Inspection Day: March 28, 2006. If we pass inspection, we can start using the elevator. The guys from Kone are not so sure we'll pass because they told me the top of the elevator shaft has to be closed off with drywall. It isn't. It is open to the ceiling. The prediction is that the inspector will make the architect design a cap, and make the contractor install it. We shall see.  

On March 28 the State inspector failed our elevator project because of this serious omission on the part of architect and contractor. The top of the "hoistwell" has to be "capped" with drywall. It is not allowed to be open to the wooden ceiling of the church. The elevator guys told me about this last week, but apparently the contractor didn't think it had to be done. This project has suffered from some early and unavoidable setbacks, such as the sanitary pipe location. But all other setbacks were caused by oversight and neglect, including this one. Now we need more messy drywall work to be done. Had we passed inspection, we could be using the elevator right now. It's ready to go, and has been for months. We've just been waiting on the contractor to get the rest of the work finished.  

March 28, '06. The basement also failed inspection. The state inspector wants the elevator area grouted and tiled.  

March 25 2006. Here is the view from the Narthex of the elevator lobby. Note the dirty terrazzo just before you enter. This area was covered by cinderblock for the last 40 years, so it needs heavy cleaning. I regret that the cleaning crew that came yesterday did NOT clean it as I asked. I took a cheap plastic dish cleaning pad to the corner to the left of the door jam, and it cleaned up reasonably well.  

25Mar06- These are composite vinyl tiles installed in the LOWER level outside entry. I think they look very nice. I suspect we'll need a rain mat eventually. We also need to find out if that new glass door will be adjusted so that it will stay open. Right now it does not. 

25 Mar 2006: Rather than glue a rubber/vinyl strip to the Terrazzo, we are going to try smoothing this cement patch out and painting it to somehow match the floor. We hate to mess up the smooth floor if we don't have to. This is an expirement, so we'll see how it turns out in the next few days when the painters come back. 

March 25, 2006. This picture speaks a thousand words about how smoothly this construction job has been managed. Three workers came here to lay the floor tiles, but they did not receive enough to finish while they were here. Now they have to come back again. They were also not sent here with the tools to do the ceramic tiles in the preschool, so that job didn't get done, either. It seems that with so very little left to be done, there are more and more delays.  

25 March 06. Tiles have been installed in the elevator itself, and in the room.  

23Mar06: Here is the south wall of the church with the carpet now fitted. There is, however, a problem with the way the drywall was fitted around the heating unit. They should have left enough of a gap around the heater so that the front and top panel can be removed for servicing. Also, the fan switches were buried in the drywall. Hmmm. I wonder how the contractor is going to address this - as I mentioned it to him a few weeks ago. 

23rd March 2006... Carpet work finished on this wall. Obviously, the carpet no longer 'fits' the perimeter of the pews due to the addition. Three pews were removed to make way for the elevator. When we get new carpeting someday in the future, it will be fitted all along the wall. 

March 23rd. 2006. The lower elevator room at the ramp is getting tile today. First this cement-like stuff has to be placed to even out the areas where the cement work tore up the existing terrazzo. It's no longer possible to restore old terrazzo due to high cost and scarcity of craftsmen. I've been promised that the floor work will be finished TODAY, Thursday. Let's hope so. 

Mar 23 2006 - Basement baseboard has been installed. No floor tile has been added to the equipment room, or around the elevator door. This is because the trustees are going to look into having the entire basement re-tiled. Our current tile has seen better days. The floor, as you can see, is in need of heavy-duty machine cleaning. Hopefully tomorrow if the Contractor keeps his word. 

Underlayment. It's too bad we can't get somebody here to install terrazzo flooring to match the church. I am told it's a dying art.  

Underlayment is being installed in the upstairs elevator room. Vinyl composite tiles will be installed. 

March 23, '06. Carpet work in the church.  

23Mar.2006. Floor work is starting today. Here is the elevator and the new room awaiting tile work.  

March 23, 2006. The third change of seasons has taken place since the building program started. Could it be that we are reaching the end? The contractor was here today and assured me that the floor work would be finished today, the cleaning tomorrow, and he would only be waiting on the elevator inspection and outside landscaping. Here is a view of the very messy balcony. Carpet men are here to put things back together. There is a lot of drywall dust up here. It's the biggest mess in the church right now. 

March 17, 2006. Here is an interesting device. The door that opens to the lower narthex has a magnetic stop. This electro-magnet in the picture is hooked up to the fire alarm system. The door can stay propped open on this magnet. If there is an alarm, the magnet will disengage and the door will shut itself.  

17 March 2006. Floor trim was added to the outside areas of the new walls. There is so little work left to do, and it's taking a frustratingly long time to get it done. I sure hope the contractor will decide to get this job finished up pretty soon. There really isn't much more to do. 

3/15/06. This red box has been mounted in the boiler room. It is the fire alarm and sump pump panel. Should there be a fire or failure of the sump pump in the elevator shaft this box will inform Seivers alarm company, who will let us know of a problem. Of course, a fire will automatically go to the Coventry Fire Department. 

8 March 2006. There's no keeping up on the cleaning, as you can see from the floor. The source of the dirt these days is that new elevator room. It's full of drywall dust and just gets tracked all over the place by workmen. I am going to sweep that room out today so we can control this mess. 

On March 8, my son and I had to do a lot of cleaning before the midweek Lent service. Notice the piles of dust to the right of the new door. Keeping the church clean has been an exercise in futility. Sweeping and mopping need to be done constantly - and even that doesn't keep up with new messes that get made. The builder promises to get a cleaning crew here ASAP. One of the big sources of mess is the elevator shaft and the new elevator room on the main floor. The dust remains in that room and gets tracked all over the place. Christopher and I tried cleaning it out a bit before the service started.  

Mar. 8 2006- This part of the job is moving along rapidly. Four inches sure doesn't seem like much. The new frame has been installed. I wonder what the builder's plans are to deal with the gaps in the terrazzo flooring? 

3-8-06: Work now begins on the handicap restroom. To bring it up to code, the old door is being removed and this new, 4 inch wider door is being added. Standby for another big mess in the narthex as the plaster dust starts flying. 

March 8: The gutter has been patched. You can see the new copper patch where the old downspout was, The leaking seam to the left of the window has also been patched. Next rainstorm will show how these necessary patches are holding.  

8 Mar.06: The painters are two days ahead of schedule. The weatherman is calling for rain on Friday, so they decided to do the outside work on Wednesday. 

March 8: The painters decided the weather was cooperating enough to allow them to paint out the railing on Wednesday instead of Friday. It's looking good. It's great to see this project is finally moving at a proper pace. 

The morning of March 7, 2006. SIX trucks and workers tripping over each other. After 9 months of delays, this is a most welcome sight. Electricians, Downspouts, Plumbers, Elevator technicians, and painters. I am told that weather permitting, Friday is the day to get the handrail painted (Black). 

Mar. 7, 2006: Yes, it's copper.  

March 7 2006. The downspout has been installed and patch work is being done on the big hole, and the leak just to the left of the window by the ladder. This part of the work was L O N G overdue. 

3-7-06, Painting in the basement. The downspout is being installed as this picture was taken, which allowed the painters to get going. Here the new doors are being finished. 

7th March 2006. This is the orignial sump pump on the bottom of the shaft. It was thought this lone pump would be sufficient to handle the water. It wasn't by a longshot. The larger pump was added outside the shaft last fall. Now this sump pump will serve as a backup. Today the plumbers installed the PVC pipe that will go up into the basement ceiling and drain to the deep sink in the boiler room. There is a lot of work going on today - much to my relief. 

7 March 06. The sump pump on the bottom of the elevator shaft will drain to the deep sink in the boiler room. Here is teh PVC pipe that will carry the water. 

4 March 2006. The painters really matched the narthex paint well. They will be back on Monday the 6th to stain the doors and paint the trim. 

4 March 2006. The painters have been here since Thursday. They are doing a great job matching the color of the new paint to the old. 

3 March 2006. We have now entered the *9th* month of our 2 month construction project. Here is a view of the water damage to the cinderblock. The damage is caused by the missing downspout pouring water down the side of the church. On Saturday March 4 a worker drove over to the church and took a look at the gutters/downspouts. Let's hope this means it will be worked on soon, because the painters can't work on this part of the wall until it's addressed. On the positive side, the basement garbage dump has been cleaned up. But the floors are not mopping clean. They look great when wet, but they dry very dirty looking.