Roof, walls & windows

Work continues inside the building, and there's now more to see outside as well. Like our roof! We've been told the blue tarp covering our roof while it's under construction is visible from planes flying to the island airport. If you happen to be passing by, take a look!

Sept. 17: Stripping off the roof shingles and laying plywood sheathing.
This photo is taken from the south end of the site, looking north.
(See the Oct. 9th photo below to see what happens with the
upstairs windows.)

Sept. 24: Installing studs for walls on the main floor.

Sept. 24: A blue tarpaulin covers the roof during construction.

Sept. 28: A vapour barrier is added to the roof.

Sept. 28: Drywall studs on the main floor.

Sept. 28: A view of the ground floor.

Oct. 1: Installing the platform for the organ pipes. Although the pipes
are in a fixed location, the organ console will be moveable. We can change its
location depending on how the space is being used.
  

Oct. 9: New windows in the upstairs common area. These will
be much more energy efficient than the building's original windows.

Oct. 9: When complete, this area will feature windows looking in
at the lounge area near the church's new entrance. It's at
the south-east corner of the building, close to Wineva Avenue.

Oct. 11: Incoming hydro ducts. Maybe not the most exciting photo
but certainly an important part of the construction!

Balancing Act

During a recent worship service, one of our ministers, Abigail Johnson, reminded us how important it is to have balance in our lives - especially when the going gets tough.

For some folks in our congregration, it would be safe to say that the renovation of our church building and our temporary move to St. Aidan's has been tough.

But if we stop and pay attention to the progress of the renovation so far, we can't help but get excited about our new church home.

Here are the highlights of recent work on the building, along with some great pictures:

1. Work on the foundation is complete
2. Drywall is going up - rooms will start taking shape in the next few weeks
3. The windows are being framed
4. Work on the roof is underway
5. Almost all of the structural steel has been installed

Aug 14: Trusses underway for 2nd floor and subfloor plywood being placed

Aug 14: View of the trusses and subfloor on the 2nd floor, looking west

Aug 14: On the 2nd floor, looking towards the southeast corner 

Aug 21: On the 2nd floor, looking southwest.
This is where the future staircase will come up from ground level.

Aug 21: View of the 2nd floor, looking east

Aug 21: View of the 2nd floor, looking north.
The three windows represent the size of the common room that
will be located here.

Aug 27: These are the blades used to cut through the concrete walls
that need to be removed.

Aug 27: On the ground level, drywall delivered on August 21st
is ready to be installed.

Aug 27: Drywall ceilings being installed on the northwest corner
of the ground floor.

We have a floor!

On July 31 and August 1, the concrete floor on the main level of our church was poured into place. Here's what this job looked like:

The main floor is prepared for the concrete pour.

Placing the concrete.

Completed floor slab, looking southwest from the 2nd level.

Completed floor slab, looking southwest.

Completed floor slab, view from the building's south east corner.

View from 2nd level, looking east.

Take a look behind the walls

Here are some recent photos of the interior construction.

Steel beams have been put in place to hold the new second floor, providing a level surface for worship services, performances and community celebrations. (The original floor at this level was sloped, making it difficult to use the space in a flexible way.)

We're creating a more functional space for what will be the main floor of the church. This space used to feel like it was below ground. Now the floor has been lowered and the built-up landscaping outside the church has been removed. This makes a much more welcoming space at street level that will house meeting rooms, a fully equipped kitchen, washrooms and the church office.

The pouring of concrete for the new main floor is scheduled for the first week of August.

Inside the church, looking west. The lower set of horizontal steel
beams are creating the platform for the second floor. The upper set 
of beams will support the organ loft.

Inside the church, looking up at the southwest corner.

Another view of the steel beams.

View of the north wall from the main floor.

View of the northwest corner from the main floor.

The chimney swifts are back

In May, we reported that a family of chimney swifts might required us to reconsider our plans to demolish an unused chimney on our north building.

Well, the swifts have returned to their nest in our chimney. That's good news, because chimney swifts are a threatened species in Ontario.

More good news: we’ve been able to reconfigure the arrangement of solar roof panels we’re planning to mitigate the effects of the chimney’s shadow on solar collection. So the chimney can stay, the chimney swifts can enjoy their nest, and we can still plan to reduce Beach United’s energy footprint. Yay!

You can learn more about chimney swifts in this article by Tim Tiner from ON Nature Magazine.

Condo rumours are greatly exaggerated

Now that we’ve demolished the south portion of our church building, some people are wondering what we’re planning to do with that piece of land.

The answer is, we don’t know yet. Lots of ideas have been discussed by our congregation, but no decisions have been made. Right now, renovating our church is our main priority.

One of our neighbours let us know that they've heard our south lot has been sold to a private group and that it may house a future condo development. That story is not true.

If you have questions about our church project, or hear a story you’d like to confirm, please feel free to ask us about it. You can post a comment on this blog, or reach Beach United’s HOMe project team directly at home@beachuc.ca.

A new look at street level

There is a lot of progress on our renovation, but much of the work is hard to see from the street. So here’s the latest....

Most of the work needed on the foundation is complete. And most of the existing structural steel has been reworked and installed for the new wood floor in the sanctuary.

By the way, the sanctuary floor on the second level used to be sloped, but the new floor will be level. That will make it easier to use the space for different functions, as well as making it easier to walk on.

The renovated church will also have an elevator to help move people, food and other supplies from one floor to the next. Masonry work for that is starting soon.

The most obvious change is the building's new look at street level.

The ground outside the church along Wineva is being regraded, and that’s probably what you’ll notice most the next time you walk by the site. Lowering the grading means we will be able to enter the building at street level, and the rooms on the ground floor will have more sunlight.

You can see the difference in the before-and-after photos:

Before: built-up landscaping meant the front entrance

was on the church's 2nd floor. You had to climb stairs to reach it,

and the lower floor didn't have any windows at the front.

After: removing the landscaping and lowering the grade makes

the church will be more accessible from street level. Windows

will be added to the lower floor, where the church offices will

be located.