Sunnyhill New Home

Thank you Michael Hennessy and Jen McGlothin for taking advantage of photo opportunities that would otherwise have been lost to history while the blogger was visiting friends, family and fellow theater alumni in the unseasonably warm south. Here's what happened in the last two weeks.

Jen, the Margaret Bourke-White of construction photography, on assignment for the Sunnyhill New Home Update blog.

Columbia Gas shut down one lane of Washington Road to prepare for connecting our new gas line to the main. The connection could take place on Friday, May 5, if it's not raining.

The ditch for the gas and water lines was moved south of the tree to reduce damage to the root ball.

The area over the new storm-water containment system behind the new sanctuary has been rough graded. When finished, the concrete portion of the inspection access hole will no longer be visible. After final grading, grass seed will be sown and the area will be covered with straw mats to protect it from erosion until the grass grows.

The pipe that carries excess water from the storm-water containment system to Sunnyhill drive runs down the hill behind the church, across the garage driveway, through Joe Carter's Eagle project garden, which sadly has been badly damaged by construction, to a point where it connects with our existing line.

The trench behind the church has been filled and rough graded.

This large, concrete storm drain box replaced the old, shallow storm drain in the garage driveway. The old drain box had a habit of silting up and had to occasionally be dug out.

The drainage basin is in place and the hill below has been rough graded. When paved, this section of the driveway will have a thicker gravel base layer to prevent the storm-water drain pipe from being crushed by the weight of the garbage truck that picks up our refuse. When the storm drain pipe was inspected several months ago, the plumber discovered that the pipe had been crushed and dislocated.

Craig and Scott from TEDCO added new steel lintels above the door and windows to repair the damage to the facade of the historic building. (See previous post for details on the damage.)

A new electrical box was installed above the door for a modern LED light fixture. The old building is now ready for a new coat of stucco.

Concrete forms for our new entry pad, steps and sidewalk await the transit mixers...

..that delivered twelve cubic yards of stained concrete to pour our sidewalks and pads. All of our concrete is exposed aggregate. Plantings will fill the spaces to the left and right of the front step.

This is a close-up of the front step and pad provides a better view of the exposed aggregate.

An ADA compliant sloped sidewalk provides wheelchair access to the main entrance of the church. Two van-accessible handicapped parking spaces are to the right of the end of the walkway. The area behind the walk will be landscaped with deer resistant plantings discussed in an earlier blog.

This walkway provides access to the door on the north end of the hallway. It, too, is ADA compliant for wheelchair access. The two van-accessible parking spaces will be directly in front of this walkway.

This pad is directly behind the infant and toddler room. To the right is a doorway to the old sanctuary and to the left is a doorway to the new sanctuary. These doors will provide access to the memorial garden and the playground.

The mullions between the large windows on the west end of the sanctuary behind the stage have been clad with aluminum. Except for some caulking here and there, this portion of the building is finished and looking spectacular.

Installation of our complex HVAC system is moving forward. The massive ducts have been insulated for greater efficiency.

In this back view of the system, components yet to be installed are are visible. 

These partially insulated copper pipes will go through the wall and...

...exit through through the roof where the blue rectangular box can be seen between the two white vent pipes.

Those pipes and more will connect with these small condenser units...

...and these larger condenser units on the flat roof above the infant/toddler room.

Moving indoors, installers began laying carpet with two squares in the hallway outside the RE/Choir room. 

By the end of the day on Wednesday, most of the new building had been carpeted. This photo of Roy's office was taken before the carpet was protected with plastic and Masonite sheets.

Subway tile is being installed on the wet walls of the three restrooms. Subway tile is a nod to the historic building, which originally had subway tile in all of its bathrooms. This photo is the south wall of the women's room. A mirror will hang above the sinks and below the LED light. A baby changing station will fold out of the wall to the right of the sink.

On the north wall, the tile is the height the dividers between the toilets will be. The red on the floor is a sealer that helps the tile adhere. The baseboards are made from the floor tile...

...stacked here ready for installation. 

In other news, the temporary wall between the old sanctuary and the new addition has been removed. Here you can clearly see the two archways that mark the entrance into the new building.

In this closer view of the new foyer, the hallway to the offices, classrooms, choir room and restrooms can be seen on the right. The stairs to the basement are also on the right, and the sculpture that will recognize donors will hang on the white wall ahead. 

The wall was removed so crews can access the old sanctuary to plaster, paint and carpet it. To clear the space for that to happen, Denny McCracken, Michael Hennessy and the blogger met at Sunnyhill at 7 a.m. on Thursday, May 4, to assist Craig and Scott from TEDCO in moving the furniture and other items temporarily stored there.

This photo and the photos below show how the old and new will work together.

It was surprising, at least for the blogger, to see how much light fills the space -- even on a gray day. 

The new door to the left provides access to the backyard. While it's difficult to see in this photo, the craftsmanship of TEDCO's Craig and Scott is evident in the way the baseboards, chair rail and cove lights in the new work blend seamlessly with the originals.

This table full of scraps cut at odd angles and bevels shows just how much work went into fitting together the old trim moulding with the new.

While some of the stored furniture was moved to offices and the garage, most of it went into temporary storage in the new sanctuary. The furniture filled the old sanctuary; it hardly makes a dent in the new space.

There is a lot left to be done in the basement. This is the area will become the new RE/adult library with the addition of the many new bookcases we received for free through an organization that connects businesses with non-profits. A lot of the work in the basement will have to be done by volunteers.

Today we started by scraping the duct tape and loose paint off some of the heating pipes so TEDCO's painting contractor can spray paint them. The white plastic pipe is our new larger water line.