Roof decking waiting to be uncovered and unloaded
after its 2,600 mile journey.

Shortly after 9 a.m. on Tuesday, December 27, after a 2,600 mile journey, a 53' flat-bed trailer loaded with stacks of laminated roof decking pulled into the parking lot at Sunnyhill. Randy, the driver, his travelling companion, a Chihuahua named Lexi, and a driver-trainee, Ashton, had begun the trip six days earlier in Chehalis, Washington, a small town about 90 miles south of Seattle, where the roof decking is manufactured and finished. Christmas for this trio of professional truckers was spent at the Iowa 80 truck stop, advertised as the largest truck stop in the world. Eager to get to their next pickup, Randy and Ashton wasted no time uncovering our precious cargo, and Craig unloaded and stacked it using the Lull forklift. 

The decking has been carefully wrapped to protect
the quality of the wood and the finish.

Craig unloads the last bundle...

...and stacks it in the parking lot to await the

crew that arrives Thursday to install it.

Tomorrow, Thursday, a special crew will arrive to begin installing the roof decking, a process expected to take about two weeks. Made of pre-finished pine, the decking will be the exposed cathedral ceiling of our new sanctuary. Therefore, installing it is a delicate job, and the wood must be protected from the elements at all times. 

It took three attempts, but Randy was finally able
to maneuver the truck out of our driveway

without damaging it, our lawn or the street signs. 

An example of how the ceiling of our sanctuary
will look. Our roof beams, of course, are steel.

With the concrete floor in place and cured enough to bear the weight, since Tuesday, carpenters have been busy framing and erecting the exterior and interior walls, and installing floor joists and sub-flooring over the basement. They move so fast they are hard to count, but seven or eight are hard at work taking advantage of the relatively good winter weather. The goal is to be under roof by mid-January. At that time, the window and door openings can be covered with plastic and gas-fired heaters can be used to create a more comfortable working environment for the interior work.

Floor joists and sub-floor are going in over the basement.

Joist hangers,a nailing compressor and floor joists ready for action.

A view from the center window of the choir room looking through
the door to the room, the hallway, and the door to the sanctuary.

A view through the window into Jen's office. The jog in the wall
to the left of the door will be a hallway coat closet.

A view from the north end of the hallway. The crying room is the
first door on the right. Storage for tables and chairs is next.

A view from the west end of the sanctuary looking at the rear wall.

Craig and one of the carpenters installing the steel door frame for
the door to Jim's office. Note the magnetic level at the top of the
frame. To the right is the choir room and to the left is Roy's office.
In the background is the door to the women's room.

A view of our steel framing across Longuevue Road from Woodhaven
Road.

Be sure to look at the drone footage of Sunnyhill taken by 

Peg and Scott's daughter, Margo, on December 26, 2016.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Georgia buggies were used to move concrete from

the transit mixer to the west end of the sanctuary.

The first day of winter and the shortest day of the year coincided with the longest day of construction so far for our new home. The 14-person crew from Carl Taylor and Sons (CTS), our concrete sub-contractor, began to arrive at 6 a.m. By 10:30 a.m., when this reporter arrived, about 75 percent of the concrete in the new addition had been poured and leveled or "screed" in the jargon of the trade. 

Concrete for the east end of the building was

poured directly from the transit mixer.

Screed used as a verb is the process of leveling the concrete. The noun screed is the tool used for leveling. CTS used a combination of screeds to level our floor. The floor of the sanctuary was leveled using a power, laser guided screed. Because of the difference in depth of the pour - from 4 inches to 12 inches at the haunches - the floor under the offices, classrooms and restrooms had to be leveled with manual screeds. 

The laser in the left of this photo was used to 

guide the power screed so the slab would

be perfectly level. 

A power, laser guided screed in action.

 Once the floor was leveled and the concrete had begun to set, the floor was troweled to a smooth finish using powered trowels and hand trowels. This tedious process took until about 5 p.m. to complete. Even after the last crew member from CTS left for the day, there was still work to be done. 

Troweling was done using both a powered trowel

(foreground) and the old-fashioned way with

hand trowels (background).

Temporary bracing kept the wooden forms in place.

To prevent movement in the steel columns from

cracking the floor, the area around the base will

be filled with an isolation pad.

Craig Frye, our construction manager from TEDCO and his associate, Scott, had to remain on site until the concrete had hardened enough to be walked upon without leaving marks so they could cover it with insulated plastic tarps. These covers will help keep in the heat generated by concrete in the normal process of curing and keep the slab above 40 degrees Fahrenheit until it cures enough to be exposed to weather. Generally concrete reaches 70 percent of its strength in seven days and full strength in 28 days. Craig and Scott began covering the floor just after 8 p.m. and were nearly done by about 8:45 p.m. They expected to finish by 9 p.m.

Placing the slab required seven transit mixers, each hauling 10 cubic yards of concrete. To compensate for the temperatures, the concrete was made with hot water and a chemical accelerator was added to speed curing. This will result in additional costs, which will be absorbed by the contingency built into the budget. We had expected to be pouring concrete in the late summer, but the start date of our project was delayed three months for a variety of reasons. 

Tomorrow, Thursday, CTS will return to pour isolation pads around the columns, place the slab in the basement - which will take eight to nine yards of concrete - and to cut expansion joints in the concrete poured today.

Placing the slab isn't the only exciting news coming from the work site. For the past week, carpenters have been busy - even on the coldest days - framing and erecting the exterior walls of our new home. If you can read the language of wall framing - studs, king studs, jack studs, cripples, headers and sills - you should be able to see where the doors and windows will be installed. Once the floor is finished and the holidays have passed, framing our new home will take center stage, and we should see rapid progress. The goal is to get the building "dry" as quickly as possible. Look for an update on framing in next week's blog.

In other news, look for a link to the steel erection video in the right column of this blog. The most dramatic changes took place on day one, but if you look closely on day three, you can see the bright light from welding strategic joints taking place. 

A view of the slab through a window in a new RE room and an 

exterior door on the north side of the building.

Scott, left, and Craig from TEDCO putting the slab to bed 

for the night.

Carpenters continued to fabricate wall sections even as the

slab was being placed.

To reduce the likelihood of termite damage, the sills of the wall 

panels are treated lumber. In addition, a copper termite shield

and plastic foam insulation is placed between the foundation and

the sill plate. The ground under the slab has also been

treated for termites.

The steel frame has been welded at strategic locations.

Framing of the north side of the building showing two windows in a 

new RE room, a door to the outside at the end of the hall, and a

window in the crying room. Scott and Craig can be seen in the

background placing insulated plastic covers over the new slab

to protect it from the cold.

The long sections of rebar seen in the foreground
will reinforce the concrete that will support
 the interior walls. 

Last week's blog reported that the concrete floors for the sanctuary, offices and classrooms were scheduled to be poured Monday and Tuesday of this week - weather permitting. Well, weather did not permit. Carl Taylor & Sons, Inc., our concrete sub-contractor did, however, spread gravel, lay down a vapor barrier (the yellow plastic in the photos), construct forms, and install reinforcing rods and mesh in preparation for pouring concrete. 

Wood forms have been constructed along the top
of the basement walls.

This morning TEDCO cleared the top of the foundation
so the exterior walls can be built on top of it.

When they were done, the entire space was covered with thermal plastic blankets to keep the ground warm and protect their work. When weather permits, the protective cover will be removed and the concrete will be poured. Keep an eye on the weather and you may be able to predict when it will happen. TEDCO reports that the earliest possible date is Thursday, December 22. 

Carpenters ensure a wall section is square
 by measuring the diagonals. (If the diagonals
 of a parallelogram are equal, it is a rectangle.)

In the meantime, carpenters are on site framing up the walls. The walls are being framed in sections in the parking lot using 2X6 lumber with oriented strand board (OSB) sheathing. The framed walls will be erected in position and secured to the foundation using  1/2 inch diameter expansion bolts spaced at 32 inch intervals. Our exterior walls have a lot of components. From the outside in they will consist of: stucco, metal lath, a drainage mat, two layers of waterproof building paper, one inch of continuous rigid insulation, an air and moisture barrier (like Tyvek), 7/16 inch thick oriented strand board sheathing, 2X6 wood framing with R/19 fiberglass batt insulation, a continuous vapor barrier and 5/8 inch gypsum wall board.

The door frames are being stored
upside down and on their sides.

The steel door frames that will be used for interior and exterior doors have arrived on site and are being stored in the foyer of the church.

















The roof structure also has several components as seen in the accompanying photos. The top photo is a detail from our construction drawings. The bottom photo is made from samples of the actual materials we will use. The photo shows a thinner foam. Ours will be 4 inches thick.

A view from the west (stage end).

The most dramatic new home news is the arrival and erection of the  structural steel framework that will support the roof of the sanctuary. The steel arrived at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 6, and by 2 p.m. was erected on our site. Today and tomorrow the more tedious work of truing the frame to ensure that it is level and plumb will take place. At the same time all the bolts will be inserted and torqued to proper tightness. A technician from PSI will be on site to ensure that all welds and connections are up to specifications.

This view from the southwest
clearly shows the roof overhang.

A view from the east gives a hint of what we will see
through the massive windows behind the stage.

A view from the east showing the footings for the 

walls that will form our restrooms and offices. The

main entry is between the two rows of white pipes. 

A corner of the Carol Karl choir room can be 

seen in the foreground.

Once erection of the structural steel is complete, we will be ready to pour our concrete floors. The basement floor is scheduled to be poured on Friday, Dec. 9, and the  floors of the sanctuary, offices and RE classrooms are scheduled to be poured on Monday and Tuesday. Pouring concrete is weather dependent. The forecast for Friday is a high of 29 degrees and partly sunny. Monday, the high is forecast to be 35 degrees with rain. Starting Tuesday, the temperatures are forecast to plummet with a low Tuesday night of 14 degrees. Wednesday will be even colder. To pour our concrete floors in cold weather without compromising its strength and durability, the mix will be made using hot water, and a non-chloride accelerator will be added to speed hardening. In addition, our concrete floors will be covered with special blankets to contain the heat generated during the curing process. Pouring the floors is a critical path item: nothing else can be done until they are completed. Once the floors are in,framing can begin.

At our bi-weekly meeting with RDC and TEDCO, the new home construction team selected finishes for the windows, doors, roof decking, shingles and brick trim for the new addition so the material can be ordered and delivered within the proper time frame. 

Exterior storefront window color on left;
exterior Pella window color on right.

The design of our new home incorporates both "storefront" windows and Pella windows. The storefront windows have all-aluminum frames and will have the anodized finish shown in the accompanying photo. The Pella windows have aluminum exterior frames and wooden interior frames. The exterior will be painted in a similar tone as the anodized storefront windows.

The the interior finishes for the doors,
roof decking and window frames

The interior of the roof decking, which will be a dominant feature of the sanctuary, will be natural pine with a semi-gloss finish. The interior wood frames of the Pella windows will be a darker stain, and the doors to the sanctuary, offices and classrooms will be an intermediate tone as seen in the photo.

This brick will highlight the windows of the addition.

Our entire church building will get a new roof.

Workers installing the BlueDuct.

The biggest news of the past two weeks is the arrival and installation of the underground HVAC duct, which was a critical path item. The delay in specifying and delivery of the BlueDuct has put us about three weeks behind schedule, which we may be able to make up.

The decision to use underground duct was largely aesthetic.Suspended, horizontal steel ducts would have detracted from the beauty of our soaring cathedral ceiling. 

The company's website describes BlueDuct as follows:

"The BlueDuct is the only proven, direct-burial underground duct system made from ultra-durable, advanced HDPE (high-density polyethylene). The products are engineered to protect against corrosion, mold and mildew, radon, rust, water and air leaks. The BlueDuct systems have been installed in thousands of buildings, for over a decade, with trouble-free, long-term performance."

Color coded work site - HVAC (blue), electrical (gray)
waste pipes (white), Pex pipe to floor drain (light blue). 

The day after the HVAC duct installation was completed, electricians installed the underground conduit that will carry data and electricity under the floor from the rear of the sanctuary to the stage.

Gravel will be spread to provide a base for the
concrete floor.

Now that all underground work is complete, four inches of gravel will be spread to provide a base for the concrete floor. Pouring the concrete floor was expected to be the next part of the project, However, the concrete will now wait until the steel structure that will support our roof has been installed. Steel erection is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, Dec. 6 and be completed by Friday, Dec. 9.

A small village has been erected on site to provide
offices and storage for the construction crews.

If you have been to Sunnyhill recently, you probably noticed the arrival of a new office trailer which will be the operations center for the many framers who will soon be on site to construct the framework for the addition. 



In other news, the storm water containment unit is nearly complete and has been partially covered with soil. The unit still must be connected to our existing storm water sewer. To do this and achieve the proper slope, a trench will be dug down the hill behind the garage across the driveway to a point just behind the RE garden. The new storm water sewer will connect with our existing pipe at that point.

Matt Johnston and Jon Volkwein with the sawyer.
Picture taken by Dennis Sweeney.

The wood saved from the removal of the Sunnyhill red oak tree has been sawed into boards for future use. Like wine, the wood will now be aged (dried) for a year or two before it can be used for woodworking projects. We are looking for a place to store the lumber, but for the time being it is being stored by Jon Volkwein who has taken the lead on this important project.