers
1 Contract Tiler
2 Bathroom partition salesmen
1 Carpet/Linoleum salesman
1 Construction Consultant

The grooving saw was finally figured out and some groovy stuff was done in Room 1. Pun intended. More metal conduit was demolished in the concrete floors, and a lot of scraping of the soy solvent. I was corrected about yesterday's report that indeed there was no planing done because the planer was missing a part allowing the operator to adjust the blades for the size of the lumber being planed. The new part arrived and today there were boards moving through the system. Of course, prior to planing the boards were de-nailed.

The contract tiler worked on the floors in the east restrooms to get things level, and our volunteer tile crew made great progress on tiling the walls in the Northwest men's restroom, including part of the lower row along the floor.

The can lights for the east entrance finally arrived and once they are installed we can get that area inspected, finish up with insulation and sheetrock. The sheetrockers did mudding and sanding in offices. The carpenters installed glu lam braces on the east entrance exterior.

There was perimeter grinding by a guy who seems to love spending the day on his knees so covered with protective gear that unless you wave a flag in front him at floor level he will be oblivious of your presence. In other rooms, the large floor grinder worked its magic. The floors continue to look better and better every day.

There was endless cleaning and sweeping, a ton of phone calls and office work, tool repair and cord repair, plus a lost internet connection when the spider boxes that supply power to everything got moved. As I was leaving, there was no water in the hoses. One observation I have made is a level of frustration whenever someone needs to be located in the building. There are any number of places where they could be, and it can take several trips from one end of the building to the other without any luck in finding them. They could be on the roof, in the attic, the kitchen, outside, in the restroom, and more recently, in the planing room. Because the building is so well insulated, calling out their name is useless, and now with the noise of grinding wheels and tile cutters, the din out-shouts the best of us. Once we move, some sort of intercom system is going to be a top priority.

(Photo above: tools organized.)

Food was delivered, the kitchen cleaned and dishes washed. Our Break Room Dancers continue to keep the larders filled and today they readily signed up to bring goodies for the next two weeks. As you might imagine, with the increase in volunteers, there is an increase in the amount of dishes to be washed, but everyone meets the challenge. Thank you dancers and dishwashers and Marina.

REMINDER: There is Chinese dinner tomorrow at 5:30 PM at the Fortune Inn, 1775 West 6th AVenue.

I will likely be a broken record about needing more volunteers from now until occupancy. We do have at least one SGM group lined up for a Saturday and the Breakfast ClUUb has been terrific about volunteering on the second Sunday of each month. We need more youth, and keep hoping more of our high school youth will need community service hours and drag their parents along. Because of our limited funds, our volunteers are essential. If we don't have enough volunteers, we will have to start throwing money at expensive hired help.

There is a white board in the project office with squares for signing up on certain days and indicating how many hours you can work. Feel free to fill up all the squares!
 

QUOTES OF THE DAY: We fully appreciate our volunteers, but truth be told, we need twice as many as we are getting because many are only able to work from 11 am to 2 pm rather than a full day. "We need people early and late. That grinder needs to be going from 7 AM to 7 PM. When our new grinder arrives, we plan to rent the loaner so we can have two going at once."

JANUARY 25, 2012 WEDNESDAY
DAY #526

17 Volunteers
1 Electrical Engineer
1 Electrician
4 Contract Sheetrockers
2 Contract Carpenters
1 Contract Tiler
1 Construction Consultant
1 Visitor

The overnight sheetrock crew did taping and mudding in the offices, and the daytime crew prepped the ceiling of the social hall. The temporary east door to the chapel was fitted with an automatic closer....not fancy, but effective.

The contract tiler worked at making an uneven floor in the east restrooms more uniform in preparation for laying floor tile. Our crew installed wall tile in the northwest men's restroom after installing a ridge to support one layer higher up. Special cuts will have to be made for the bottom row because the floor is uneven and we don't want men to get vertigo when they enter the room.

(Photo right:  Charlie Eckerson and Sarah Hendrickson installing tile.)

Volunteers scraped goop off floors after applying a soy product and then Simple Green in preparation for grinding. Several rooms have had the second grind already and progress is apparent. Our first evening work session was a great success and we appreciate those who worked at grinding the floor. When those grinders are going the air is full of grit so everyone is wearing respirators. Thanks to those who have volunteered to scrub out the respirators. It's an important job. (Photo below: Gretchen Miller)

It was necessary to wash the filters from the vacuums, and all day there was mopping, sweeping and cleaning of floors. Two people worked at grinding the perimeters - and that work requires being on your knees for hours. Thank goodness for youth.

The planer was kept going most of the morning and trim boards are looking good. More temporary lighting was hooked up, and that pesky leak that affected the plywood covering on the north wall of the kitchen was finally fixed. The carpenters fastened the support posts for the east entrance. Once that is done, we can get rid of those metal pipe support posts. One volunteer wrote : "pipe cutting", but I don't know if it referenced the pipe posts or something in the floor. Putting this report together is sort of like being a detective!

Food was delivered, the kitchen cleaned, and dishes washed. Recycled materials were rounded up and bundled. A trip to Curtis Equipment produced 1,000 coffee filters. Our original 1,000 filters were purchased in October 2010....hard to believe we have used so many. (100 were given to 40th & Donald)
 

QUOTES OF THE DAY: "Please watch for a runaway 1" black floppy filter gone missing from a mask......REWARD"

A friend of mine visited the BUUB yesterday afternoon. She had not been there for about a year. "I had to drive around the block twice because the building looked so different I didn't recognize it."

JANUARY 24, 2012 TUESDAY
DAY #525

24 Volunteers (including our evening crew of 6)
1 Contract Electrician
1 Contract Carpenter
1 Acoustical Specialist
1 Electrical Engineer
1 Construction Consultant
5 Visitors

Have you heard of an "Ox to Grind"? ....we have that Ox - in the form of a grinding machine that was working away today with two shifts going full strong. Both the edge grinder (photo right) and the Ox worked in Rooms 5, 6, 7 and the Office. It is now possible to tell the difference between a floor that has had one grinding and one that has not. It seems to smooth out the vision and make the rooms appear larger. Thanks to those who are making it happen.

Temporary lights were strung in Rooms 1,2,3, 6 and 7, and the Office so those hard workers could see what they were doing. Endless buckets of sludge and grindings were hauled to the dumpster, and someone was always following the Ox with vacuum or broom. Because of all the airborne grit, we have yet another important job for volunteers.

We need someone to wash respirators on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and on weekend days when grinding is taking place. Jan Willing takes care of them on Wednesday and Friday and will be happy to give a tutorial. She shares this about the job. It ideally involves vacuuming out the filters, and then dis-assembling them into 3 pieces, and sudsy water washing them, and then (towel) drying, reassembling, and hanging them back on their hooks ready to go.

The other major volunteer effort involves the installation of tile. The last of the concrete board was put up in all the restrooms. Large wall tile is going up in the men's restroom in the northwest corner (see photo below). It is handsome stuff. Additional insulation and sheetrock was added above the concrete board in the restrooms.

A new young volunteer worked in the attic cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. There was roof repair - (you know, crows and acorns making pin prick holes in the plastic over the skylights) - thankfully only 3-4 holes. Other outdoor work involved caulking the south windows and adding trim for waterproofing and general "sprucing up." The worker looked like a drowned rat when he came inside, but was still smiling!

More trim was planed and the sheetrock covering the openings in the chapel work well preserving ears. The planer is very loud, but the tile cutting machine runs a close second. A reminder - be sure to watch where you step as you walk around the BUUB - there are extension cords, hoses, and other obstacles in the corridors. The beams in the social hall were covered and masked so the sheetrock crew can do the mudding and texturing of the walls without staining the beams.

(Photo right:  planer and trimwork in Chapel)

Food was delivered, the kitchen cleaned and dishes washed.

We Still Need a Few More Volunteers for Saturday - We have almost enough for a grinding crew between 10 AM and 2 PM. If you can help, even if just for an hour, please let me know before 5 PM Friday. judie310hansen@comcast.net or 541-335-1637.

BPOC member Rich Margerum has been bird-dogging all issues related to parking. He made contact with Lookinglass School to our north to work out a workable arrangement for us to share the parking lot based on our anticipated usage during the week or on weekends only. Here are the guidelines. Please keep these in mind when you are at the BUUB. Thanks Rich!

A parking update for you.

On evenings and weekends, volunteers are welcome to park in the Lookin Glass parking lot, but all of the spots under their building overhang are off limits. Some of their staff work late or on weekends and need access to those spots.

If we are expecting a lot of volunteers during work hours, we might be able to use some of the open sites in the Lookinglass lot along Chambers—especially if it is late morning after they have already started classes. We should be careful not to take all of their open spots, however.

Monday February 20th: Lookinglass is having a volunteer day and expects 20-30 volunteers, so we should stay out of their lot on that day.

Here is another volunteer job that is important and can be done regularly:

One last thing. Sonya got the tire fixed on our car yesterday, and it turned out there was a nail in one of the tires. Luckily it was a slow leak so she was able to get it repaired before it went flat. It was the day after she went to the BUUB, so we're guessing it was from the parking lot. So, a volunteer magnet sweep of the lot might be a good idea.

JANUARY 23, 2012 MONDAY
DAY #524

19 Volunteers
2 Contract Carpenters
2 Contract Plumbers
1 Contract Electrician
1 Construction Consultant
7 Attend BPOC Meeting

The carpenters waterproofed the south windows and installed some wood trim in an effort to seal things up a bit. When I write this blog, sometimes I have trouble describing what and where something is. Tonight is one of those times. If you are standing outside on the concrete apron of the south entrance facing the building, there is a maple frame that was added recently. When all is said and done, it will frame the interior entry wall and surround the glass doors. See if you can find it.

The plumbers did the final hookups in the east restrooms. We were able to eliminate two sinks in those restrooms thus saving money on fixtures. This needed to be done before installing tile. And speaking of tile, the women's west restroom tiling began, and the taping and mudding of sheetrock for the upper portion of the wall in the men's west restroom was done.

Lumber carts and the planer were moved into the chapel and lumber was sorted and de-nailed. I heard from several sources that there was a lot of tool repair necessary and some interruptions in power.

The grinding crew was busy, but there is still a ton of prep work needed on the floors prior to grinding. In some instances two levels of floor meet, and conduit stubs or plug boxes need to be removed. There was a small amount of insulation and drywall added. One person on the grinding crew noted she was "herding the Ox." (See quotes of the day and photo below.)

Food was delivered, the kitchen cleaned, and dishes washed. There was cleaning and sweeping through the building. Two scissor lifts were returned to the rental agency.

We have enough volunteers for Tuesday night, and are now actively recruiting for Saturday and need to know if you can be there morning, afternoon, or all day. Please email or call me directly - judie310hansen@comcast.net 541-335-1637. We need to know by 5 PM Friday to plan appropriately.

QUOTES OF THE DAY: "Did you see the dead raccoon in the parking strip (by the Chambers driveway)? Who wants to make a hat?"

(There was a broken down car tonight in the same location as the dead raccoon! The right front wheel came off - all the bolts were sheared. The driveway was somewhat blocked for a while.)

"Vide next Sunday's sermon: I have decided the floor grinder is my Ox!"

"Frustrating day with things needing to be fixed, balky machines. Thank heavens for Mark - he knows where everything is and how to fix things. He also hoards tape measures.....they migrate to the project office."

JANUARY 22, 2012 SUNDAY
DAY #523

3 Known Visitors

Husband Ed and I stopped by to do a security check and see whether anyone signed in - nobody had. But one other person was stopping at the same time to check to see if we needed more sandpaper so he can do a materials run tomorrow. Everything was as left the day before - including the temporary coverings on the openings and doors of the Chapel. They had NOT moved in the last 24 hours. The sheetrock covering the openings will only be in place while we need to use the planer.

I learned that the floor grooving saw was completely assembled late last week and a couple of short test grooves were cut in the concrete to see how that job will go.

So far, three people have signed up to volunteer on TUESDAY evening, beginning at 5:30 PM to do floor grinding. We still need a few more of you to justify running the machine and turning on the lights. If you can help, please let me know before 5 PM tomorrow. 541-335-1637 or judie310hansen@comcast.net.

We have two people signed up for next Saturday for a work party. So we still need more. Let me know by Friday at 5 if you plan to help.

I think I have figured out why I keep mis-numbering this blog - When I hit the # sign, it is right next to the 4, and there you have it.

Gretchen Miller and Sarah Hendrickson have returned from their cross-country road trip and are ready to get back to the work at the BUUB! Good.

I had an email from Kay Crider this morning - she is in Tucson, AZ on UUA business and is happy to report that she has talked to our former volunteer Mike Epperson and that he is busy helping keep the UU Church building in tip top shape! Good to get news of Mike. We miss him at the BUUB.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "The kitchen is sure nice and clean -- no dirty dishes."

JANUARY 21, 2012 SATURDAY
DAY# 522

NO VOLUNTEERS
5 known visitors

There were no signatures on the volunteer sign-in sheet, but we had a flurry of activity after the stewardship workshop at 40th & Donald came to a close. Members of a SGM prepared and served the food, of which there was ample. There were lots of leftovers because the recent wild weather and high water caused some people to cancel. The leftover chili, cheese, fruit, crackers and juice were delivered to the BUUB to be consumed by workers, or frozen for later use by the Care Committee.

Mary Gleason, the workshop leader, had not seen the BUUB since very early in the process and she stopped by on her way to the airport. She declared it spacious and beautiful.

While at the BUUB we discovered what hit us as a shock. The wide opening on the east end of the chapel and both of the west doors to the chapel are covered with sheetrock and there is a regular sized door framed into the east wall. One person in the room had a fit, demanding to know who authorized such a thing, lamenting that he had envisioned sitting in the sanctuary and being able to look all the way through wide openings into the chapel. I tried to assure him that I was positive no such thing as closing up that opening was in the plans and either the night-time sheetrockers made a mistake or there was a good reason. When I got home, I called Mark Doonan. Here is the skinny:

One of our valued volunteers has extremely sensitive ears that were being harmed by the many-decibel high roar when the planer was being operated. Mark had the sheetrockers close all the openings and rough frame in a plywood door on purpose. All of the recycled lumber to be planed, and the planer, will be moved into the chapel and hopefully the rest of the crew can hear themselves think and preserve what little hearing they have left.

Overnight the sheetrockers installed more corner protectors and applied tape and mud in offices and the library. That whole section is looking great.

We have two people signed up to be at the BUUB on Tuesday evening. We need a minimum of four - please let me know if you can come help for a couple of hours beginning about 5:30 PM. 541-335-1637 judie310hansen@comcast.net

There were representatives from six UU congregations at today's workshop on stewardship. It was interesting to meet other UUs and hear their congregational stories. We learned of some interesting books, and about the FORTH@UUA.org program. The books were:

Happiness Is An Inside Job - John Powell
The Soul of Money - Linne Twist (2003 Edition)
Finding Your Story (UUA Bookstore)
Beyond Fundraising - Wane Clark
Serving with Grace

And back to the BUUB - our statistician reports that so far we have utilized 328 individual volunteers.

QUOTES OF THE DAY: I was told: "When I read the daily blog, it is like Tom Sawyer saying come paint this fence." Yes, indeed, come on down and grind floors and help the tile man!

And from one person from Rogue Valley attending the workshop. We were asked to list things we got from the workshop: "I'm sorry I came because now I have to go home and redo everything I have already done on our annual canvas." He also said: "A church vision statement should fit on the back of a baseball cap, and the mission statement should fit on a T-shirt that can be read from 15 feet away."

Good advice.

No "official" work party at the BUUB tomorrow.

JANUARY 20, 2012 FRIDAY
DAY #521

22 Volunteers
2 Contract Carpenters
4 Contract Sheetrockers
1 Construction Consultant
9 For Chinese Dinner

It was a busy, busy day -- a field trip to Coburg resulted in the purchase of a scissor lift - Genie C1930 (doesn't mean it was manufactured in 1930 - means the bridge can be extended 19 feet and the lift can go up 30 feet.) (Photo right) This machine was built in 2006 and has 193 operating hours. The other machine we had on approval was sent back to the happy hunting grounds because it did not pass muster. We can now return the lift we have been renting. Nice quote from the rental company below. 

 This morning, construction debris was rounded up from the east side, trim boards were sorted and retrieved from the southwest storage area and examined for nails and screws. The carpenter was fabricating columns and support posts on the east entrance and putting up concrete backer boards in the restrooms. The sheetrockers continue working their way around the southeast corridor and rooms, putting up vinyl trim and mudding.

One volunteer indicated he worked on the "sounds good". He likes to throw in these little tweaks to see if I am paying attention. I believe he was working on the sound booth. One person indicated she had dropped off soup and another volunteer noted: "it was yummy." In addition to soup being delivered, the kitchen was cleaned and dishes washed. There was organization of storage and the volunteer coat and vest area. The many gloves that went home for a bath yesterday, came back today and were put into pairs.....well, there were mates for some of them, Sure nice to have them clean and soft again.

Bills were paid, errands run to pick up materials, and work was done rounding up end of the year paperwork.

We had a tile crew and a floor grinding crew. The tile crew worked on the southwest restroom. The floor grinder was operating in high gear and based on the grind being used, it was working so hard the machine overheated. After being ignored for about an hour, it was operational again. We now know that on that grind it needs to be run on a slower speed. As mentioned earlier, we need to have the grinding machine going as many hours a day as possible. I asked today if evening or weekend hours will be scheduled....the answer is yes!

If you are able to work either of the next two time periods, please let me know so I can put your name on the white board calendar. Mark Doonan will determine whether we have enough people to do the work, and if not, we will notify everyone through the blog if it is a go.

NEXT Tuesday Evening - 5:30 PM - If you can volunteer, we need to know no later than Monday at 5 PM (judie310hansen@comcaset.net or 541-335-1637)

NEXT Saturday (January 28) During the Day - If you can volunteer, we need to know no later than Friday Noon.

We have been having great numbers of volunteers, but we could use 40 every day. There is no "official" work day tomorrow (Saturday) or Sunday, but if you have a project you can work on independently and have a key, you are welcome to show up.

QUOTES OF THE DAY: From the rental shop when we called to have them come pick up some equipment: "We are giving you a special deal - there is always something interesting going on with your church when we drop things off or pick them up. We enjoyed doing business with you. Good luck with your project."

From a tile volunteer - "People don't know what they are missing by not volunteering. This place is special."

From my fortune cookie tonight: "Share your abundant humor with others at this time. They need it." (I'm pedaling as fast as I can.)

"Today is day #521 - if you divide that by 72 days, we have been at this project the length of 7.23 Kardashian marriages (or almost as many times as Larry King has been married.) Isn't trivia fun?"

Special Congregational Meeting --January 15 at 12:30 -- Sanctuary

The UUCE Board of Trustees has called this special meeting to ask the Congregation to vote to expend much of the Endowment Fund principal on the Capital Campaign Account to help us get in to our new facility. Please attend this meeting as this vote is important for both the Endowment Fund and the Capital Campaign.

      1)  Information about the UUCE Endowment Fund: 
           www.uueugene.org/endowment-fund  
         
      2)  Information in support of transferring a portion of the Endowment Fund 
           to the Capital Fund:   Click here     

      3)  Information in opposition to any transfer of funds from the Endowment Fund:
           Click here      

JANUARY 19, 2012 THURSDAY
DAY #520

23 Volunteers (WOW!)
2 Contract Carpenters
4 Contract Sheetrockers
1 Construction Consultant

Thanks to having enough volunteers, both the tile laying and floor grinding teams were able to make progress. Rooms 1 and 2 have had their first floor grind. Room 4 is about half done with the first grind. They tried doing a dry grind wearing masks, but it was too difficult, so they had to resort to a wet grind.

Tile work was begun in the southwest corner restroom, with notes attached at the end of the day - "do not walk on this" and "no step." Around the corner tile edges had their sharp edges sanded off.

The planer was whirrrrrrrrrrring away. A bunch of recycled boards were being gone over with an eagle eye to make sure there were no nail fragments prior to putting them through the planer. Some of those old boards appeared to be beyond salvaging, but once through the planer they were beautiful. Old growth sure outshines anything you can buy today.

There was a lot of cleanup, sweeping, and disposing of debris. Food was delivered, the kitchen cleaned and dishes washed. One volunteer took ALL of the filthy dirty work gloves home to wash them! Most were too stiff to even force onto hardworking hands.

There was more tweaking of the sound booth and odds and ends of insulation installed. The sheetrockers did the ceilings in the southeast corridor and additional mudding. A female volunteer learned to drive the scissor lift and had a ride in the bucket of the fork lift. Exciting times to be sure.

The floor grooving saw was taken out of its beautiful wood shipping box and assembly commenced. It looked like way too many steps to follow for me, but I never could follow written instructions. At 9 AM Jake and Myles were back on the roof patching leaks. See their comments under today's quotes.

REMEMBER: Chinese Dinner at The Fortune Inn, 1775 West 6th Avenue tomorrow at 5:30 PM.

QUOTES OF THE DAY: "Water had blown uphill and sideways into the skylights and roof sections."

"Talk about getting down to the nitty gritty --- this is the gritty!"

"The rubber side of the guide for the grooving saw goes down, so we need the floor to be really clean."

"I'm always tired now. These 8-10 hour days will do that to you. I think I will skip yoga before going to the symphony."

JANUARY 18, 2012 WEDNESDAY
DAY #519

13 Volunteers
3 Contract Carpenters
4 Contract Sheetrockers
1 HVAC Supervisor
1 Construction Consultant
2 Equipment Sales Staff (1 Male, 1 Female)
4 Visitors, including Dennis and Suzanne Reynolds

Some of you might have noticed that we had a little rain...well, actually, it was hard rain all day....of course we had evidence of further bird pecking! Inspection of the skylights indicate that crows love to put nuts along the apex of the skylights, and their beaks must miss the mark because holes in the plastic result. They were all small, but it is a pesky annoyance to have to send someone up on the roof in the pouring rain. Thanks Jake!

The sheetrockers did mudding in the social hall and worked on odds and ends. Our crew worked at installing small sections of insulation around HVAC ducts and pipes prior to the sheetrockers working again tonight.

The tile floor in the NW men's restroom is DONE! -- The doorway is blocked to keep foot traffic off until the mastic dries. The tile man had three helpers and they were much appreciated. Concrete board in preparation for tile on the walls was installed in the Southeast side men and women's restrooms.

Outdoors, the last glu lam beam was installed and the permanent post was added on the promenade. It looks terrific, even in the dark. The carpenters started work on the diagonal and vertical posts on the east entrance. This element is incorporated into all of the entrances.

Volunteers cleaned and scraped gunk from the floor in Room 2. The floor perimeters in Rooms 5, 6, and 7 were ground. BUT HERE IS THE DEAL - WE DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH VOLUNTEERS TO DO ANY GRINDING WITH THE BIG GRINDER. If you will recall, this is the machine that we need to have going 12 hours a day with a three-person crew in order to get the floors finished! If you no show, we no go!

Fire blocking was done in the newly framed rooms in the new northeast addition. Keep in mind that these two rooms will remain unfinished. They are defined now as reservation space for additional staff or conference rooms as needed. Until needed for offices, they will accommodate storage. The door to the music room was adjusted because we needed to provide room for the vestibule doors to open back to the west without blocking the door to the music room.

Thankfully, there was a lot of sweeping, organizing, and the removal of that sheetrock debris, along with the dismantling of the temporary posts on the promenade. Standing in the social hall, which has no tools or equipment or scissor lifts, or wheeled carts, I was struck by how large that room is. I can't help but think about what a joy it will be to have all that room for our social hour and not be knocking into each other. Pretty exciting stuff. (Photo right: looking from the social hall east into sanctuary)

Food was delivered, the kitchen cleaned, and dishes washed. There was cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, throughout the building. The inventory of storage space continues. There is a color code system - Red, white, and blue. Red is the stuff that must be accessed frequently. White is paper products. Blue is not day to day or even very frequent access and might even be considered long term storage. We have great space for the white and blue, but red is at a premium. Almost up there with the reminder that we need more volunteers is the reminder that we need to think purge, purge, purge all the nonessential items. We will have plenty of room to store what we call our "medical lending library," - crutches, canes, sock pullers, walkers, etc.

The heated toilet seat donated last week is no longer needed. The new accessible restroom is the warmest room in the building! The heated toilet seat has been donated for the auction on February 4th. Get your bidding voices ready!

REMINDER: There will be a Chinese dinner at the Fortune Inn on Friday at 5:30 PM - 1775 West 6th Avenue.

NEEDED: Three ring binders. Does anyone have some to spare? Larger ones preferred. Please email me directly so we don't end up with thousands - judie310hansen@comcast.net.

QUOTES OF THE DAY: "The last two days I have had helpers who had no experience and some experience, and now they all have some experience."

"We are getting more and more people trained to do tile. The walls are going to be easier."

I love the comments on sign-in sheets: "Clean up Social Hall, Tile, cleanup, etc., Back at 1:30, scraping gunk, vacuuming and insulation, light carpentry, drive forklift, insulate, patch, putty, sand last two door frames, tile, wash masks, kitchen cleanup."

Jack Hammer Sue (Sue Craig)

JANUARY 17, 2012 TUESDAY
DAY #518

16 Volunteers
3 Contract Carpenters
5 Contract Sheetrockers
1 Beam Deliveryman
1 Office Supply Salesman
1 Construction Consultant

Once again, the level of noise at the BUUB was an obvious indicator of the level of work being performed by our faithful volunteers. At 3:30 PM there was a chop saw, floor grinder, planer, wet vac, and hand grinding of tile. No wonder we don't play classical music on the radio any more - nobody would be able to hear it!

Let's take a walk around the building and see what was going on. We are standing in the middle of the Sanctuary and turn to the north. In the new addition, we find there is rough framing for two future offices. This means more office space, but has cut down on our first floor storage and it has shrunk by two thirds. Then we trot back through the Sanctuary where two volunteers are running door frame lumber through the planer.

When we reach the southeast corridor, we find that the music room, east restroom, library, minister's office and RE office have been sheetrocked. There are a few small areas not yet complete because the electrician has not finished the wiring. We could have used someone to come along and clean up the scraps at day's end. Just outside, the glu lam beam was delivered for the promenade and will be installed sometime this week. While we are walking, I learn another office supply salesman came by on a fishing expedition and when I got home I see he has signed up for this blog.

Next we visit Room 2, where two women are operating the floor grinder and the wet vac, and they offer some quotes of the day. Just outside Room 2, two men are using pumice blocks to grind off the sharp edges of all the tiles that were cut by other volunteers. Now that is a noisy operation! Ear protectors and safety glasses are a must.

Next door in the men's west restroom, several men are putting down the first rows of floor tiles (see photo right). As the project progressed, it was discovered that there is variation in the size of the tiles, depending on how the person pushing the tile through the saw handled the tile. We can work around it as the tile is laid, but WE NEED - A person with good eyesight who can stand in the doorway and eyeball the line of tile as it is being put down to make sure the line is straight before the mastic dries! If you can stand up and be bossy, this is the perfect job. You do not need to know how to operate machinery, sweep floors, or drive a scissor lift. Come on down.....Very important job.

In Room 1, off the north corridor, we see that the first round of floor grinding is complete. It was used as a teaching room for learning how to operate the machine. As reported yesterday, the first grind is dry. It is necessary to be careful where you walk and pay attention to what you are doing, because there is a maze of water hoses, extension cords, and equipment throughout the building, and it would be easy to trip and fall.

Okay, keep walking....In Room 4, the edges of the floor were ground in preparation for the big grinder doing the main part of the floor. The hand grinder pooped out and needed some repair - and thanks to the ingenuity of our crew, a new splash guard was fabricated by cutting a recycled plastic lid from one of our snack food containers. It is a classy looking addition. We need the large floor grinder going continuously - 24 hours would be ideal - but if you can come in early morning or after 3 PM there are jobs available. Each component has personnel needs. (For instance - The tile crew - does cutting, edge grinding, supply and laying.) We purchased a second shop vac so no waiting.

I didn't climb up there, but the next part of the virtual tour was to the northeast storage area and west side attic, where the construction consultant and volunteer coordinator inventoried storage space. Upstairs can accommodate lots of tubs, but the downstairs storage is now bleak. It will be important for serious sorting and purging to take place prior to the move.  (Photo right: west attic)

In the kitchen I heard there was tasty soup delivered, the kitchen cleaned and dishes washed. The newer refrigerator had no light when opened and it turned out a breaker switch was popped. Then later, even with the breaker switch in the proper place, there was no light. I think I brought an extra refrigerator light with me from Indiana six years ago....hmmmmmmmm.

El Viejo has begun identifying the components and permits necessary for occupancy by meeting with and talking to various City departments who oversee such things. We are aware of all the components, but there seems to be some wiggle room in how things are interpreted and we want to be sure everyone is on the same wavelength. This means getting the engineers, architects, and contractors all on the same page.

Remember yesterday I reported I had no idea where vinyl molding was being installed? Well, it turns out that is the narrow band of T-shaped molding where beams and sheetrock meet. If it were not for the molding, the ragged edge of the sheetrock would be visible, and the molding gives it a nice tidy appearance. Of course I also learned the proper spelling of molding. *grin* The doorman puttied and painted door frames.

QUOTES OF THE DAY: "It is fun seeing the tile go down."

"My job today was making and getting rid of sludge." "How do I shut off the grinder?" "There is forward and reverse - you leave it between the two..." "Of course, now I remember." "But the red light is still on." "Then unplug it."

"The light shelves in all the rooms are an architectural element and should not be used for storage."

"The vast majority of the sheetrocking is done."

"Who would have thought the BUUB would have so much sludge in it."

"The handles on this grinder are too high for me.....Maybe you should wear stilts."

"That sounds like an airplane is about to land on the roof!" -- "That is the sludge bucket being rolled outside."

After 8 hours on the job one volunteer said, "I'm going to yoga."

"The building felt warmer today -- must be because we are getting it more and more closed up."

JANUARY 16, 2012 MONDAY, Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
DAY #517

18 Volunteers
3 Contract Carpenters
1 Scissor Lift Repairman
1 Construction Consultant
1 Firewood Gatherer
7 Attend BPOC Meeting

It being Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday, there were no subcontractors or inspectors.

I hear it was a hectic day, with many noise makers going full strong - grinders, jackhammers, tile cutters, the portable furnace, and a chop saw. Watch for a photo on the church website showing one of our faithful volunteers sitting in a comfy chair on rollers using a jackhammer! (see above) Impressive. Metal conduit and boxes were cut out of the floors in our continuing saga of preparing the floors for grinding. Rooms 1, 2 and 4 got the treatment. We had a slug of volunteers but could use twice that many!

Grinding machine tutorials were given. The first grind is dry, and the remainder are wet grinds. It was discovered that the machine likes to throw a spray of water, so tomorrow walls will get a protective layer of plastic. The tile cutting machine had a pinched wire and it got rewired and is ready to roll. Tile preparation continued. Several people worked at removing paint from door jambs with the planer, some de-nailed and cut up firewood. Layer one of sheetrock was installed in the music room and a curtain wall was framed in the front entrance.

Food was delivered, the kitchen cleaned and dishes washed. There was sweeping around the building and the picking up of debris. Some insulation and vinyl moulding were added, but I am not quite sure where.

The white board system in the Project Office is working well. After you sign the sheet in the kitchen, please go to the Project Office in the northwest corner of the building to see what's on tap for the day. There are presently only TWO JOBS on the Board:

FLOORS

TILES

You will find a yellow tag each day listing the Volunteer Leader of the Day...and if that person is out of the building temporarily, another post-it note will be added so you will know who to find to ask questions and get an assignment.

QUOTES OF THE DAY: We had a BPOC meeting this evening and in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., his words were featured for our Opening Words:

"All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem."

"Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better."

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

The following came from Gretchen Miller and Sarah Hendrickson who are temporarily stranded in Hugo, Colorado with some car trouble. They sent the following:

"Water pump is to come tomorrow am. Everyone in town very friendly. The propane man wouldn't take any money. Coffee shop woman said to call her if we need something. Mechanic's girlfriend told us which window to bang on if we need to come in to get warm in the night. Gàs station is leaving bathroom open. I think we are doing fine."

JANUARY 15, 2012 SUNDAY
DAY #516

2 Volunteers (known)
1 Construction Consultant

I hear by the grapevine that one person stopped by the BUUB to determine whether the north entry lock had a problem or it was the person using the key that had a problem.....everyone but me seems to be able to unlock the door. Two grinders were being used this afternoon - the smaller one for next to the walls and the larger one out in the middle of the room. No further details as of 10 PM.

There was a congregational meeting following the second service this morning. The purpose of the meeting was to ask the congregation to approve the transfer of our endowment fund principle to the capital account where it can be used to help us get in our new facility by the end of this church year at the latest and hopefully sooner. We easily had a quorum.

Kay Crider, chair of the Capital Campaign reported there is still $165,468.00 needed.

Dave DeCou spoke about what the remaining money will fund.

HVAC - all of the units are installed but some still need the controls.

Electrical - Wiring is ready, but no fixtures are in place. (All lighting is temporary.)

Skylights - Openings are ready, but only covered by plastic. Units are being fabricated. We will delay the louvers.

Doors & Windows - Are being fabricated. We will reuse all that are the correct size and have been reconfiguring old parts into new parts for door jambs.

Fire Suppression - Almost all of the pipes are in place, but sprinkler heads and trim need to be installed.

Floor Grinding - All volunteer work, but when done will need sealer applied.

Plumbing - Pipes are installed, waiting for urinals, sinks, and toilets after tile is done. Also need dividers in restrooms.

Tile - preparation going well and tile has been donated and will be installed by volunteers in all restrooms.

Stormwater System - Originally a $50,000 system was proposed, that additionally required a $10,000 annual replacement of filters. We are using a rain garden instead. (Swales - volunteer work)

We are just about done with professional contractors, and volunteers are more and more important every day.

Church Treasurer, John Wagner, commented that the Board of Trustees, Minister, BPOC, and Capital Campaign Committee are all in favor of using endowment fund money. We need to move to honor our agreement with the Buddhists that bought 40th & Donald. There is no fat in the line item budget. We have $120,000 held to pay the mortgage through June 2013. We need to get into the building so it can become income-producing. We have no more equity in the new building and any further loans from members would be unsecured. Volunteers have put their lives on the line at the expense of their health, finances and time. We need every dollar we can find to bring the job to a speedy conclusion.

Ruth Nelson, speaking for the Endowment Committee, stated that they remain opposed to using Endowment money for this project, but the Board of Trustees has deemed there is an emergency and the funds belong to the congregation. The Committee feels the long term survival of the church is its first consideration.

Rev. Forsey said the request would not be made if it were not important. This is the first time during her ministry that she has supported a withdrawal from an endowment fund. She will work for the remainder of her ministry with us to develop a strong planned giving program. She heard from 22 individuals in our congregation who have planned to leave money to the church.

Wanda Kuenzli made the following motion and it was seconded by Brian Lewis:

"I move that the Board of Trustees of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Eugene is authorized to make a one-time withdrawal of funds from the church's endowment and is directed to deposit said funds into the church's capital account. The balance in the endowment fund after the withdrawal of funds shall be $10,000, thus ensuring that the endowment account remains open and available for future growth."

Seventeen members spoke to the motion or asked questions, when the question was called and a vote was taken. The voice vote was decidedly in favor of the motion.

QUOTES OF THE DAY: "You don't have to be dead to give money to the Endowment Fund!"

"Now that we have brought up the existence of our Endowment Fund, the congregation knows we have one, and can donate to it."

REMINDER: We need more volunteers - especially tomorrow and Thursday!

JANUARY 14, 2012 SATURDAY
DAY #515

2 Volunteers
2 Visitors
1 Construction Consultant

The two "official" volunteers today worked on the sound booth. The visitors came to collect information for this report. The Consultant shimmed up some walls, did paperwork, and reviewed the white board in the project office to see whether the volunteer lineup would be sufficient.

Monday we need more volunteers and are hoping, because it is a state and federal holiday, that there will be additional people who will show up. We especially need floor grinders. Don't get the impression that this is a job for only one person at a time. There is plenty of work that goes along with the main grinder, and there is a smaller grinder that needs an operator. We have about 17,000 square feet of floor to do. I got to see a patch of floor in the northwest restroom that was done in under five minutes - the big grinder does an awesome job and is fun to operate. This process generates a fine dust that needs to be vacuumed up ASAP - it is wet and inclined to set up like fine concrete when it dries. The wet vac works wonders.

The meeting last Monday afternoon that attracted 22 volunteers stressed the need for teams working together on several jobs. If you are part of a team, the idea is that you stick together on one job rather than jumping off onto another task if there is a lull of several minutes. We are going to focus on a little more of a tutorial for each of these jobs to help each person on the team be able to anticipate the next part of the job to be done so nobody is standing around in confusion and everyone stays engaged in the job at hand.

The north entry door seems to be causing a few problems, with some binding of the knob. My key was useless, so I had to bang on the door to attract the attention of the only person in the building at the time. Maybe it doesn't like cold weather.

REMINDER: Tomorrow following the 11AM service, there is a congregational meeting to vote on using money from the Endowment Fund to help meet the amount of money still needed to finish the building for occupancy.

QUOTES OF THE DAY: Left on the Construction Consultant's cell phone: "Mark, it is Judie. I am locked out and my key won't work. If you are in the building please come let me in."

"We need more volunteers on Monday and Thursday -- but especially on Monday."

JANUARY 13, 2012 FRIDAY
DAY #514

17 Volunteers
3 Contract Carpenters
1 Audio Technician
1 Sheetrock Delivery
2 HVAC Technicians
1 Office Equipment Salesman
1 Building Material Salesman
1 Construction Consultant

Some days there is a clear path for putting this report together and other days it is more difficult. This is one of those difficult ones. This happens when all the jobs are different and not as easy to weave into a story.

The HVAC technicians came in to move two of the units to make room for sheetrock. The night crew finished the social hall (most noticeable the north and west walls), worked on the south corridor, and doubled the sheetrock in the offices for soundproofing. Another load of sheetrock was delivered, and the driver brought it into the building and put it in the rooms where it would be used. This is way beyond what a driver normally does. Odds and ends of insulation and sheetrock was installed.

An outside crew did some hand digging in the swales, swept the walkways, cleared debris, and did some miscellaneous landscape work. One volunteer spent 9.5 hours recycling and organizing. We had a severe breach of volunteer discipline today when the Michelangelo Mudder (aka Eagle One) left his scissor lift and took his shiny new computer into the warmth of the Project Office to watch a streaming video. Other volunteers tried to pry his email address out of him, but he refused.

It was discovered that one wall in the east restroom was as crooked as a dog's hind leg, so it had to be reworked prior to tiling. The temporary bracing for the south entrance was de-constructed and the only thing left is the door. Pity the poor office equipment salesman who was trying to tell us what good prices he could give us on furnishings. We decided to not break his heart by telling him about all the free furnishings we had found. One volunteer thoroughly cleaned the track for the sliding doors between the social hall and the corridor, so they slide like silk. There was work on the sound booth.

Food was delivered, the kitchen cleaned and dishes washed. Both the small and large floor grinders were in operation (see Quotes). I learned that the name given the east side porch, is in fact the Promenade. The last of the beams will be installed on the Promenade on Monday.

There will be no official work at the BUUB this weekend.

QUOTES OF THE DAY: "Using the large grinder is going to be fun. I thought it would take a strong person to use it, but it does not require muscles."

"I always wear old beat up clothes when I work at the BUUB. Just before the holidays I stopped at a St. Vinnie's retail store in those clothes and was asked....'do you need a turkey for Christmas?' "

"Do we have to scrape the floor in the sanctuary???? No." 

JANUARY 12, 2012 THURSDAY
DAY #513

14 Volunteers
3 Contract Carpenters
1 Contract Electrician
1 Contract Tile Installer
1 Scissor Lift Repair Technician
1 Construction Consultant

I was able to check out the new ADA restroom and husband Ed took a photo or two while it was unoccupied. Since there is no outside wall, it is much warmer in there than the old temporary restroom. There is a door, but the transom is open. Still no paper towel dispenser near the sink, but there are rolls of paper towels. A stroll down the hall gives a view of the now wide open arrangement where the other toilet is located - no wall, no door....but the floor is getting cleaned and leveled. Mastic removal is quite the process. Thresholds were dug out and there was cleaning and sweeping throughout with chunks of concrete and insulation carted to the dumpster. It was noted there was cleaning, chipping, grinding, and sweeping.

The Doorman worked on two more door jambs. I watched as a large machete was sharpened to a fine edge, with sparks a flying.....and where on earth was that machete being used? In the southeast rooms, to cut the "angel food cake" ROXUL insulation. The crew was working at warp speed to stay ahead of the sheetrock crew. Last night the sheetrockers got the east corridor walls and ceilings installed and tonight are working on the southeast rooms. Some of the cover plates for electric plugs were replaced in these rooms because the insulation and sheetrock was designed to be thicker to provide more sound insulation between offices, etc. Some speaker wire was strung.

Beams were added on the east side - I was told what that porch area is actually called, but I wasn't writing fast enough. There is still one beam to go -- it does give things a more finished look from the east parking lot. While the carpenters had the plywood removed from the opening that will be a window in the minister's office, photos were taken to show that there is a lovely view of Spencer's Butte in the distance (see photo right).

The floor grinder is sitting on a wheeled platform for ease of moving, and there are boxes of grinding wheels and other goodies related to grinding in the project office. Food was delivered, the kitchen cleaned, and dishes washed.

More and more Chalice Lighters emailed me to report they have sent their donation! Thanks to all. If you are a Chalice Lighter and the only notice you got was from me, please let me know. I want to be sure we are getting full credit for our members. I only got my "call" email today - some people received theirs two days ago, so they must be sending them out in batches. It is a big job for the district, since there are 2500 Chalice Lighters.

REMINDER: No Chinese Dinner this week.

QUOTES OF THE DAY: "I just barricaded him into the restroom with a wheelbarrow."

"Mark was Vulcan at the Forge with that machete."

JANUARY 11, 2012 WEDNESDAY
DAY #512

Dateline Portland, OR

16 Volunteers
3 Contract Carpenters
1 Contract Electrician
1 Contract Electrician Supervisor
4 Contract Sheetrockers
2 Contract Plumbers
1 Concrete Installer
1 Construction Consultant
1 Visitor
Many UPS Deliveries
1 Sheetrock Delivery Driver

We are happy to report that the Doorman is back on the job! He stripped molding and worked on frames.

The carpenters installed concrete board, moved the sink and door from the existing restroom to the ADA restroom, and it is fully functional. The old restroom toilet is still there, but there is no door and no sink....the paper towel dispenser will be moved to the ADA restroom as soon as the key is found for the towel dispenser. Thankfully the TP holder was not a problem. The carpenters measured the skylights for framing.

The priority was grinding and leveling concrete floors in preparation for tiling. The new floor grinder arrived today amid much fanfare, and it seemed UPS was bringing various grinder accessories every couple of hours! $900 worth of sheetrock was delivered and the installers are working this evening in the east corridor and offices. Our team did some small sheetrocking in the reception area and the sanctuary and did further finishing. Baseboard caulking was done. We also had some glass units delivered for the sanctuary doors being created by the door fabricator.

Food was delivered, the kitchen cleaned and dishes washed. There was miscellaneous cleaning throughout the building.

I am happy to report that the "call" for Chalice Lighter donations arrived today and already members have let me know they sent their donation immediately. If anyone reading this is not yet a Chalice Lighter and would like to support the program, please let me know. All it takes is agreeing to donate a minimum of $15, no more than three times per year. I can get you registered. If all Chalice Lighters in the district send in a donation, our new building fund could get as much as $38,000.

QUOTES OF THE DAY: "The new toilet in the ADA restroom is very nice, very cozy, and definitely a step up from what we are used to."

About the new floor grinder: "It's beautiful! It looks like a regular floor grinder on steroids!"

JANUARY 10, 2012 TUESDAY
DAY #511

15 Volunteers
1 Contract Electrician
3 Contract Carpenters
1 Acoustics Technician
1 Gutter Estimator
4 Harvey & Price Personnel
1 Meeting Facilitator
2 BPOC Members
1 Construction Consultant

We experienced our first serious on-the-job injury, when a finger came in contact with a joiner and an emergency trip was made to Urgent Care. Speedy recovery and healing thoughts are sent to the Doorman.

The #1 priority was working on restrooms in preparation for tile. The volunteer installer worked on tile layout to get the most pleasing and efficient use of materials. Concrete was ground to make floors more level. If you have seen the floor in the old east restrooms, you might have noticed how lumpy and bumpy they were after old tile was taken out with a jackhammer and brute force. All of that has to be level and smooth prior to laying tile. There was lots of prep work in the men's northside restroom and the unisex accessible restroom on the south side. I heard good news this afternoon - a second toilet will be hooked up in the unisex restroom prior to beginning the installation of tile in the room where we have a functioning toilet now. That will eliminate the need for a porta-potty.... There was cleaning of the floor for the west women's restroom. The crew smoothed floors using cleaning solvent and installed concrete board for tile.

You will notice bright red circles spray-painted on the floors. That is the result of an inventory of the conduit and pipes that need to be ground off prior to running the grinder over the floor. The carpenters continued with framing the windows in the music room and minister's office. Food was delivered, the kitchen cleaned and dishes washed. Bills were paid and there were a number of discussions related to bids for glass.

There was a two-hour meeting with the general manager and staff from Harvey & Price to discuss and compare lists of change orders and how to quantify their cost, followed by a walk through to document those changes. Discussion related to number of sprinkler heads, code changes and to identify what work is yet to be completed.

There has been discussion recently on why time and money is being spent on the front "yard" where short walls and swales have been created. The swales are required for occupancy. We have a very large roof expanse and the runoff from that roof must be filtered or treated prior to draining into Amazon Creek. The original proposal by the architect was to have a collection basin buried in the ground - an expensive excavation and costly container to install. But in addition to that, the system has a filter that had to be replaced at a cost of $10,000 every year thereafter. The swale or "rain garden" eliminates the need for the filter system. It does require that the swale be a bowl shaped excavation that temporarily holds runoff, and filters it through mulch and vegetative material. Code requires us to have the swale established in order to get an occupancy permit. I believe all of the work necessary to get that done will be by volunteers. Think Egyptians! Picks, shovels, wheelbarrows, rakes, sweat equity.

There will be NO Friday night Chinese dinner this week. There is an Interweave potluck at 40th & Donald, followed by a movie. Potluck at 6, Movie at 7 - see church website for details.

QUOTES OF THE DAY: "A character on NCIS this evening (a real estate agent) said 'Polished concrete floors are hot.' I guess we are on to something."

"Fire sprinkler heads more than 50 years old cannot be used. When was this building constructed?" (1957 by the Moose) You do the math!

JANUARY 9, 2012 MONDAY
DAY #510

12 Volunteers
3 Contract Carpenters
1 Contract Electrician
1 Sound Engineer
1 Roofing Contractor Consultation
1 Glass Company Estimator
1 Construction Consultant
23 Attend Volunteer Commitment Ceremony

The carpenters removed forms from recently poured concrete and did some sexy tweaking on the east entrance windows. There was sheetrock hanging and finishing in the sanctuary, social hall, and sound booth. A team of volunteers de-nailed, sanded and planed door jambs. They also caulked baseboards, prepped floors in the restrooms for tile work, cleaned the kitchen and washed dishes. Food was delivered.

When I arrived about 3:30 PM, the air was full of concrete dust from some industrious restroom floor preparation. More concrete board was installed. There was further testing of the scissor lift and I heard talk about whether there was a way to put it in tortoise mode.

It was great this afternoon to have 23 meet in the project office to hear Mark Doonan outline the plan for getting to occupancy. When we began this project 18 months ago, there were so many kinds of skilled and unskilled jobs that we could all pick and choose. But now the BUUB is at the stage where the work to be completed will be less by paid professionals and more by volunteers. To continue to move the ball down the field to completion Now, more than ever we need to focus the volunteer energy on specific priority tasks and use volunteer time wisely.

Areas of focus will include:

FLOORS: Prep, mastic removal, pipe removal, base caulking, tile, edge grinding, area grinding;

FLOOR GROOVING: Prep, cutting, lay wire, filling, finishing;

DOORS: Jamb prep, door prep, hinge installations;

SWALES: Prep for planting - required for occupancy;

LOW VOLTAGE WIRING: Speakers, data, induction loop;

FINISH: Prep material, nail removal , joint and plane;

STORAGE: Prep areas.

The priorities will be set, sequencing will be determined, and then on any given day there will only be one or two things to choose from. We will set up work teams so there is always someone skilled for the job to help others. It was stressed that most of each job does not require that everyone be skilled. For instance - when we are installing tile. There will probably be one person doing the tiling - but others are needed to prepare the area. This could involve applying orange goop, simple green, paint thinner, then grind off metal pipes, fill the holes, etc., before setting tile. Also need people to cut tile, get tools, clean tools, find extension cords, bring in more tile, put stuff away, etc.

Think Egyptians - that's how we will get jobs done. The 23 people who attended the meeting were asked to write their names on the calender in the project office, indicating what days of the week they are available and how many hours. That will help schedule jobs and to know when we have to get on the phone and round up more workers. If you could not make the meeting, but are able to help, please come sign up.

There was discussion about evening and weekend shifts. This will be necessary in order to keep the grinding machine operating as many hours as possible.

I have six pages of notes from the meeting, and will be sharing other parts of them this week.

QUOTES OF THE DAY: "With this big turnout, I have cold feet."

"It was so cold in that building I didn't want to sit around with my friends, I wanted to work to warm up."

JANUARY 8, 2012 SUNDAY
DAY #509

17 Volunteers (12 Breakfast ClUUb adults and children
25 Visitors
1 Construction Consultant

Thanks to the Breakfast ClUUb adults and children who worked outside this afternoon, doing the pre-landscaping by digging up rocks, moving dirt and collecting construction debris from the exterior. There was also chipping of concrete overspills on top of the footings for walls and pillars. Much of the general cleaning required shovels and wheelbarrows. A great improvement. The Breakfast ClUUb provided a tasty lunch.

Inside, visitors were taken on a tour and some stayed long enough for some juice or snacks. The kitchen was cleaned and dishes washed. When El Viejo arrived at 1 PM, he found a box with a red bow and a poem attached. (See the quotes of the day below. Despite it being signed by WC (which we assume meant 'water closet'), there was a packing slip inside which identified the donor. We will allow her to remain anonymous. The box contained a beautiful new electrically heated toilet seat. Anyone who has used the one existing restroom at the BUUB can fully appreciate this gift. Thank you!

Construction consultant Mark Doonan was up before dawn (4:37 AM) thinking about what needs to be done and sending emails inviting people to come to a meeting at the BUUB tomorrow (Monday) at 4 PM and here is the deal:

The BUUB is at the stage where the work to be completed will be less by paid professionals and more by volunteers, to continue to move the ball down the field to completion. Now, more than ever, we need to focus the volunteer energy on specific priority tasks and use volunteer time wisely.

We really need to have someone assigned each day on site to coordinate volunteers with consistency, like the break room dancers have done.

I want to put out the word for volunteers and create an ongoing calendar of when people will be at the BUUB, for planning purposes. Even half hour shifts are helpful.

Areas of focus will include:

FLOORS : Prep, Mastic removal, Pipe removal, base caulking, tile, edge grinding, area grinding, cutting

DOORS : Jamb prep, door prep, hinge installations

SWALES : Prep for planting

LOW VOLTAGE WIRING: Speakers, Data, Induction Loop

FINISH: Prep Material, nail removal , joint and plane

STORAGE: Prep. areas

Even if you are not interested in taking a lead position, we want to know how many people there are who can devote additional time between now and occupancy. If you have time to volunteer daytime, evenings, or weekends during the next three and a half months, please come to this meeting.

If you are not available at 4 PM tomorrow, but want to be on the list please let me know at 541-335-1637 or email me at judie310hansen@comcast.net. (Please do not email newhome@uueugene.org) This is our final big push.

QUOTES OF THE DAY:

"Greetings

It's come to my attention,

while reading the BUUB grapevine,

the Loo doth lack warm comfort,

(man have opined).

It is no fun to heed the call of nature,

or sit upon the 'throne'

So here's a toasty gift

that makes one feel at home.

And soon the time will come

when our BUUB is fully heated,

please auction off this gift,

where it also might be needed.

Warmly, WC"

"What kind of pie? I thought you said rebar pie! Nope - rhubarb pie."

"It is warmer working out here in the sunshine than it is in the building. That means the insulation is really good." 

JANUARY 7, 2012 SATURDAY
DAY #508

1 Volunteer
2 Visitors (Judie & Ed)

The lone volunteer who signed in had made a run to Jerry's for supplies and come in for some paperwork. I have no details!

I can report that when the north door by the kitchen was moved twelve inches, the light switch just inside the door is no longer to the right of the door on the north wall. It is to the left on the east wall of the hall next to the door to the kitchen (now covered with a flap of plastic). Never a dull moment trying to find your way in the dark to get into the kitchen and flip a switch.

I also learned that the above-mentioned light switch is some newfangled thing that sends an electronic signal to command central, so in order to get results, you have to hold it down until the lights come on. I thought it was instant gratification......the first time I tried turning on the lights with that switch, NOTHING HAPPENED. I thought someone had turned off the breaker....but it is just how that switch works. Delayed action.

When we stopped by the BUUB to check for volunteers, we did a walk around outside to admire the newly poured caps on the pony walls and light pillars, etc. They are indeed handsome. Tomorrow some pre-landscaping work will be started by Breakfast ClUUb volunteers. They will clean out islands at entrances where various kinds of debris have been tossed. We need to get all that junk out of the islands before bringing in good soil.

REMINDER: Open House at the BUUB tomorrow - 1-4 PM.

ALSO: Remember tomorrow there is a new schedule for Church services:

9:30 -10:30 AM Adult RE Forum in Room 6 - The Six Sources of UU

10:00-10:40 AM - Church Service (Short, informal, kid-friendly

11 AM to Noon - Church Service (Traditional)

There is likely to be a different interaction and competition for parking spaces until we are more used to the new schedule so you might want to allow a little extra time.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: From one of our faithful volunteers:

Our son Andy gave me a t-shirt for Christmas, with the BUUB project in mind:

Measure twice, cut once

Curse

Buy more

Cut again

JANUARY 6, 2011 FRIDAY
DAY #507

16 Volunteers
3 Contract Carpenters
2 Concrete Finishers
1 Contract Tile Installer
1 Roofer
1 Harvey & Price installer
1 Visitor
1 Scissor Lift Delivery
1 900 Pound main electric panel delivery
1 Glass panel delivery for sanctuary door fabricator
1 Construction Consultant
9 For Chinese Dinner

The carpenters framed in the windows for the minister's office and music room, and framed in the north entry door next to the kitchen. They moved the door twelve inches and did such a dandy job I couldn't even see how it was different. The concrete board backup for the tile walls in the west end men's restroom and the accessible restroom was installed.

Several people worked on removing mastic from the floors, and the grinding machine was ordered and paid for. The main electric panel arrival created quite a stir. It weighs 900 pounds and is 8 feet high. Unfortunately, all our door openings are only 7 feet high. Tipping it to bring it in is not an option because if it slipped it could squash someone like a bug. It is wrapped in black plastic on the fork lift outside until the proper equipment and number of people can put it on its side and wheel it in. That's the job of the electrician!

There was a little excitement in the kitchen late this afternoon. While measuring the opening above the sink for a new window, the metal tape measure touched the prongs of a small appliance that was plugged into the wall and boy was there a loud pop and sparks flying. The tape measure has a permanent notch where it burned through. As someone said at dinner, "It's perfectly usable - who measures 7 inches anyway."

Pre-measuring for 35 pieces of glass was done, and the glass company will come to remeasure next week. The back hoe was cleaned up, the used scissor lift was delivered and is being "road tested" for a few days to determine if we will keep it. All the form boards on the pony wall and pillars were taken off and lots of that wood was de-nailed. Once again, the temporary lights were reconfigured in the promenade. (Same thing as the north corridor, but since the corridors encompass such a large area, some sections have a new name.)

Steve the carpenter was up and down off the ladder so many times re-framing the north door they nicknamed him "The Ladder Man." Food was delivered, the kitchen cleaned and dishes washed. Someone found the lid for the glass water bottle that had been MIA for over a month. Grout for the tile was picked up, floors swept, and concrete lumber cleaned and stored. The rust colored vest reported a couple of days ago was reunited with its owner today. Super! Six different volunteers scraped floors. Many rocks were cleaned up from the front yard. The tile contractor was there for a brief period, but will not be a regular. The Harvey & Price technician was installing the trim pieces (sprinkler heads and trim plates) in the rooms with the finished drywall. The concrete crew finished the pedestals.

On Sunday, the Breakfast Cluub will be working outside and we need garden rakes. If you have one to loan, please drop it off at the BUUB - they are scheduled from 1:30 to 4 PM. The Open House is 1-4 PM on Sunday.

QUOTES OF THE DAY: "I have been meaning to say that I'm so glad the pennants are off the roof of the BUUB. It gave it an air of a car sales lot."

"A 900 pound electric panel was delivered and it won't fit through the door. It is a three ringed circus here."

One of the delivery people who brings things regularly said: "I'm so jealous every time I come here - all that food smells so good."

"There is some dust at the BUUB. Blowing my nose at the end of the day is one of the funnest things --it is black....."

JANUARY 5, 2011 THURSDAY
DAY #506

11 Volunteers
5 Contract Concrete Finishers
1 Concrete Pumper Truck Driver
3 Contract Carpenters
1 Contract Door Fabricator
3 Fire Suppression Company Representatives
4 UUCE Representatives
1 Meeting Facilitator
1 Construction Consultant

I forgot to mention yesterday in the report about scissor lift research and shopping that a board member was involved in this project and at one point he launched himself 32 feet into the air on one of the prospective lifts. It made my hair stand on end! I don't much like being up on a five foot ladder and El Viejo has yet to coax me into taking a ride on one of those contraptions, so watching that gizmo fully extended was no joy. We all had to wear safety glasses, but I don't think they would be much help, even if they had been rose colored!

Today the concrete finishers poured the caps on the pony wall and small pillars. One brought along his black dog to supervise. You might have noticed when driving by that plastic has covered these areas until recently. Once the cement firms up, the wood frames will be removed and they will all be neat and tidy.

The meeting with the fire sprinkler company was productive despite the room being almost capable of making ice cubes. Next time we will move the heaters a little closer to the table. We will be working with their staff to compare building plans, change orders, and the remaining equipment to be installed. During the meeting the planer, a saw whirring in the sanctuary and a helicopter overhead made hearing a challenge at times, but that's construction reality. No fire engine sirens this time.

The Washington State grinding machine company called to say the grinder we ordered will not be off the assembly line for two more weeks - but alas, since we are their favorite new customer (grin), they are sending us another machine to use until our new machine is available - no shipping, no extra cost. Life is good!

The Doorman planned two frames and sanded and finished two others. A volunteer caulked and repaired baseboards, one dropped off a pile of snacks, two stripped the floor in the restroom (future) with paint thinner, while others dyed bricks, delivered food, cleaned the kitchen and washed dishes. There was a whole bunch of bills paid. The door fabricator was there to discuss hardware needs prior to milling the lumber.

The carpenters worked on resizing the social hall doors, making security panels for the sound booth, framing a future conference room/office in the northeast addition, and added form boards to support the concrete work. It's a whole new parking lot environment now that the Looking Glass School is up and running. Just a cautionary note to be more careful about watching for them as we share the driveway off Chambers and to not run into their vehicles as we back out of spaces on the north side of our building.

REMINDER: There is Chinese Dinner tomorrow at 5:30 PM at the Fortune Inn, 1775 West 6th Avenue.

ALSO - Open House at the BUUB on Sunday - 1-4 PM - All Invited!

QUOTES OF THE DAY: "Did that stuff work to take the mastic off the floor?" "Better than we thought it would."

"We want to do what is fair and equitable." 

JANUARY 4, 2012 WEDNESDAY
DAY #505

16 Volunteers
3 Contract Carpenters
1 Contract Electrician
1 Acoustical Engineer
1 HVAC technician
1 Restaurant Supply Technician
1 Prospecting Catering Specialist
1 Construction Consultant

The carpenters were working on the skylights and flying clouds, and were tweaking the doors to the social hall. There was prep work on the caps for the outside walls, with the prospect of a concrete pour tomorrow. There was rebar added to the south pony wall, but in order to access the wall the temporary wall of the southwest corner "club house" had to be removed and then replaced.

The cleaning and sorting continue. Be sure to check out the old storage area next to the lasagna garden - all of that soggy, dilapidated junk was sorted and moved out permanently -- much of it to the dumpster. All the wood pallets will be collected by Willamette Graystone and we will be paid for their return....just like deposits on cans and bottles at the grocery. But in this case we don't have to take them to a redemption center!

It was a beautiful, warm sunny 57 degrees, so it was a perfect day to dig up the roots of a pesky shrub on the west side of the kitchen door. That project had been on the "to do" list for several months. It was a good day to move blocks to a new location as well, but I wasn't able to find out where they ended up.

Indoors, the orange citrus goop was applied to restroom floors to remove carpet mastic in preparation for installing tile on floor and walls. All of the floor tiles have been cut and today the grout was ordered. It smelled like there must be an Orange Julius in there someplace, but I never found one. Baseboard caulking continued. The Doorman sanded and painted two more door frames.

FOUND: A men's size LARGE - rust colored puffy vest - Brand name "Curfew". It was left on a chair in the doorway of Room 2 (north corridor). I expect someone worked so hard they actually got too hot.

I got an education in the refinements of Genie Model 1930 scissor lifts today, traveling from one end of Eugene to the other in search for the best deal. How many hours does it have on it? What year was it made? How fast does it go up and down? Do the gliders that extend it forward run smooth? Has it had regular maintenance? Is there an extra charge for delivery? At one place El Viejo and the sales manager recognized each other from when they did business 20+ years ago. The "chosen one" will arrive at the BUUB on Friday so we can take it on a test drive in our own environment and decide if we want to keep it.

Food was delivered and consumed, the kitchen cleaned and dishes washed.

NEEDED: Grocery size paper bags for use in the kitchen for recycling. Please leave on the stove if you have some.

The restaurant supply technician came to discuss options for range hoods and dishwasher venting. There are some code considerations, and even though we are not remodeling the kitchen, we must have a new stove hood for occupancy. The woman interested in helping with catering met with our rental agent to talk about the future plans for the kitchen, etc.

QUOTES OF THE DAY: "It was springtime in January working outside."

"I'm not the Dude -- I am the sub-Dude." (Lunchtime kitchen table humor!)

FRIDAY CHINESE DINNER: Yes, there will be Chinese Dinner at the Fortune Inn, 1775 West 6th, on Friday evening at 5:30 PM.

JANUARY 3, 2012 TUESDAY
DAY #504

14 Volunteers
2 Contract Carpenters
1 Contract Electrician
1 Contract Door Fabricator
1 Construction Consultant
7 Attend BPOC Meeting
6 Attend Strategy Session

It was a happy kitchen that smelled of hot chicken soup and was great to see Momma's Table surrounded by workers catching up with holiday stories. It was good to see and hear a return to activity.

Some activities were a continuation of holiday workings -- mudding sheetrock in the social hall, caulking baseboards and working on door jambs. There are nine door jambs complete! One volunteer moved the Graystone blocks.

The carpenters worked at tidying up the roof, the facia boards over the roof of the north entry, and going on bird peck patrol! Those crows seem to be working overtime. There was miscellaneous framing for access hatches and doors into the social hall. The electrician worked mostly outside on the "doghouse". This will be his last job and then he plans to retire! I guess we have finished him off.

One of our members needed a plumber in a hurry yesterday and got a recommendation from Ed Zack, who suggested Don Lewis Plumbing. They have done the plumbing work at the BUUB and are quick to say that working on our job saved their business because with almost no new construction, they don't have the usual work load. I used them about six months ago and agree they were crackerjack workers, efficient and economical. The person who used them yesterday commented:

They came out today and in less than 30 minutes, they had the problem solved and everything back together. They were SUPER nice, let Ben pester them with all kinds of questions, and didn't mind our obnoxious dog. Elizabeth Weber

Perhaps if any of us are looking for a carpenter, painter, electrician, plumber, etc., we could send some work the way of our long term subcontractors.

The strategy session this morning related to gathering documentation for a meeting with the fire suppression contractor to discuss some disputed fees for installing the sprinkler system.

Hot food arrived, the kitchen was cleaned and dishes washed!

BPOC got an update on the general status of the project. The floor grinder will be in Seattle by January 9 and when it arrives we will begin at the edges of rooms with a hand grinder to have more control next to the walls. We expect to pour the concrete wall caps and columns on the east entrance on Thursday. The skylight production is moving along. There was a discussion about the code requirements for door closures on assembly rooms and the production of the main inside wood doors. The exterior bricks will be stained to help bring the building "down to the ground" and give it added character that looks less like the 1960's. A specialist will arrive in the next couple of days to prep floors for restrooms to be sure the slopes are correct and then volunteers can get going laying tile. The Aesthetics & Logistics Task Force will be meeting next week and plans to rev up communication to the congregation about need for packing and the sequencing of the move. We are on schedule and are keeping a close eye on the remaining budget. The hunt for free furnishings (conference tables, bookcases, chairs, etc., is going well thanks to the efforts of Jane Souzon.

QUOTES OF THE DAY: After sneezing five times in a row, one person at the BPOC meeting declared: "I'm allergic to BUUB dust."

A carpenter sported a small cut on his cheek, and when asked what happened: "I had a dueling match with some roofing."

JANUARY 2, 2012 MONDAY
DAY #503

6 Volunteers
1 Contract Carpenter
1 Professional Woodworker and Maker of Doors
1 Construction Consultant
2 Visitors

The list above is deceiving. The carpenter stopped by with his W-9 form and an invoice for payment, the woodworker just wanted to see how the project was going, two volunteers were creating a special feature yet to be determined, and I was there to pay the carpenter and do a little paperwork. The visitors, who didn't sign in, delivered egg salad and inventoried food and drink.

The other volunteers worked on baseboard caulking and then moved stuff around, organized tools and materials, and then, guess what? Cleaning! Cleaning! Cleaning! The kitchen got a thorough end of the holiday season cleanup.

Mark Doonan and Ed Zack continued their documentations and reports in preparation for a meeting tomorrow.

There was work on preparing wiring diagrams for the sound system, and figuring out the length of wire needed depending on where the system begins. If it begins in the east end and runs all the way to the other it would require one measurement; if it begins in the middle and then runs out from there in different directions it will be another. See the quotes of the day

PLEASE NOTE: I completely forgot to put in the January newsletter that there will be an OPEN HOUSE at the BUUB on Sunday, January 8 from 1-4 PM. The Breakfast Club will be holding their monthly volunteer service day during the same time. This is a great time to come by and see what has happened during the past month.

QUOTES OF THE DAY: "While working on the wiring layout, and entering them in the computer, I was listing various rooms, and in re-reading the list, it read: 'panty room'.....Ooops, should read 'pantry room.'"

A couple of our UUCE senior volunteers shut down a bar last night. After coming out of a movie at 10:30 PM, they discovered the Hilton was the only place open with food......The bar shut down at 11 PM.....so it wasn't a wild night on the town after all.

Tomorrow - the BUUB is back to being "officially"open! So come on down! 

JANUARY 1, 2012 SUNDAY, NEW YEAR'S DAY
DAY #502

No Volunteers Signed In

Husband Ed and I stopped by about 4 PM to check on things. One thing noted - when the last person left yesterday, they must have flipped #9 circuit breaker in the kitchen because the new light switch by the north entrance did not turn on the lights. We fumbled around in the dark to turn on lights in the kitchen.

The contract and other hourly workers are not scheduled to return until Tuesday, but I know there will be several people working in case folks want to volunteer some time tomorrow.

It is a light news day, but as luck would have it, I had a vivid dream last night to share.

Networking at Night

Who says our brains don't work 24 hours a day. Last night I had a dream that I was at a large dinner at the BUUB and was talking to people at one of our big round tables about all the cool things we could do with our beautiful new building. People started handing me business cards and telling me how they would love to be involved in event planning. Before I knew it I had a caterer, a couple of musicians, and a cake baker. So I ran up to the front of the room to the microphone, and on the way there I grabbed Judy Sawyer and said "get me a big bowl from the kitchen so I can collect more cards." At the microphone I announced what happened and asked everyone at the dinner to let me know if they had a special skill. I was amazed at the pile of business cards I collected in the bowl in no time.

We have learned the expertise of many in our congregation by watching them work on building our new church home. We also know who owns a pickup truck, all kinds of power tools, and special equipment.

I have long thought it would be good to have a skills bank at church. How often we see a post on SHARE (listserv) asking if anyone knows of a gardener, painter, handyman or handywoman. But it would be good to know of caregivers, attorneys, realtors, computer geeks, accountants, seamstresses, physicians, etc., too.

The dream included old friends from Portland and Indiana -- some UUs, some not. That's how brains network at night. Dreams don't have to make complete sense, but they can be creative. We could sure use a skills bank at UUCE....but would probably work best if they lived in Lane County rather than Portland or Indiana!

Not in the dream, but at church this morning, a new member told me of a special skill he has and wondered if we could use him. His timing was perfect. We just happened to need someone with that expertise at this point in the project. I will add him to the list from the dream!

Glossary Of BUUB Terms