Cathy handing ceiling tile to project member Jim. Our first Nomads Project as leaders was scheduled for the three weeks following Thanksgiving and had an ambitious set of objectives. However, by project-end, the list had changed significantly with some major accomplishments added that we had never anticipated when the team assembled on the Sunday before the work began.
Dave and Fred dig out nest 2 where the valves need replacing. Back in the Dirt
When we finished our plumbing project a year ago, there was one “nest” of valves that we were not able to replace before it ended. These controlled the water flow to the church’s fellowship hall, the residential trailer and the gym. This became Fred and project member Geary’s objective to replace the valves in what had been labeled “Nest 2”. By the end of the first week, they had the valves in place under the new valve box. (Fred noted that it could have been done a day earlier, but we wouldn’t let him turn off the water for a day while the church was having a funeral.)
When we finished our plumbing project a year ago, there was one “nest” of valves that we were not able to replace before it ended. These controlled the water flow to the church’s fellowship hall, the residential trailer and the gym. This became Fred and project member Geary’s objective to replace the valves in what had been labeled “Nest 2”. By the end of the first week, they had the valves in place under the new valve box. (Fred noted that it could have been done a day earlier, but we wouldn’t let him turn off the water for a day while the church was having a funeral.)
Backflow preventer Over the course of the past year, an inspection revealed the need for a backflow preventer on the church’s main water line. (A backflow preventer ensures the church water system will not flow back into the city water in the event of a loss of pressure.) With some help from the folks at Ferguson’s plumbing (who immediately recognized Dave when he returned to the store after almost a year absence), Fred and Dave were able to understand the requirements for installing it. This turned out to be Fred and Geary’s 2nd week project. Unfortunately, the installation required turning off the water to most of the campus, including the school. Luckily, they were able to make the facilities in the church building available during the outage. With the help of a church member, we moved some wild irises around the installation to camouflage it and make it less appealing to the kids to sit on. Another successful project task.
If only the final plumbing project could have gone so well. The church’s grounds were plumbed with a myriad of irrigation heads that had not been working for some time. However, there was a desire to re-enable them and have them fed from a well that would also need some work to get it pumping again. The work on this was slow-going. Project members Herb and Don spent much of the 3 weeks mapping the system, finding and repairing the myriad sprinkler heads, and testing each loop to determine its “health”. Although a lot was accomplished, there is still much more to have a working system fed from the church’s well. Good thing there is another project in January.
Geary studies the ceiling in Peeler Hall Up Above My Head
While all of the plumbing projects were part of the original project plan, on the project’s 2nd day, we learned of an urgent need that no one had foreseen. The fire safety inspector cited a violation of the drop ceiling in the church’s oldest building, which was currently being used by the youth. This had been the church’s original sanctuary and the large hall and its side rooms all had ceiling panels that were bowed or broken. With the help of project member Jim, we developed a plan to change the grid from 2ft by 4ft tiles to 2ft x 2ft tiles.
While all of the plumbing projects were part of the original project plan, on the project’s 2nd day, we learned of an urgent need that no one had foreseen. The fire safety inspector cited a violation of the drop ceiling in the church’s oldest building, which was currently being used by the youth. This had been the church’s original sanctuary and the large hall and its side rooms all had ceiling panels that were bowed or broken. With the help of project member Jim, we developed a plan to change the grid from 2ft by 4ft tiles to 2ft x 2ft tiles.
Herb grinding supports to fit in old grid This turned out to be a massive project consuming half the team for much of 2 weeks. The old tiles had to be taken out along with the insulation sitting on top of them. If the tiles were in decent shape, they were cut in half and then reduced 1/8” to fit in the smaller opening. At the same time, the support grid had to have short pieces added to split the large openings into 2 smaller openings. To ensure a uniform appearance of the finished panels, all had to be painted white.
Pat takes a break from sawing tiles That was the plan, but not everything went smoothly. The first obstacle was that the short grid supports we purchased wouldn’t fit the old grid. Since they didn’t make the old style system any more, we had to grind both ends of almost 250 support pieces. Then there was all the stuff that came raining down from the ceiling when the tiles were removed -- large chunks of the old plaster ceiling, thousands of pecan shells and squirrel leavings, and then the rare oddity, such as the pink Jesus statue. Hmmm. . .
Finished ceiling But despite the grime, the wearying overhead work and the seemingly endless numbers of tiles, the work progressed from the main hall to each of the side rooms. The odd-sized panels at the edges took more than twice as long as their full-sized counterparts. And then there were the complexities of panels with vents in them. The lowest point of the project came when we were within a few panels of completion when the heating duct separated from the main trunk of the HVAC system. In the process of determining how to re-attach it, we found another room with a drop ceiling. Ugh!
But we finished in good time and still had the energy to clean up the debris and dust we had created. The church has a new youth intern starting in January. We feel much better about the room that will greet her upon her arrival.
But we finished in good time and still had the energy to clean up the debris and dust we had created. The church has a new youth intern starting in January. We feel much better about the room that will greet her upon her arrival.
Don finishes replacing a window Not So Small Extras
The sound was disturbing, but the muzzle flash caused them to wonder. It was gunfire from a car driving by a house across the street from the church. Dave and Fred were checking out the prior week’s progress when they saw the car and heard the shots fired. This began a series of conversations with the police. It wasn’t until the next day that we realized some of the bullets had hit windows in the church. We quickly got into action and measured and replaced the window glass in both rooms. Not something we expected and certainly not something we wanted to have to do again, but it took precedence over most tasks on the project list, so we got it done.
The sound was disturbing, but the muzzle flash caused them to wonder. It was gunfire from a car driving by a house across the street from the church. Dave and Fred were checking out the prior week’s progress when they saw the car and heard the shots fired. This began a series of conversations with the police. It wasn’t until the next day that we realized some of the bullets had hit windows in the church. We quickly got into action and measured and replaced the window glass in both rooms. Not something we expected and certainly not something we wanted to have to do again, but it took precedence over most tasks on the project list, so we got it done.
We had two full-time painters on the project. When they weren’t painting ceiling tiles, Bobbi and Pat R. were painting the trim, doors and fences on Wesley Hall, the Office and the Sanctuary. Similarly, Jim, a skilled carpenter was hard at work on other projects when he freed up from the ceiling. He repaired the playground slide by replacing the steps and built 2 stalls in the bunkhouse bathrooms.
Almost done with the puzzle When we found time to relax (which of course we did), there was plenty of good-natured ribbing and laughter mixed with project talk. We took a couple of trips to Clara’s at the Cathedral for lunch and met Bob and Shirley at the Deck the Chairs event in Jacksonville Beach. By the end of the third week, we had made new friends and had a renewed appreciation of the ability of the team to accomplish so much more than we could individually. With 8 of us returning for the project in January, it will be interesting to see how much more we can do with a running start.
Parting Shot
We can’t leave the cats out of the picture for long since they are everywhere at Faith. This one was sitting on the sill of the office window checking out the coming and going.
We can’t leave the cats out of the picture for long since they are everywhere at Faith. This one was sitting on the sill of the office window checking out the coming and going.
