| JULY 2011 400 Days New Home News |
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We're renovating our new building at 13th and Chambers ~ Our Blog-Author Volunteer Coordinator ~ Sign up ~ ~ December 2011 April 2011 December 2010 JULY NEW HOME NEWS
THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2011 10 Volunteers Forgive me if this email is a little on the spacey side - the congregation has outdone itself in delivering a high quality and quantity of items for our 7th Clutterbusting Garage Sale tomorrow and Saturday - 7 AM to 4 PM both days. Husband Ed and I have seen a steady stream of cars pulling into the driveway with a trunk load of goodies. As a result, I was a little distracted when I collected today's report. There was only one volunteer insulation team on hand, but half of the team worked for 8 hours. Judy Sawyer has sent out a general alert to SHARE to recruit more volunteers. Tomorrow and this weekend we hope to have several insulation crews working to get ahead of the curve prior to a sheetrock "professional" arriving on Monday. In addition to needing people to cut and install insulation, the professional will need a team of people to help move materials around for him beginning Monday. Tomorrow 135 sheets of ceiling sheetrock is being delivered and all needs to be hauled into the building. Remember the Egyptians?
The carpenters returned to the roof, putting in trim and siding to finish off the job. They worked on notches, the dog house, and the roof of the storage area and northeast entrance. A volunteer spent the day working on the last of the attic flooring. I hope his new tool belt made the job easier. August sign in sheets were delivered and the photo mapping was worked on. There was gobs of phone and paperwork and a plethora of glasses to wash - always a sign of hot weather. SPECIALIZED HELP NEEDED:Pickup truck and driver to haul torn out shrubs for recycling -- also, someone to haul all of the plastic bags from many bundles of insulation to the recycling center. Let Judy Sawyer know if you can help with this task. You get to drive on the west lawn! QUOTES OF THE DAY: I thought I was all fixed with great quotes, but I got scooped by that other Judy who is busy recruiting volunteers -- glad she did - the more the merrier. But for those of you not on SHARE, here are the great quotes: "Hi guys, This is a personal testimonial to the fun of installing insulation at the BUUB, a task I shared with Judy Sawyer two weeks ago before I went out of town. I understand there is LOTS awaiting us and I'll be there. Here is why. 1. It is neither dirty or itchy. (The stuff is some green product, and feels sort of like handling bats of angel food cake. I have some allergic responses to dust, but not to with this stuff.) 2. It is easy to slice, again like slicing either angel food cake or pudding cake. (For someone like me who had to give up nail pulling because of the mild arthritis in my hands, I love it.) 3. You get instant results-when done you can stand back and admire it with pride. I forget which room Judy and I did the ceiling in, but I will always know that room was MY ceiling. 4. You won't even have to use the lift. I understand that much of what needs to be done is at people level, feet on the floor. Come have fun with me over the next few days, look back at what we have accomplished and feel good about it!" Betty Hosokowa "Yes, the insulation is soft, non fibrous, and easy to work with... and the lift is actually pretty fun once you give yourself the chance to learn what to expect. It only does what you tell it to. And...the fellowship and the fun at the BUBB are not to be missed. Besides that the food is great. Most of all, the opportunity won't come again. Think of all those years ahead we can engage at the new church remembering helping with its creation." Anna Sontag Remember - Chinese food at The Fortune Inn, 1775 West 6th at 5:30 PM tomorrow. You Betcha And just in case you need to track down Judy Sawyer - 541-302-0944. Chances are you will get a voicemail because she is usually at the BUUB.....Here is what she sent to SHARE: "FYI everyone: The BIG PUSH is now on to have as many volunteer bodies as possible at the BUUB, both during the week and on the weekends. Big plus in being there: You can get a tour of the building. It's a totally different experience from what you may have seen before." ALSO, GET THOSE TEENAGERS WITH NOTHING BETTER TO DO BUT PLAY! WE NEED THEIR ENERGY. Thanks for listening, and come as you can--even for an hour or two. Maybe we'll even have some watermelon We have lots of ice cream!"
Photo Interlude... a short history of the gorgeous sliding doors....
Photo below: Left to Right - Margaret Kaeser, Ed Hansen, Chuck Wagar, Joyce Salisbury
Photo below: New doors between social hall and chapel - looking west from social hall. L to R - Margaret Kaeser,Ed Hansen, Chuck Wagar, Bob Kaeser - July 25, 2011
WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2011 10 Volunteers The main focus was insulation, insulation, insulation -- and I can't stress enough - we need more volunteers. We will be working on insulation fast and furious in order to be ready to begin installing drywall on Monday under the guidance of a contractor who specializes in plaster finish work. Yesterday a volunteer did a meticulous inventory of the remaining areas to insulate and we will have to purchase and install an additional 350 bundles! That is no walk in the park and will obviously need more help to get it done. It is not hard work or rocket science -- it is labor intensive. Today, the crew working on insulation installed 7 bundles. The carpenters built frames to begin putting the siding back on the building - Northeast addition and some of the brick work. The remaining north sidewalk was torn out today. Forms are being built and rebar installed for the concrete pour. There will be a lane marker at the west entrance with a sign post with bricks to be incorporated in the new sidewalk. The acoustic engineer is moving forward on the loop system and a volunteer continued with the photo/mapping of outlets prior to drywall. Another volunteer worked on creating a floor on the north side attic in a 4x4 foot area under the air intake. El Viejo had another day of meetings - one with the drywall professional to discuss how to sequence the work while using a volunteer crew. The ceilings will have to be done first, and then begins the ballet of getting the job done. There were meetings related to acoustics and funding. In addition to the above, dishes were washed and toilets cleaned. There will be Chinese dinner at The Fortune Inn, 1775 West 6th at 5:30 PM on Friday. PLEASE NOTE: Saturday and Sunday will be work days. Project manager Ed Zack will be there all day Saturday from 8 AM to 5 PM. Pat Hendricks will be the work supervisor on Sunday from 11 AM to 5 PM. We are hoping for a good sized crew. QUOTE OF THE DAY: The volunteer photo/mapper wondered why, after 2 ½ hours of photographing walls, her legs and back were tired, until she told me later, “when I downloaded all those photos, there were 227! And I’m not even done yet!” What she didn't mention is that she also was using a hand sickle at 40th & Donald cutting weeds for an hour! No wonder she is tired.
TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2011 13 Volunteers Meeting of the Rental Task Force I keep forgetting to report there is a large pile of firewood available on the north side of the building. Help yourself. Nice short lengths. By the way, the design consultant has nothing to do with choosing paint colors, or furnishings. The volunteers installed insulation, cleaned up the premises, did dishes, worked on doors (sanding, painting, and applying putty), moved wood, worked on de-nailing boards and worked on mapping the rooms prior to photographing electrical outlets, etc. The carpenters built another "mezzanine" platform (in the door room), and framed the doorway between the mechanical room and the storage room. Through a combination of meetings (BPOC and Rental Task Force) an informal plan was put together about when to begin accepting outside reservations to rent the BUUB and when to cut off renting the church at 40th. The general feeling is to still be at 40th for Thanksgiving and then transition all activities to 13th & Chambers in order to have the Christmas concert there on December 17. No reservations from outside groups will be booked for the BUUB until at least April - thus giving us an opportunity to get moved, settled in, and work out the bugs so to speak. Of course not all the folks who have planned events were in attendance - for instance Sue Craig - to remind us when she is planning to have the Holiday Bazaar. In early December, it would work out great at 40th because all the padded chairs would be at the BUUB. But since we have so many tables at the BUUB, we can leave tables behind to be used for the Bazaar. I hesitate to even try to report these dates. The Aesthetics and Logistics Task Force has a plan for getting us from one building to the other in order to have a smooth transition and be ready with furniture, etc. QUOTES OF THE DAY: "When she came into the BUUB, she had stardust in her eyes and was completely blown away with how beautiful it was." "Time is running out to drop off items for the Clutterbusting garage sale - please do so by 6 PM Thursday." MONDAY, JULY 25, 2011 6 Volunteers Special thanks to the person who swept the north parking lot. I thank you and my tires thank you!
EXPECTED NEXT WEEK...Is the beginning of the BIG PUSH to get all the insulation installed, and right behind it installation of sheet rock. The HVAC crew will be finishing up, the electrician will be done and now it is time for our volunteer crew to roll up their sleeves, grab their tool belts and show up early and often......Keep watching this blog for more details as we fine tune the start date. You will note we had only 6 volunteers - one was El Viejo, two were there to clean the kitchen, wash the dishes, and stash food at the end of the day. Yes, it's summer and many people are on vacation, so it is not too surprising we are short on volunteers. I hope the rest of the week brings in more help and next week we can crank it up a notch. QUOTE OF THE DAY: "We are going to be ready to go at the insulation big time next week.....I need you to get the word out. We need a big crew." SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2011 2 Volunteers There may have been more volunteers and visitors, but I had family here all afternoon and evening and they just left at 10 PM, so I wasn't able to check with "Ched" to see if more arrived after 1:30 PM. We had our signals a little crossed, and the person I thought was going to open the BUUB was actually out of town, so Ched was pinch hitting. El Viejo signed in at 8 AM, but I haven't spoken with him either. I did get a little more detail on what transpired yesterday. The quartermastering involved picking up loose lumber, emptying trash, moving doors, etc. The list left by El Viejo for volunteers to work on while he was gone had 45 items. Six got crossed off completely and headway was made on the others. Things crossed off related to removing sheetrock and insulation in the east corridor, the minister's office, and the ladies restroom, and the blocking done on three rooms. Moving gravel from the parking lot to the pits in the ladies restroom is about 3/4ths done. I hauled the landscape plans to church for viewing this morning and those checking them out were mighty pleased - especially popular was the water feature that looks like it could double as a labyrinth, and the places to sit on the south side. One question: where will the bike racks be? Along the north side under the covered walkway. Everyone is curious where the "main" entrance will be -- our prediction is the east side, but I expect that will get worked out and could be any of the entrances. Some were surprised there is parking allowed on both sides of 13th Avenue. Yesterday, the "low tire" light lit up on my dashboard again. I thought, oh no, not another nail from the BUUB! Took it to Les Schwab and learned that it was only a low tire - no nails. I did find another nail in the parking lot today. I'm hoping a bored volunteer will decide to sweep the area where the huge pile of concrete was stacked last week in case there are more nails hiding in the rubble. QUOTE OF THE DAY: Was from El Viejo: "WOW!" SATURDAY, JULY 23, 2011 5 Volunteers (collectively 11 hours of work) The report was short and sweet. There was sanding, quartermastering, and wire stripping. Two volunteers only stopped by to do a security check and drop off and pick up materials. I would love to know what the five hours of quartermastering was, but I expect it was making a list and checking it twice in anticipation of the return of El Viejo. Tomorrow the BUUB will be open beginning at 11 AM. The landscape plans will be on display after church tomorrow at 40th & Donald. Those pesky flags on the roof were sure making a racket in the wind late this afternoon. QUOTE OF THE DAY: Yesterday, Bob Coleman posted a note on SHARE likening the job of moving gravel from the parking lot into the east restroom to the work of the Egyptians. Today, a post on SHARE included the following: "I don't know about the Egyptians, either, though I was always told they were slaves. I do remember from an anthropology class years ago, that many of the members of the central American tribes gave up a year of their lives to work in the holy sites, building those pyramids and expanding and repairing them. Kind of like our Ed Zack. Hmmmm."
FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011 11 Volunteers The carpenters did further tweaking on the social hall flying clouds, including chase ways for low voltage wires, supports for ducting, and baffles. There was work on the framing for the sound booth. I noticed there is now "Judy's Jalopy" on one of the scissor lifts -- no doubt in honor of her taking on the responsibility for Saturday work. "Ched" had his clipboard with a long list of jobs for volunteers while El Viejo has been gone, and I noticed that many had been crossed off. Today's crew demolished the south wall in the music office and exposed more rot in the walls. This was not totally unexpected, since every south wall taken apart so far has been rotten. I guess we should be thankful the south side was the only place with windows or all four sides would be rotten. There was blocking of walls in the office and safe, sanding of beams, rocks hauled to fill the floor pits in the restroom, de-nailing, and applying putty and paint to doors. There are ten doors completed, but that doesn't mean we are one third done because the door jambs have to also be refinished. Dishes were washed and sweeping done. The BUUB will be open from 12:30 to 5 PM tomorrow....come on down! QUOTES OFsheetrocking in the attic, janitorial and hauling, sanding and painting doors, cleaning up the paint room and folding plastic sheets from the roof, washing dishes, installing insulation, and general cleanup.
Old sheetrock was removed from the south wall of the library, and you guessed it, the siding was rotten so had to be cut out with a circular saw and replaced. In other areas along the south side, shims were installed to hold the plastic coverings that wanted to slip from their moorings. The drawings for the landscaping plan are beautiful, with more than enough details to show what the finished product will be. Very little of the plan will be done prior to getting our occupancy permit, but there is a lot of hand work (with shovels and rakes) that can be done this summer. I will bring the drawings to church this Sunday. Unfortunately I was not able to attend the meeting with the landscape architect, but will try to find answers to your questions. Judy Sawyer and Bill Rodgers did attend, so I hope they will be available on Sunday. Chuck Wagar has been deputized and will have the BUUB open tomorrow from 12:30 to 5 PM for those itching to work. On Sunday, Pat Hendricks will open the BUUB after church. El Viejo is attending the Eliot Institute at Seabeck for the next week and will not be at the BUUB. He is responsible for the care, fun and games of 43 youth and will be hard at work. Architect Mark Doonan will be my cub reporter to gather information for this blog. Last evening, at 6:45, there were two additional volunteers who came to mow - they had to make room for the mower, then had a long search for the charger, did some mowing, and then had to close up with the aid of a flashlight! They also hauled away the recycling! Nobody can say our volunteers are not dedicated. QUOTES OF THE DAY: "I'm blowing this two bit hamburger stand." "Normally we don't end up under the table"...but tonight one person spilled all the coins out of her purse and it required crawling on hands and knees to retrieve all of them." Martha Osgood was taking photos from outside the BUUB - "The roofers thought she was from OSHA!" "How have we survived without a Human Resources person?" Fortune Cookies for the week: El Viejo: "Participation in sports may lead to a lucrative career." The Architect: "You will soon be involved in many gatherings and parties." A volunteer with a truck: "You would do well to work on a team in the coming weeks." New roofing and skylights...
Skylights and new roofing.
???????? challenging even the most hearty. Some new technique may be called for. The de-nailers were happy to have boards to work on. All the framing from the old south entry kept them busy most of the day, although I think the de-nailers were working ahead of the demo crew. Husband Ed did take photos of the entrance, but the camera is still in the car in the garage and I am too lazy to go retrieve it. One of our elder volunteers who will celebrate a birthday tomorrow with the title of "Sir" hauled wheelbarrows of gravel from the pile in the parking lot into the building to fill the open pits in the east restroom. The carpenters installed three inch piping under the sound room to support sound setups so that wires and cables can run wild. In order to have the sound alcove wide enough for soundproofing boards, they moved the framing for storage, runs and chasers for wires. They also did further work on the social hall flying clouds. The HVAC ducting was anchored and then the framing was expanded to cover the ducting. The architect suspects a touch of food poisoning from food NOT CONSUMED AT THE BUUB and was feeling puny, but stayed on the job all day anyway. What a guy! Heads up - the BUUB will be open from 12:30 PM to 5 PM on Saturday for those wanting to come help with insulation, assorted chores, and debris cleanup. Other chores were kitchen cleanup, washing dishes, and installing insulation. QUOTE OF THE DAY: About those beams - "That stuff is not coming off the beam -- it isn't right on the surface and will require going deeper than anticipated to match the color of the adjacent surface." And for those of you wanting a definition of a bio-swale - It is also called a "Rain Garden" - this type of landscaping will be a major part of our plan. To see an example, you can visit the Springfield transit station on US 126. I will have the landscape plans at church again on Sunday. Thanks to Dave Franzen for finding this information for us. It's from Wikipedia in case you want to find further details. A rain garden is a planted depression that allows rainwater runoff from impervious urban areas like roofs, driveways, walkways, parking lots, and compacted lawn areas the opportunity to be absorbed. This reduces rain runoff by allowing stormwater to soak into the ground (as opposed to flowing into storm drains and surface waters which causes erosion,water pollution, flooding, and diminished groundwater). [1] They can be designed for specific soils and climates. [2] The purpose of a rain garden is to improve water quality in nearby bodies of water. Rain gardens can cut down on the amount of pollution reaching creeks and streams by up to 30%. Native plants are recommended for rain gardens because they generally do not require fertilizer and are more tolerant of one’s local climate, soil, and water conditions, and attract local wildlife such as native birds. The plants — a selection of wetland edge vegetation, such as wildflowers, sedges, rushes, ferns, shrubs and small trees — take up excess water flowing into the rain garden. Water filters through soil layers before entering the groundwater system. Root systems enhance infiltration, maintain or even augment soil permeability, provide moisture redistribution, and sustain diverse microbial populations involved in biofiltration. [3]Also, through the process of transpiration, rain garden plants return water vapor to the atmosphere. [4] A more wide-ranging definition covers all the possible elements that can be used to capture, channel, divert, and make the most of the natural rain and snow that falls on a property. The whole garden can become a rain garden, and all of the individual elements that we deal with in detail are either components of it, or are small-scale rain gardens in themselves. Remember - there is Chinese dinner at Fortune Inn, 1775 West 6th Avenue at 5:30 PM tomorrow - Friday. El Viejo returns Saturday afternoon from Seabeck.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011 13 Volunteers
(Photo right: "At least we have an address!") "Spiderman" has a new name of endearment - "Ched" - with El Viejo out of town, Chuck is the deputy who does the scheduling of chores and helps volunteers decide what they would like to work on. He had them insulating, sanding beams and doors, demolishing a wall in the music room, working on the accessible restroom, removing staples from plastic, washing dishes, and cleaning up debris. Interestingly enough, once the plastic has all the staples removed, it will be shipped off to local community gardens to make winter hot houses. Isn't that cool? One volunteer continued with the mapping project in preparation for recording outlet and fixture locations. The interior design specialist will work to coordinate the covering for the flying clouds with things like door surfaces and our upholstered chairs to make sure the colors and textures are compatible, etc. She will be working with the Aesthetics and Logistics Task Force and architects. The Aesthetics and Logistics Task Force met in the Breezeway Room to further refine arrangements related to moving later this year. No firm timetable yet. QUOTES OF THE DAY: Several people wrote to tell me about their experience having a cell phone dial their number without the knowledge of the cell phone owner. The best was about a husband hiking in Europe: "He was hiking around so all I could hear was the whoosh whoosh whoosh of the movement of his legs while the phone was in his pocket." Another reader also had an unintended call from El Viejo's cell phone yesterday. TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2011 One of the subcontractors was at the BUUB this afternoon and I asked him how his day went - he said: "I had to tear out a ceiling today because it was full of rotten wood!" I was horrified -- more rot....I asked what room it was in? He responded: "Oh, not this building. It was on another job I am working on......" Thank goodness. That was a relief. Please note that I had "Day 57" three days in a row. Today is actually Day 55. MONDAY, JULY 18, 2011 11 Volunteers The main focus was working on insulation. Several people helped relocate drywall (so it would stay dry). The deputized leader scheduled volunteers and had them doing a little demolition work, sweeping, cutting firewood and insulation. Dishes were washed and rooms were labeled and photographed - more work on the project of marking electrical outlets, etc. The roofers continued working on the east side and tightened up the plastic covers. Inside, the puddles were pretty much dried up, and if the rain can stay away the roof should be all done in a day or so. A load of gravel arrived and tomorrow that pile of concrete in the parking lot should be gone. The carpenters continued working on the covered walkway. QUOTE OF THE DAY:
SUNDAY, JULY 17, 2011 8 Volunteers
Two volunteers were on hand at 11:30 AM to work at installing insulation in Room 5, and by 5 PM they had gotten the task done. Another volunteer came with camera and clipboard to record the location of all of the electrical outlets so that once everything is covered with sheetrock, etc., we will have a schematic showing their location. Taking care of jobs like this is what keeps our project moving along. But back to the drip, drip, drip. After church, five concerned people stopped by to see if there was water to mop up in unwanted places. Indeed there was. So out came pails, tubs, and pans to be scattered around to collect water. Also brooms and mops appeared and water was moved from where it stood in puddles, and then things like sheetrock were either covered with plastic or moved to a dry location. The drip, drip, drips became plink, plank, plunk and it was like a small orchestra of metronomes ticking away. Very musical. We hope that keeps things dry enough until tomorrow when the roofers return and can help make things more tight. It was too slippery up on the roof for anyone to attempt it today. I took five large posterboard sized drawings with the landscape plan to church and received lots of comments for today's quotes. I will have them at church again next week for those who missed seeing them. Here are today's comments.
"It's amazing....Very inspiring. It's going to be gorgeous." "Hey, all you naysayers, step up and have a look!" "It's a revelation...not like in the Bible...but a beautiful creative force. The architect had a vision for how the property could be transformed." "Is this all going to be done by the time we move in?" Nope....but we needed the plan to know where to put the sign and get underground wiring placed, where the fence for the playground needs to go, and create the swale for roof rainwater runoff, etc. "The plan is very usable and inviting, with color and no straight lines. The architect has a design that is important looking and strong, but even as a lay person I am able to understand it." I'm grateful that he pulled it all together." "Do I get a reserved parking spot? I don't see one....." *grin* "I like the way he tied in other elements of the hard surfaces with the material being used on the entry pillars and southwest siding."
SATURDAY JULY 16, 2011 4 Volunteers Despite saying he was "blowing this hamburger stand", El Viejo was at the BUUB from 6:30 to 8 AM - making lists, organizing materials, and setting a work schedule. His list had 32 items! He called this evening from Seabeck, happy as a clam. No roofers showed up because of the rain -- the rain came through three of the small skylights that weren't sealed up, and a little time was spent sweeping water into the gravel pit in the south side entry. There was janitorial work and general cleanup today. A very fat mouse, stuffed to the gills with Sea Salt Kettle chips no doubt, was dispatched. Based on the fact that in excess of 25 people are fed most days, it's surprising we haven't had more mouse problems. We think it might be the result of moving the dumpster closer to the kitchen door and the sidewalk being torn up. Another late night post from yesterday - I just can't keep up with volunteers who work at night. The sneaks were there mowing grass again --- I hope that mower has headlights! Remember - Pat Hendricks will have the BUUB open tomorrow after church. QUOTE OF THE DAY: This was used as the opening words at the BPOC meeting on Tuesday. They were written by Ursula K. Le Guin:
We have become so impulsive, so undeliberative in our actions, that I urge you to contemplate the very slow making of things. Through applying more conscious attention, can we invest greater mind in the making of the things that fill our lives and awaken our sense of beauty? And what would the effects of such actions be? It seems that much of our hurry is driven by the metaphor, “time is money.” But time is not money. It is the opportunity to invest care, carefulness, attention, listening. What if our new metaphor for time was craftsmanship? Make, fix, and create." ...Yes indeed, we are doing all that and more....
FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2011
A jackhammer operator worked at breaking up tile in the old east restroom. There was sheetrocking in the attic, janitorial and hauling, sanding and painting doors, cleaning up the paint room and folding plastic sheets from the roof, washing dishes, installing insulation, and general cleanup.
Old sheetrock was removed from the south wall of the library, and you guessed it, the siding was rotten so had to be cut out with a circular saw and replaced. In other areas along the south side, shims were installed to hold the plastic coverings that wanted to slip from their moorings. The drawings for the landscaping plan are beautiful, with more than enough details to show what the finished product will be. Very little of the plan will be done prior to getting our occupancy permit, but there is a lot of hand work (with shovels and rakes) that can be done this summer. I will bring the drawings to church this Sunday. Unfortunately I was not able to attend the meeting with the landscape architect, but will try to find answers to your questions. Judy Sawyer and Bill Rodgers did attend, so I hope they will be available on Sunday. Chuck Wagar has been deputized and will have the BUUB open tomorrow from 12:30 to 5 PM for those itching to work. On Sunday, Pat Hendricks will open the BUUB after church. El Viejo is attending the Eliot Institute at Seabeck for the next week and will not be at the BUUB. He is responsible for the care, fun and games of 43 youth and will be hard at work. Architect Mark Doonan will be my cub reporter to gather information for this blog. Last evening, at 6:45, there were two additional volunteers who came to mow - they had to make room for the mower, then had a long search for the charger, did some mowing, and then had to close up with the aid of a flashlight! They also hauled away the recycling! Nobody can say our volunteers are not dedicated. QUOTES OF THE DAY: "I'm blowing this two bit hamburger stand." "Normally we don't end up under the table"...but tonight one person spilled all the coins out of her purse and it required crawling on hands and knees to retrieve all of them." Martha Osgood was taking photos from outside the BUUB - "The roofers thought she was from OSHA!" "How have we survived without a Human Resources person?" Fortune Cookies for the week: El Viejo: "Participation in sports may lead to a lucrative career." The Architect: "You will soon be involved in many gatherings and parties." A volunteer with a truck: "You would do well to work on a team in the coming weeks." New roofing and skylights...
Skylights and new roofing.
THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011
The covered walkway (previously referred to as the permanent awning) was further developed and the torn up concrete relates to having a sidewalk that hooks up with the new addition. The roofers continued working on the east end of the roof. The plywood panels were replaced to meet OSHA requirements and to keep the rain out. (I think that sentence is not totally accurate - there was a large pile of plywood stacked on the roof, so the roofers removed the plywood as they finished sections.) A jackhammer was needed to remove the old concrete from the beer room, now Room 1. It had three layers and was 12 inches thick! The space left looks like a shallow swimming pool, but isn't quite deep enough. Maybe it was a foot washing station. All kinds of guesses were made about what it used to be. Many hours were spent removing tile in the old east restroom. Insulation was worked into small spaces. Dishes were washed, food delivered, consumed and put away, the parking lot was swept, additional organization of the office done, and lots of late afternoon cleaning accomplished. Many nails and screws picked up in the parking lot. The meeting with a caterer was informative but not productive. Remember - there will be Chinese dinner at the Fortune Inn, 1775 West 6th Avenue at 5:30 PM tomorrow (Friday). QUOTES OF THE DAY: "Nice to have sun shining through skylights as we move plywood and see the warm golden glow again." "Don't stand near lumber wearing gloves unless you want to move it."
WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2011 17 Volunteers (Includes 5 Salem Youth and 1 Mother) The Salem youth did a fantastic job scraping and priming the siding on the north side, cleaned out all the excavations and drilled rebar holes in preparation for pouring concrete. They also chipped out tiles in the old east restroom. The mother had a doctor's appointment in town, but said she had a little time to volunteer - she completely inventoried, cleaned and organized all the first aid equipment. As you can tell by the list of players, the BUUB was a zoo throughout the day. Insulation was added around skylight tubes and only about half of the complex insulation work is done and then we get to do the larger areas that are labor intensive. One volunteer put in 250 plus lag bolts in the supports for the permanent awning around the north and east sides. Remember all those fluorescent light fixtures that have migrated from place to place? They were installed in the hallways today. There was dish washing, sweeping, additional shrub pruning, and a load of metal was taken for recycling at Schnitzer. There was sheetrocking around the flying clouds in the social hall and all the plywood was taken off the west side of the roof and the plastic put back on the skylights now that the roofers are finished working on that side. They got most of the north half of the east side roofing done. Some kind souls brought five - four-foot long sections of Subway sandwiches and about three dozen deviled eggs - happily consumed by contractors and volunteers. It is amazing to see the amount of food that passes through the BUUB. And such a variety - we can't thank the Break Room Dancers enough. The juice keeps those working on the roof well hydrated in this sunny weather. Just a note to the Dancers - we are slowly but surely moving all of your serving dishes and food containers from your house to the BUUB. All are stacked near the dish washing station, waiting to go home! A lot of office work occurred - with El Viejo assisting in the job evaluation of contractors. Late this afternoon one volunteer took on the challenge of putting the project office back together now that the carpenters are done working on the permanent awning from the inside. QUOTES OF THE DAY: When the roofers quit for the day after a very hot day on the roof, I teased them by saying I hoped they weren't all going to go play baseball tonight. "Nope, not me. I have a 2 year old and a one month old baby and I am hot, tired, and sleep deprived."
We're renovating our new building 13th and Chambers ~ Our Blog Author ~ Volunteer Coordinator ~ ~ ~ "400 Days Blog" by Month
~ Due Diligence
TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2011 17 Volunteers Today's rain dictated the focus of work at the BUUB. The roofers have the west half done and have the north end of the east half about half done. They worked at covering the skylights with the recycled plastic they had removed earlier, only to find there were some small holes. Around the building could be seen a bucket or two to collect water from leaks, but nothing major. Otherwise, they were not able to work in the rain.
During the BPOC meeting a firewood gatherer was loading up his car, the Treasurer stopped by with a few more bills to pay, and a volunteer was hard at work cleaning up after the day crew. We received clearance to pour concrete to support the framework for the two main entrances and their sidewalks and aprons. The pour might happen as soon as Thursday. QUOTES OF THE DAY: "I went on an errand at noon, and when I came back 20 minutes later Momma's Table was surrounded by contractors and volunteers, telling stories and enjoying the food. They were like a swarm of locusts, and had devoured the casserole that was dropped off." One of the roofers commented about how much he appreciated our warm hospitality and great food. He wanted to know who to thank. He said, "I walked up to a woman and thanked her for all the tasty food." She said: "Not me .... I don't cook." "We need to remember -- this is not a linear project." A Testimonial: When husband Ed and I returned from vacation, we had one toilet that was malfunctioning after not being touched in two weeks. Not having used a plumber since we moved here six years ago, we called Don Lewis Plumbing because they are doing all the work at the BUUB and El Viejo has known them for 30 years. They arrived on time Monday morning, completely updated the insides and water supply lines and faucets on both toilets and were gone in half an hour. They told me they really appreciate getting the work at the BUUB and love working with the volunteer crew. I would highly recommend them to anyone who needs a plumber.
MONDAY, JULY 11, 2011 13 Volunteers Progress was made on doors, with several different people working on them. Despite all that effort, only one door was close to being finished. Working in that room is something else - the person doing the sanding late in the afternoon was completely covered with fine dust, including her eyeglasses! When she walked, it was kind of like Pigpen in the Peanuts cartoon.....she left a fine trail behind. The attic fan was disassembled and duct work removed and the ventilator shaft was relocated so that the roof will fit tightly under it. The ventilator for the long extinct boiler was also taken out - no boiler, no need for a ventilator. Sheetrock was installed around the social hall flying clouds. There was de-nailing, lots of sweeping and cleanup and the row of shrubs along the north side was removed to give better access to the siding that needs to be sanded and repainted. The temporary skylights on the south side of the roof were removed and reconfigured to meet OSHA requirements and covered in plastic to protect the openings in case of rain. One person spent hours installing insulation in odd-sized places that required a lot of special care. Our roof "monitor" (aka Spiderman) was on hand to be sure everyone on the roof Just a reminder - the Salem UU Youth Group (at least five of them) will be volunteering at the BUUB on Wednesday for most of the day, just in case some of our youth would like to come join them. George Struble writes: " I don’t know when they will arrive, probably between 9 and 10. You may remember that they are earning a contribution toward scholarships for two of them to go visit our sister church in Simenfalva, Romania." QUOTES OF THE DAY: "The last time I was in the BUUB, the restroom was still in the east end of the building. I went there - no toilet....I looked in every room trying to find it, and it took forever. They need to tell old ladies where they put the toilet." (Just in case you need to know - right now it is in the southwest corner of the building!) "I was walking from the Sanctuary to the Chapel with an armload of wood and I felt my tool belt slipping. The webbing expands as the day and I get warmer. So I just thought I would step out of it and let it fall to the floor. When I did that, the tool belt and my pants fell to the floor!" I asked whether it was just men on the job? And he responded: "Nope."
SUNDAY, JULY 10, 2011 3 Volunteers The BUUB was officially CLOSED, but the #1 Beamer was there bright and early and finished removing the last of the paint from beams and was going through the second sanding for uniformity. SAFETY ALERT: Nobody is allowed on the roof unless you first talk to Ed Zack. The new plastic surface, when damp, is very slippery and Ed said he could barely stand up! So please stay off the ladders to the roof. QUOTE OF THE DAY: "The BUUB was supposed to be closed, but I need a turn style in here so I can collect money." The following are excerpts from today's sermon by Dennis Reynolds on the topic of "Oh the Places You'll Go: "Here in this community you have been engaged in a 400 day long practice of building community. In a time of change in ministerial leadership and a bit of a turmoil in the congregation, you remained committed to a change of location that all of us dreamed would give us the capacity to grow in numbers and to grow in connection with and commitment to the larger Eugene community. The BUUB, or as I like to call it the Bubba, That Beautiful UU Building that is emerging from the dark low ceiling space that housed secret meetings is becoming a place of openness, of soaring beams and shining light and soaring expectations and soaring real possibility; a place where wings will set you free. There have been difficulties, yet, this community recognizes that, whatever the source of our past misfortunes, the future is shaped and transformed by our actions. We build community through shared meditation and prayer and by pooling financial resources to sustain common goals. Through tearing out low ceilings, cleaning bricks and salvaging metal and sweeping floors and preparing food and using growing carpentry skills and moving many tools and much lumber from place to place and all that has happened down at that space at 13th and Chambers. As you have rehabbed and remodeled a building together, you have deepened connections of community. Such building requires commitment and it requires patience, patience with process and with eacgh other. Such cooperative action is, in the midst of our individualistic sonsumer oriented culture, a bit radical and subversive and deeply counter cultural. As we build such community we also build a shared capacity to travel more deeply within ourselves. May we continue to commit to such vital work."
... Beloved Community ... SATURDAY, JULY 9, 2011 2 Volunteers Truth be told, I don't have much of a clue what got done today. El Viejo went in early, made the coffee, unlocked the door, put out some food, greeted the roofers and left. Fast forward to 4:30 PM, when Judy Sawyer went to check on things, did the dishes, put away the food, turned out the lights, locked the door and was gone. Nobody had signed in. Judy said it was very odd being in the building alone, and she kept hearing a noise that sounded like cars on gravel.....but hey, the BUUB doesn't have a gravel driveway. She finally realized it was those plastic OSHA flags flapping in the wind. One day they are raindrops on the roof, the next they are cars on a gravel driveway. TOMORROW the BUUB is officially closed - no captain on duty and as far as I know the doors will be locked. There have been a number of posts on SHARE and CHAT about the outstanding effort of our volunteer crew. I expect when we started on this journey most never thought they would be doing the kind of work and using the variety of tools, lifts, and rolling carts that we now do with a high level of confidence. It's a joy to be a part of it. The quotes today are taken from various emails I have seen in the last couple of days: QUOTES OF THE DAY: "Our truly wonderful heroes!!! I have to add a huge kuddo to EVERYONE who works on our BUUB. The news that all that volunteers doing the beam sanding saved us from paying someone 15,000 dollars to do it, well, I'm blown away. Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!" "I know that Elliott and Gretchen and Sarah's son, Douglass and others I am aware of have put in a lot of time sanding beams but, of course, our real sanding heroine is Sue Craig. I haven't done any sanding but I've worked in the same area up among the beams doing "dot" removal. How Sue, or anyone else for that matter, can spend hours working with a sander at chest level or higher is incredible. A couple of hours up there reaching up above my head was enough to leave my shoulders sore for days. Kudos indeed to all our sanders. Another money saving effort that amazes me is the insulating we're doing. Up on the roof yesterday with Bob Coleman, I watched the roofers installing special roofing material that is three or four inches thick. Having worked in the attic installing two layers of 4 inch thick insulation in the ceiling between the roof beams, I know we're going to end up with something like a foot of insulation over our heads to keep out the cold and heat. Together with our state of the art HVAC system, that is bound to save us a lot of money on our utility bills over the years." "I sent the link for the KVAL story to a friend. Besides telling us how wonderful we are and hoping the story gets spread nationwide, she ended this way: And I love hearing that Ed Zack was hard at work. Years ago he built some outside stairs for us, and we applauded his excellent work. You couldn't have a better contractor. Thanks for sharing this story!"
FRIDAY, JULY 8, 2011 15 Volunteers Nice to have a good volunteer crew today - there was beam sanding, roof cleaning, hauling of insulation, asphalt, wood and other trash to the new dumpster, sweeping, dusting, and bookkeeping, dish washing and rewiring of fixtures. Thanks to the person who worked on door refinishing. The roofers have finished the west half of the new roof. The carpenters built a second "cricket" over the south entrance because the roof line there once again had two roof lines that caused water to collect and then spill where we don't want it. They also worked at tearing out the temporary skylights to meet OSHA requirements while the roof work is happening. The roofers will be working tomorrow - Saturday. Which brings me to the Saturday schedule - no "official" work day, but several people will be there working and if you have a key or have projects you want to work on, you are more than welcome to come volunteer. The building will be open by 7 AM - perhaps with the coffee pot on. The two sliding glass doors are almost done and they are beautiful. A nice light wood. No glass installed in them yet, but all the glue clamps are off and they have been sanded down and are about ready to stain. All of the paint is off of all the beams in the Sanctuary and Social Hall and there is only one small area in one of the other rooms to do. Just to show how wonderful and important some of this repetitious, boring work is - the bid for having the beams refinished was $15,000! All that muscle applied to the beam job saved us that much and more. For anyone with a droid or smart phone, you can appreciate how dependent you are on all the information stored there - notes to yourself, important phone numbers, favorite apps, etc. Well, imagine what happens when two people, working side by side, in a small cramped office, pick up each other's iPhone and begin using the wrong phone and in the process erase all of the stored information from the other person's phone. This is what happened today - and as a result, El Viejo has lost all of his stored phone numbers. This is where he needs help. If you are someone who he calls regularly, will you please call his cell phone with a message so that he can recover your number....A rushed trip to Verizon came word that they could not recover his information. QUOTE OF THE DAY: El Viejo's fortune cookie - "Avoid unchallenging occupations -- they will waste your great talents." Amen!
THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2011 9 Volunteers One volunteer went through all the scraps of 2x4 and 2x6 lumber and sorted them by length! A tidy job indeed. All of the plastic from the temporary skylights was brought down off the roof and neatly folded - ready for action if it needs to go back up in case of rain. I got to go up the internal ladder and poke my head up above the roof for a look see. I have a whole new appreciation for how much roof material is stored up there. A large portion of the new roof is on. It is white, so when you are up there in the sun it is dazzling! It is guaranteed for 25 years. All of the electrical work has been done and we are waiting for the controls to arrive so they can be installed. We passed the plumbing inspection with flying colors, which means we can now fill in the holes around the underground pipes. After walls are in and painting done, the fixtures can be added. The plumbers are so diligent they called El Viejo at 5 AM to tell him they were already on the job - they had to shut the water off for at least two hours and didn't want the building to be without a working toilet! They needed the permit number so they could schedule the inspection. They had all their work done and the water back on by 8 AM. I hadn't been in the building since the 'Hovercraft" was taken down and what a huge difference that makes in the overall appearance of the Sanctuary. There were three scissor lifts parked in the Sanctuary, but it still was very open and spacious. The beams are all so uniform now and that made a difference as well. It is odd to have plywood covering the skylights, but with the side openings there is still plenty of light and it gives the building a whole new feeling. The carpenters have been cutting ventilator shafts for air circulation and the natural night flushing. Last night the Aesthetics and Logistics Task Force met at the BUUB and they had a long walk through for an almost three hour meeting. I had a lot of questions about things after being gone two weeks. Like what is the large black hose running along the wall of the Social Hall - it's the wiring or leg of an "octopus" yellow box that is the electrical supply. All the power tools, etc., are run off the two yellow boxes. I hadn't seen all of the flying clouds and at the west end of the Social Hall, there are support boards holding some HVAC ducting. When installed and strapped in, it was in the wrong place, so the boards were added to hold it until the straps could be attached again after it is moved. There will be a Chinese Dinner at the Fortune Inn, 1775 West 6th AVenue tomorrow at 5:30 PM. Thanks to Amy Raven for the donation of leftover building materials from a home improvement project - including plywood, tarpaper, nails and other miscellaneous hardware. And thanks to Rich Dietzel for trash bag holders, exit signs, and hardware. Donations are appreciated, but be sure to check ahead of time to see if we can use what you have rather than just dropping it off. As mentioned before, finding a place to store things during construction is an issue and we might not have room right now. Momma's Table has a new bright tablecloth and our kitchen quartermaster got it in place after doing dishes and cleaning things up. I was happy to see the plastic removed from the pass through window in the kitchen - gives better air movement and should be okay now that the dust level has diminished. QUOTES OF THE DAY: "What is that rattling noise that sounds like rain?" The red plastic safety flags on the roof required by OSHA. There are open spaces around the edges of the skylights, so the sound can be heard inside the building and when the wind blows, they rattle. Everyone keeps asking: When is our moving date? The answer: "When we give you a thirty day notice!" GUEST EDITORIAL: "We went away for a long weekend so I haven't been there for almost a week... but last Friday, I helped Eric move the door shop again. I think this should get a plug in the blog. Because so much is going on in the multi-purpose rooms, the door shop was relocated to ... what do we call it? The newly added addition. The new storage area. On the north side. Moving the doors inevitably causes some scrapes and dings, though obviously we tried to be careful, and the doors had been moved some by others because they were in the way--more dings. So even doors that were finished, needed a little more work in the new door shop. I hope they can stay put for a while. Anyhow, we set it up with four sets of horses and four doors displayed, and Eric made a chart showing what needs to be done to each door. He comes by to work on doors several afternoons a week. There are more than 30 doors (maybe 37?) and each door needs personal attention: sanding, filling dings with bondo, sanding again, priming. When I left, one door was done, and another one was really all but done. So folks, come on in to the door shop for a swinging good time!"
WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 2011 8 Volunteers The roof got "stacked" so if you drive by you will see 5 foot high piles of material all over the roof. The plastic was removed from the skylights to make it easier to get the roofing right up to the edges and all the OSHA requirements were met. The skylights are covered with plywood, which makes it a lot darker inside, but also cooler. We passed the electrical inspection for the west half of the building, except for the Chapel. Since not all the electrical work is done in the Chapel, they will come back to inspect that. The carpenters continue to work on the north overhang, were tearing apart some of the temporary roofing, and cut penetrations in the roof for the HVAC - a couple that are four foot square. There was some sheetrock installation in the social hall. One volunteer worked most of the day sanding beams and they are looking magnificent. There are only about 2-1/2 sections left to do in the Sanctuary and Social Hall, then they will all need one final pass for uniformity of color. The beams in the Chapel and in Rooms 3 and 5 have sections to be cleaned. The last of the plywood to replace the rotting wood under the windows in the southwest corner was installed and the shrubbery under the windows was removed to make room for installing new siding and to remove a place for someone to hide near the windows. Insulation was installed in Rooms 1 and 2 where there is an infinity of little places needing to get filled in. The volunteer had to crawl around in the framing to get it done. The plumbers hooked up the water lines in the east restroom and are about done working there. El Viejo was interviewed by KEZI and I hear the Community Page for KVAL used the publicity submitted by Rich Margerum yesterday to the TV and radio stations and the Eugene Register Guard.
"I talked to KEZI so much that the woman interviewing me ran out of tape - twice!" "The beams are looking magnificent." DATELINE BEND, OR: Nine hours in the car, but wonderful to be back within shouting distance of home. I'm sorry to miss the Aesthetics and Logistical Task Force meeting tonight. They are doing a tour of the building and brainstorming how this will all get orchestrated. We will be home by Noon tomorrow and I have been forewarned about avoiding Willamette Street between 29th and 32nd. After my close call with the law in Colorado, I was very good about speed limits. We saw four different vehicles pulled over for speeding between Burns and Bend, so we put the cruise control at 55 mph.
Photo memory interlude
TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2011 9 Volunteers No insulation work today - the rest of the framing needs to be left open until after the electrical installation is inspected later this week. Sheetrocking was done in the social hall around the flying clouds. The southwest side, under the windows, was re-framed and re-sided where there was rot. The overhang extension that goes around the north and east sides continues to take shape. Much of the work so far is on the inside to build the cantilevers that will hold the roof. There was a very large sheet rock delivery. Volunteers will continue to be key in helping move bulky materials. The report from OSHA arrived -- and as reported earlier there were few concerns and none were major. Everything will be taken care of, if it hasn't already. As always, there was dish washing, sweeping, and cleaning up of debris from the day's labors. QUOTE OF THE DAY: "It is very hot in the building - and being up in the attic is a whole new experience." DATELINE MOUNTAIN HOME, IDAHO - 11 hours in the car today - 99 degrees here at 6 PM. We covered 500 miles and experienced scorching heat, hail, hard rain, and wind. Trying to keep our hair combed is a losing battle. As a reward for all our hard work, husband Ed and I shared an "Asphalt Sundae" - mint chocolate chip ice cream on an Oreo crust, covered with caramel sauce and whipped cream....a very evil concoction offered by Winger's. They have only two Oregon locations - Ontario and Klamath Falls. We still have one more night on the road and expect to be home by Thursday mid-day for a peek at the BUUB. We did make another stop at Bear River Refuge in Utah - the water was way down in all the ponds compared to our stop 10 days earlier. Black-necked stilts and avocets were still on the nest - no young running around.
MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011 INDEPENDENCE DAY 10 Volunteers Insulation, insulation, insulation and foam --- still a ton to do....There was de-nailing, repair of electrical "stuff", and of course beam sanding. Those working on the beams are now known as The Beamers! A woman came over and asked if the volunteers wanted to help her move -- she had a list of times when she would have a truck. I don't think there were any takers. We expect to get all the electrical work inspected this week, then the sprinkler installers will do their work and then, Katie bar the door -- we will be up to full speed ahead installing insulation and sheetrock. We keep saying we need more people - well, when the sheetrocking begins in all rooms, we can use just about everyone in the congregation. (I know, that's a stretch....) It will happen soon. QUOTES OF THE DAY: "We are beginning to nibble at the insulation, but there is a ton we still have to do." "The end of beam sanding is in sight." DATELINE GREEN RIVER, UTAH: It was 102 degrees at 6 PM. The chocolate chips in our trail mix melted inside the air conditioned car! The good news we averaged 52.3 miles per gallon. That's a bit of a surprise since I seem to have a lead foot. In Colorado I was going 78 mph in a 65 mph zone when I met a state trooper going the other way. He immediately hit his emergency lights. I was sure my goose was cooked. I slowed way down and kept looking in my rear view mirror - but alas, I was just a fourth of a mile from the Utah State Line, so he didn't bother with me! Whew......Smokey Bear is staying at this motel tonight. He drives a brightly painted 18 wheeler. It's good to be heading west.
SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2011 8 Volunteers The BUUB was officially closed today, but a bunch of the usual suspects defied the rules and came anyway! There was a miscommunication about Pat Hendricks being there at noon - of course the beam sanding fiend has a key, and when she knows the scissor lifts are idle, she wants to make sure they get some exercise. I hear a lot of insulation and expanding foam were installed - and especially the area above the southside windows. (See the Quotes of the Day). For nobody being there, a lot was accomplished. Dishes were washed and sweeping done. A little backstory on moving the project office on Friday. El Viejo had paid some bills and done paperwork and then left his office for what he thought was a short time. When he came back, a volunteer said, "I straightened up your office, I hope it is all okay." Everything was in tubs and stacked neatly. The office is extremely small. Where his desk used to sit was an 8 foot scaffolding with carpenters building the cantilevers. I have been told that I am not allowed in the building when I get back unless El Viejo is there to see the shock on my face because of all the changes. Tomorrow - July 4th -is a regular work day at the BUUB - there will be no professionals working so all the scissor lifts will be available from early dawn on. More insulation bales were picked up at Jerry's and there is more than enough work to go around. Come on down and do the "BUUB Shuffle." The discussions with the concrete refinisher yesterday were fruitful. They will be able to build up the floor in the old "beer room" and the old restroom areas using epoxy. There are some decisions to be made about the cost of doing the entire building, etc. I'll keep you posted when I have more details. The old sliding doors for between the social hall and chapel are being reconfigured, and the architect had the carpenters cut holes for glass. To buy such doors new would cost about $15,000, but with the recycling we only have a few hours of carpenter time and to purchase glass. QUOTES OF THE DAY: I talked to El Viejo by phone about 6 PM Eugene time. He said "it is a magic moment to be in the sanctuary at this time of day, especially now that the beam sanding is almost done." "The insulation over the south windows was beautifully done! It is just gorgeous work. The crew is putting a lot of TLC in this mundane task." DATELINE TAOS: Another rather quiet day - just a few drops of rain. We attended a street fair on the Plaza in the afternoon and the sky turned black, the wind came up and we thought we would see all the tents go flying off, but all was well. I bought some Mexican oilcloth to cover Momma's Table. Also visited a lovely plant nursery and found additional goodies to haul back home. My daughter and I worked in her perennial bed for several hours and she remarked, "isn't it interesting how we just love doing this stuff? Pulling weeds, deadheading, chopping up the limbs, etc., for composting. Not too surprising - my grandmother and mother were the same way. Must be genetic. The only other excitement was having a cat come visit our bedroom at 4 AM, land on the windowsill above my pillow and let out a howl. He wanted out! I was more than happy to show him the back door. Tomorrow morning we begin our journey home.
SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2011 10 Volunteers
The main event was installation of insulation and then sealing up the small cracks with expanding foam. There was mowing and weeding outside, some tweaking with sound equipment, sweeping, picking up of firewood and the major beam sander on site. One of the Ferraris has been renamed "Sue's Mobile". She is on it every available minute, evenings and weekends. That woman is on a mission! Remember, tomorrow Pat Hendricks will be at the BUUB beginning at Noon for those who would like to come help.
"You begin to do the BUUB shuffle after a few hours because you get so tired." The morning crew greeted the afternoon captain when he arrived with: "It's 1:30 PM and some people are just getting here." "One of the benefits of working at the BUUB is losing weight." DATELINE TAOS: Dark clouds gathered over the mountains, we could hear thunder, and ten miles out of town they got good rain. In town only a few drops. One fun thing happened. My daughter and I went to visit a friend of hers who has a hogan on his property. It turns out it was in that hogan that the UU fellowship met for a couple of years. I would read about it in their weekly email, but never realized it was on the land of my daughter's friend. I won't be attending a UU service tomorrow - they are having a potluck 7-8 miles out of town in the middle of the day. It is windy and cool tonight.
FRIDAY, JULY 1, 2011 "It was a happening kind of place." DATELINE TAOS: The fire near Los Alamos is now the largest wildfire in North America, with close to 200,000 acres burned. It is only 3% contained and over 1,300 firefighters are on hand. The sun was a deep, deep red for the last hour and a half before sunset as it was obscured by smoke. Only 91 degrees today *grin*, but by 8 PM I had to put on some warmer clothes to sit outside. I really appreciate getting emails with reports from volunteers -- each of the messages is helpful in putting this blog together. Keep 'em coming!
We're renovating our new building 13th and Chambers ~ Our Blog Author ~ Volunteer Coordinator ~ ~ ~ "400 Days Blog" by Month August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 ~ Due Diligence SUNDAY, JULY 31, 2011 19 VOLUNTEERS! Among the volunteers were four teenagers - three females (one an exchange student from France) and one male. They worked on insulating a portion of the hall ceiling and then took a lunch break and all four decided to hook up wire to one hook and spend the afternoon talking and having a great time getting acquainted. (How come we adults never thought of having a communal wire stripping session?) How wonderful - a whole new generation of wire strippers! It was a family day, with daughters and sons joining mothers, climbing ladders, learning a new skill, and meeting and working alongside fun people. Photo mapping continued. One volunteer cut up and hauled away at least two pickup loads of yard debris, another cleaned the kitchen. The plastic bags from the insulation bales were folded and stacked and all of the insulation scraps were rounded up. In addition to the pasta salads and cold cuts, the crew was treated to watermelon. The main order of the day was insulation. One two-person crew set up a double ferrari to do the north to south ceilings of the corridor around the chapel. The corridor is now insulated all the way around the chapel. Another crew finished insulating the storage room. Best of all, our ever vigilant Bob made a trip to the Jerry's in Springfield and found 18 more bundles of insulation to make sure there was plenty on hand until the new shipment arrived at the Jerry's in Eugene. El Viejo stopped in at 9 PM tonight and said he wondered how the crew got so much done and there was still a pile of bundles left! The day began at 11:30 AM and there were still people working at 5:30 PM....on a Sunday! QUOTES OF THE DAY: "I don't know how El Viejo does it day after day. I wasn't the captain, but I spent most of the day answering questions and showing volunteers the ropes, giving directions, giving a tour of the building.....showing them where to find tools, the restroom, how to operate the ferrari, searching for utility knives and blades, gloves, respirators, brooms, offering food and juice, and asking them to sign in and out. I'm exhausted and I was only doing it for six hours. El Viejo does it ten plus hours a day." Remember yesterday when we introduced the word "snickersnee"? Today, just as I got to the BUUB, the program "My Word" was on KWAX and I heard--you guessed it--a reference to the word snickersnee! I would love to be an eavesdropper on the phone when the exchange student calls home....Hi maman et papa - vous ne serez jamais croire ce que j'ai fait aujourd'hui ... elle impliqués isolation de ciment ... ". We are having entirely too much fun rebuilding this church.
SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011 16 Volunteers Thanks to George Struble and Gary Halgrimso who came down from Salem to volunteer. They got the entire ceiling of the hallway insulated from Kim's office to the west end entrance! Because yesterday's blog mentioned a need for long knives, George brought along his machete today. It turns out to be a VERY good tool for cutting insulation. He left it at the BUUB for the duration. He announced that officially it is a snickersnee -- for those who remember their Gilbert and Sullivan. (First we argue about knives and then we graduate to a machete/snickersnee......I sent four knives myself, and a T-square.) The rest of the crew worked on insulating the south side of the chapel and the storage room so the HVAC technicians can install some equipment. In addition, doors were rotated, dishes washed, and there was photo mapping. What a crew there was today! They worked their way through 32 bales of insulation! Jerry's ran out -- we were informed there would be no more until Monday, but Bob Kaeser would have none of that and rounded up enough to keep the crew busy tomorrow, so don't think you get the day off. Pat Hendricks will be the "captain" tomorrow and will open the doors by 11 AM. QUOTES OF THE DAY: "The crew accomplished a lot and it was quality work" "UUs are now showing up with machetes! It is the perfect heft and weight to cut the insulation." Sitting around Momma's Table feasting on all the lunch treats, the crew got to telling tales and reminiscing about all the crazy things that have happened during the past year of our remodel. Bob Kaeser wasn't there, but stories about him were the main topic of conversation.....from his dismantling of the boiler and rolling stuff around to get it moved and hooking those huge air handlers to a chain, swinging them out and over the old balcony area and letting them drop to the floor with a resounding thud that shook the whole building. Thanks for all the food - three different pasta type things were delivered. We have plenty of food for Sunday. The BUUB has become an oasis. One man who had just completed a 100 mile bike ride in the heat was out of water and asked if Dave Franzen was there so he could get a drink. Then a little later, a man walking home with arms of groceries came to the door and asked if he could get a drink of water. Both were invited in and given plenty of nice cold water. Many of the customers at the sale today asked how the building was coming along and commented that they had been watching all the activities and were curious about our move. In going through the invoices and BUUB check stubs, I noted that one contractor made out an invoice to "The Uterine Church." And one little girl gave me what I thought was a quarter to buy a small toy. Tonight when I was counting the Clutterbusting Sale money, a closer inspection showed it was a special coin that gives me a ride on the Salem carousel......Total sales for the two day sale: $1,167.90. Thanks to everyone who donated goods or came to shop. All of the money goes to the church general fund. Husband Ed celebrated his 82nd birthday today - working all day with sales and then doing the heavy lifting as we packed up. Thanks to Carol Wotton for helping with sales both days and to Sharon Gaglia for helping pack up leftovers and transporting them to St.Vinnie's.
FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011 23 Volunteers! I saw an entry from Spiderman about working on the attic floor, so I guess my report last night stating it was all finished was in error. Photo mapping continued, 39 bundles of insulation were purchased and hauled inside, dishes washed, cardboard flattened, and all of the plastic wrapping from the insulation bundles was hauled to the recycling center. One volunteer spent the entire day in the hot sun, on his back, on the roof caulking under the eaves. He went through an entire case of caulk. "Pulling wire" has a new meaning - thankfully, it is no longer "wire stripping." Pulling wire takes spools of bright yellow plastic covered wire being shoved into conduit and threaded up and over, along the wall, up the wall, across the ceiling and over to where there will be speakers in various rooms. One quote related to this:"it's a blast -- you get to wrestle giant ladders, climb up and down, over and over, and then deal with the recalcitrant wire." (It must be fun, because when most people left at 5:30 PM, the wire puller was still at work.) There were three insulation crews working on Rooms 6 and 7. Room 6 is 99% done and Room 7 is about 80% finished with insulation. Room was left for fire sprinkler heads. I hadn't really checked out the progress on the insulation, but what struck me was how absolutely solid those walls look. Stuffed to the gills with that soft material, everything has become eerily quiet with no more echoing or rattling around. The other thing that came as a surprise was being able to more clearly see the definition of each room. No open beams allowing me to walk through the walls between the framing. It was really cool! Tomorrow and Sunday, crews will be working on insulation. One group worked on insulating the ceilings in the east wing while another spent a lot of time measuring and cutting and fitting spaces around electrical conduit, plumbing pipes, and junction boxes. The front of the rooms are framed in 2x4's, not 2x6s, so thinner R-15 insulation is required which means each batt must be cut along its entire length. This is work for quilters and jigsaw puzzle lovers. Although the insulation we are using is much easier to work with than fiberglass, it still can be a skin irritant and cause a cough or runny nose. Respirator masks for dedicated volunteers who spend a lot of time working with it, is probably a good idea.
Photo above: an example of photomapping pipes & electrical before insulation and sheetrock cover up what's in the framework. Hundreds of these photos will be organized on CDs for the church's future reference. QUOTES OF THE DAY: From an insulating volunteer: "We were fighting over knives. Each team had an opinion about whether serrated or plain edged. There was a royal hunt for speaker wires." "There were so many people working on insulation we needed crowd control." El Viejo's fortune cookie tonight: "The stock market will be your ticked to success." THINGS WE COULD USE AT THE BUBB: --Popsicles --A cold pasta salad for the Saturday and Sunday crews to supplement watermelon! (The Break Room Dancers do a divine job of feeding volunteers and contractors during the week, but we haven't scheduled them for the weekends. Unfortunately, we have no idea how many will show up tomorrow. --Large knives - long for cutting insulation. An in-house volunteer will sharpen - seems the insulation dulls them often. --T-squares for getting a good line to cut insulation.
First day of Clutterbusting Sale: $869.45 - one more day to go.
THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2011 10 Volunteers Forgive me if this email is a little on the spacey side - the congregation has outdone itself in delivering a high quality and quantity of items for our 7th Clutterbusting Garage Sale tomorrow and Saturday - 7 AM to 4 PM both days. Husband Ed and I have seen a steady stream of cars pulling into the driveway with a trunk load of goodies. As a result, I was a little distracted when I collected today's report. There was only one volunteer insulation team on hand, but half of the team worked for 8 hours. Judy Sawyer has sent out a general alert to SHARE to recruit more volunteers. Tomorrow and this weekend we hope to have several insulation crews working to get ahead of the curve prior to a sheetrock "professional" arriving on Monday. In addition to needing people to cut and install insulation, the professional will need a team of people to help move materials around for him beginning Monday. Tomorrow 135 sheets of ceiling sheetrock is being delivered and all needs to be hauled into the building. Remember the Egyptians?
The carpenters returned to the roof, putting in trim and siding to finish off the job. They worked on notches, the dog house, and the roof of the storage area and northeast entrance. A volunteer spent the day working on the last of the attic flooring. I hope his new tool belt made the job easier. August sign in sheets were delivered and the photo mapping was worked on. There was gobs of phone and paperwork and a plethora of glasses to wash - always a sign of hot weather.
SPECIALIZED HELP NEEDED: Pickup truck and driver to haul torn out shrubs for recycling -- also, someone to haul all of the plastic bags from many bundles of insulation to the recycling center. Let Judy Sawyer know if you can help with this task. You get to drive on the west lawn! QUOTES OF THE DAY: I thought I was all fixed with great quotes, but I got scooped by that other Judy who is busy recruiting volunteers -- glad she did - the more the merrier. But for those of you not on SHARE, here are the great quotes: "Hi guys, This is a personal testimonial to the fun of installing insulation at the BUUB, a task I shared with Judy Sawyer two weeks ago before I went out of town. I understand there is LOTS awaiting us and I'll be there. Here is why. 1. It is neither dirty or itchy. (The stuff is some green product, and feels sort of like handling bats of angel food cake. I have some allergic responses to dust, but not to with this stuff.) 2. It is easy to slice, again like slicing either angel food cake or pudding cake. (For someone like me who had to give up nail pulling because of the mild arthritis in my hands, I love it.) 3. You get instant results-when done you can stand back and admire it with pride. I forget which room Judy and I did the ceiling in, but I will always know that room was MY ceiling. 4. You won't even have to use the lift. I understand that much of what needs to be done is at people level, feet on the floor. Come have fun with me over the next few days, look back at what we have accomplished and feel good about it!" Betty Hosokowa "Yes, the insulation is soft, non fibrous, and easy to work with... and the lift is actually pretty fun once you give yourself the chance to learn what to expect. It only does what you tell it to. And...the fellowship and the fun at the BUBB are not to be missed. Besides that the food is great. Most of all, the opportunity won't come again. Think of all those years ahead we can engage at the new church remembering helping with its creation." Anna Sontag Remember - Chinese food at The Fortune Inn, 1775 West 6th at 5:30 PM tomorrow. You Betcha And just in case you need to track down Judy Sawyer - 541-302-0944. Chances are you will get a voicemail because she is usually at the BUUB.....Here is what she sent to SHARE: "FYI everyone: The BIG PUSH is now on to have as many volunteer bodies as possible at the BUUB, both during the week and on the weekends. Big plus in being there: You can get a tour of the building. It's a totally different experience from what you may have seen before." ALSO, GET THOSE TEENAGERS WITH NOTHING BETTER TO DO BUT PLAY! WE NEED THEIR ENERGY. Thanks for listening, and come as you can--even for an hour or two. Maybe we'll even have some watermelon. We have lots of ice cream!"
Photo Interlude... a short history of the gorgeous sliding doors....
Photo below: Left to Right - Margaret Kaeser, Ed Hansen, Chuck Wagar, Joyce Salisbury
Photo below: New doors between social hall and chapel - looking west from social hall. L to R - Ed Hansen, Margaret Kaeser, Chuck Wagar, Bob Kaeser - July 25, 2011
WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2011 10 Volunteers The main focus was insulation, insulation, insulation -- and I can't stress enough - we need more volunteers. We will be working on insulation fast and furious in order to be ready to begin installing drywall on Monday under the guidance of a contractor who specializes in plaster finish work. Yesterday a volunteer did a meticulous inventory of the remaining areas to insulate and we will have to purchase and install an additional 350 bundles! That is no walk in the park and will obviously need more help to get it done. It is not hard work or rocket science -- it is labor intensive. Today, the crew working on insulation installed 7 bundles. The carpenters built frames to begin putting the siding back on the building - Northeast addition and some of the brick work. The remaining north sidewalk was torn out today. Forms are being built and rebar installed for the concrete pour. There will be a lane marker at the west entrance with a sign post with bricks to be incorporated in the new sidewalk. The acoustic engineer is moving forward on the loop system and a volunteer continued with the photo/mapping of outlets prior to drywall. Another volunteer worked on creating a floor on the north side attic in a 4x4 foot area under the air intake. El Viejo had another day of meetings - one with the drywall professional to discuss how to sequence the work while using a volunteer crew. The ceilings will have to be done first, and then begins the ballet of getting the job done. There were meetings related to acoustics and funding. In addition to the above, dishes were washed and toilets cleaned. There will be Chinese dinner at The Fortune Inn, 1775 West 6th at 5:30 PM on Friday. PLEASE NOTE: Saturday and Sunday will be work days. Project manager Ed Zack will be there all day Saturday from 8 AM to 5 PM. Pat Hendricks will be the work supervisor on Sunday from 11 AM to 5 PM. We are hoping for a good sized crew. QUOTE OF THE DAY: The volunteer photo/mapper wondered why, after 2 ½ hours of photographing walls, her legs and back were tired, until she told me later, “when I downloaded all those photos, there were 227! And I’m not even done yet!” What she didn't mention is that she also was using a hand sickle at 40th & Donald cutting weeds for an hour! No wonder she is tired.
TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2011 13 Volunteers Meeting of the Rental Task Force I keep forgetting to report there is a large pile of firewood available on the north side of the building. Help yourself. Nice short lengths. By the way, the design consultant has nothing to do with choosing paint colors, or furnishings. The volunteers installed insulation, cleaned up the premises, did dishes, worked on doors (sanding, painting, and applying putty), moved wood, worked on de-nailing boards and worked on mapping the rooms prior to photographing electrical outlets, etc. The carpenters built another "mezzanine" platform (in the door room), and framed the doorway between the mechanical room and the storage room. Through a combination of meetings (BPOC and Rental Task Force) an informal plan was put together about when to begin accepting outside reservations to rent the BUUB and when to cut off renting the church at 40th. The general feeling is to still be at 40th for Thanksgiving and then transition all activities to 13th & Chambers in order to have the Christmas concert there on December 17. No reservations from outside groups will be booked for the BUUB until at least April - thus giving us an opportunity to get moved, settled in, and work out the bugs so to speak. Of course not all the folks who have planned events were in attendance - for instance Sue Craig - to remind us when she is planning to have the Holiday Bazaar. In early December, it would work out great at 40th because all the padded chairs would be at the BUUB. But since we have so many tables at the BUUB, we can leave tables behind to be used for the Bazaar. I hesitate to even try to report these dates. The Aesthetics and Logistics Task Force has a plan for getting us from one building to the other in order to have a smooth transition and be ready with furniture, etc. QUOTES OF THE DAY: "When she came into the BUUB, she had stardust in her eyes and was completely blown away with how beautiful it was." "Time is running out to drop off items for the Clutterbusting garage sale - please do so by 6 PM Thursday."
MONDAY, JULY 25, 2011 6 Volunteers Special thanks to the person who swept the north parking lot. I thank you and my tires thank you!
EXPECTED NEXT WEEK...Is the beginning of the BIG PUSH to get all the insulation installed, and right behind it installation of sheet rock. The HVAC crew will be finishing up, the electrician will be done and now it is time for our volunteer crew to roll up their sleeves, grab their tool belts and show up early and often......Keep watching this blog for more details as we fine tune the start date. You will note we had only 6 volunteers - one was El Viejo, two were there to clean the kitchen, wash the dishes, and stash food at the end of the day. Yes, it's summer and many people are on vacation, so it is not too surprising we are short on volunteers. I hope the rest of the week brings in more help and next week we can crank it up a notch. QUOTE OF THE DAY: "We are going to be ready to go at the insulation big time next week.....I need you to get the word out. We need a big crew."
SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2011 2 Volunteers There may have been more volunteers and visitors, but I had family here all afternoon and evening and they just left at 10 PM, so I wasn't able to check with "Ched" to see if more arrived after 1:30 PM. We had our signals a little crossed, and the person I thought was going to open the BUUB was actually out of town, so Ched was pinch hitting. El Viejo signed in at 8 AM, but I haven't spoken with him either. I did get a little more detail on what transpired yesterday. The quartermastering involved picking up loose lumber, emptying trash, moving doors, etc. The list left by El Viejo for volunteers to work on while he was gone had 45 items. Six got crossed off completely and headway was made on the others. Things crossed off related to removing sheetrock and insulation in the east corridor, the minister's office, and the ladies restroom, and the blocking done on three rooms. Moving gravel from the parking lot to the pits in the ladies restroom is about 3/4ths done. I hauled the landscape plans to church for viewing this morning and those checking them out were mighty pleased - especially popular was the water feature that looks like it could double as a labyrinth, and the places to sit on the south side. One question: where will the bike racks be? Along the north side under the covered walkway. Everyone is curious where the "main" entrance will be -- our prediction is the east side, but I expect that will get worked out and could be any of the entrances. Some were surprised there is parking allowed on both sides of 13th Avenue. Yesterday, the "low tire" light lit up on my dashboard again. I thought, oh no, not another nail from the BUUB! Took it to Les Schwab and learned that it was only a low tire - no nails. I did find another nail in the parking lot today. I'm hoping a bored volunteer will decide to sweep the area where the huge pile of concrete was stacked last week in case there are more nails hiding in the rubble. QUOTE OF THE DAY: Was from El Viejo: "WOW!" |
The carpenters worked on the last of the flying clouds in the social hall and reframed the doorway between the pantry and the mechanical room (old boiler room). De-nailing was on the list, and I now realize I forgot to write down what else was done by volunteers. There was blocking in several rooms to support sheetrock work. Which brings me to the next announcement.
The covered walkway framework is coming along fine. Some of the HVAC units are going into the attic and getting ducting connected. The roofers restored the temporary skylight covers to make things waterproof in case of rain over the weekend. Rumor has it the roofers will be working Saturday with the goal of being completely done on Monday.
The south entry (see photo) was demolished, taking off the "porch" roof, etc., and creating a new solid temporary wall to close things up for security. I didn't walk outside or drive down 13th to look at it, but will do so tomorrow. One carpenter did some blocking in preparation for installing drywall around the windows in the music and minister's offices. Skylights were prepared for the real deal.
"One of the things that can slow a person down in woodworking is the knowledge that what one makes can last a hundred years or more. When an item is crafted with useful beauty in mind, it transcends not only the years it may last, but also the need one might feel to hurry in its making. What are the few extra minutes to do things right when each moment of attention is witnessed in the finished piece for such a lengthy span of time? What’s the rush in the light of generations?
16 Volunteers
10 Volunteers
"Installing insulation around those skylights is almost impossible -- you have to be a contortionist to work in that small space. The space is small and in addition to me, there is a ladder and you have to twist sideways to fit and work with arms over your head."
There was yard work, insulation, dish washing, de-nailing, sweeping, sanding doors, and installation of sheetrock on the social hall ceiling around the flying clouds. The plumbers were finishing up on vents through the roof to meet assembly criteria codes. Carpenters continued to work on the hang boards along the north side from the kitchen to the east entrance. They will support the permanent awning, offering interest to the design, provide a place to get out of the rain when entering doors, and to store bicycles out of the weather. The electricians installed the fourth electrical panel near the east wing.
stayed safe and the entire roof was cleaned of debris left over from the Saturday roofing crew. Speaking of Spiderman, he had taken off for a six day bicycle trip to Mt. Jefferson, but came back two days early because his knees were bothering him. So what did he do? Spent all day going up and down tall ladders and walking around on the roof. I can't imagine how that could improve sore knees.....
