Approaching our new addition on Wednesday morning there was so much drywall going up that the electric drill drivers sounded like a swarm of bees -- zzzzzzit, zzzzzzit, zzzzzzit. And, indeed, the interior was a swarm of activity. Except for one small section adjacent to the infant/toddler room, the sanctuary has been drywalled, and much of it has at least the first coat of drywall joint compound. (This blog will use drywall as a noun and a verb.) This morning, Thursday, a drywall finisher was at work on the rear wall of the sanctuary applying another coat. The speed and skill these finishers demonstrate is fascinating to watch and impossible to describe with words. In fact, drywall finishing is such an art, that they have their own union called...the drywall finishers union. Tales are told of some finishers who are so good that no sanding is required.
Entering the building reveals how tightly sealed it is. On the exterior, in addition to the Tyvek building wrap, the new addition will have one-inch thick rigid foam and a covering of modern day stucco. Inside, the exterior wall cavities are stuffed with mineral wool and the ceilings have R-38 fiberglass insulation. The interior walls are also being insulated with fiberglass batts for sound attenuation. The windows are all thermopanes, and only a few of them open to let in outside air. The average home depends upon leaking windows and doors for fresh air infiltration.
The tightness of the building begs the question -- will we run out of oxygen during our first service together? The answer to that question came this morning after a climbing a ladder into the attic where the HVAC is being installed to talk to Ron, one of our HVAC technicians. When asked about where the fresh air would come from, Ron pointed up to the two giant vertical ducts running through the ceiling and the roof. One of those, he said, will bring fresh, outside air into the air handler where it will be heated or cooled and blown into the sanctuary, the crying room, the restrooms and the hallway, which are all part of one heating/cooling zone. The offices, classrooms, choir room and infant/toddler room will all depend upon the passage of fresh air through the doorways during the normal course of the day. These rooms also have some windows that open.
The three offices, the RE room, the RE/Choir room and the infant/toddler room will each have dedicated HVAC units mounted in the eaves of the attic and controlled by thermostats in each room. The sealed building envelope and the HVAC plan are all designed to reduce our demand for energy, and thus our carbon footprint, and to save us money. What could be better way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day than being green and saving green. In this photo of the wall of the RE/Choir room, the electrical box on the left will house the thermostat and the electrical box on the right will accommodate the light switch. The location, so far to the left, is so they clear the door when it is open. Note that the boxes are perfectly aligned. The devil is in the details.
The RE/Choir room has other special features. For sound attenuation, the drywall on the walls between the room and the adjoining offices is mounted on resilient channel designed specifically for the purpose. These channels are mounted horizontally and at intervals of approximately two feet.
The RE/Choir room also has an additional layer of rigid foam over the batt insulation in the attic.
The ceiling has R-38 fiberglass insulation. As mentioned in an earlier post, the rafters had to be deepened to accommodate that much insulation. As a side note, from the exterior, light coming through the triangular window that will be at the top of the room creates a very dramatic effect when viewing the building from the outside at night. It's like a beacon for religious liberals.
Purple drywall, which resists moisture, mold and mildew has been installed in the men's room...
...the women's room...
The janitor's closet, and the gender neutral restroom (not pictured).
Roy's office...
The northeast corner RE room...
...and a storage room have all been drywalled. The protrusion in the corner is a chase for the HVAC duct that goes from the attic air handler, through the storage room and under the floor for heating and cooling the right half of the sanctuary. There is another chase in a closet down the hall. Who gets dibs on this storage?
This wall, with the exposed pipes and wires will be the first thing you see when you enter our new space from the old fellowship hall, and is the perfect place for donor recognition. Sculptor and woodworker Scott Smith is working on a dramatic design for the space that will recognize everyone who has contributed financially to building our new addition.
To wrap things up, this photo was not included to show the Tyvek, but to show the soffit of the small gable over the north hallway exit door.
The soffit for the northside of the building, seen here in white, is Azek beadboard, a plastic building material known for its durability. The soffit will be painted a grayish-tan to match the aluminum fascia (pebble stone) and the Pella window frames (clay).
Entering the building reveals how tightly sealed it is. On the exterior, in addition to the Tyvek building wrap, the new addition will have one-inch thick rigid foam and a covering of modern day stucco. Inside, the exterior wall cavities are stuffed with mineral wool and the ceilings have R-38 fiberglass insulation. The interior walls are also being insulated with fiberglass batts for sound attenuation. The windows are all thermopanes, and only a few of them open to let in outside air. The average home depends upon leaking windows and doors for fresh air infiltration.
Purple drywall, which resists moisture, mold and mildew has been installed in the men's room...
No comments:
Post a Comment