Nomads building new picnic tables Work continues here at Faith, with the Nomads busy transforming spaces around the campus. We provide support to them and work on our own projects. The cold temperatures that took hold in early January finally eased up, and we were enjoying much more seasonable temperatures as the month ended and we celebrated Dave’s birthday.
Office attic with new insulation Keeping Warm
Usually, getting up into an attic in Florida is something you want to avoid. But when the high temperature for the day is only 47, the excessive heat is no longer an issue.
So, on a cold Monday, Pat and Cathy donned some protective jumpsuits and crawled up into the office attic to lay out some more insulation. The HVAC contractor had assessed the quality of the installed A/C unit, which was struggling to keep up with the summer heat. His verdict: The unit was fine, but the building needed more insulation. Some areas of the attic had none at all.
Usually, getting up into an attic in Florida is something you want to avoid. But when the high temperature for the day is only 47, the excessive heat is no longer an issue.
So, on a cold Monday, Pat and Cathy donned some protective jumpsuits and crawled up into the office attic to lay out some more insulation. The HVAC contractor had assessed the quality of the installed A/C unit, which was struggling to keep up with the summer heat. His verdict: The unit was fine, but the building needed more insulation. Some areas of the attic had none at all.
The trusses, wires, pipes, and ducts made the insulation project a challenging one. The plan was to lay batts of insulation out in the attic, but the job was complicated by a few factors. First, there were pipes, ductwork and wires everywhere. Second, the roof was supported by trusses that blocked access to the channels needing insulation, complicating the job tremendously. And lastly, the side rooms of the office had very low clearances. To reach them required crawling along narrow channels deep into the attic. This might have been a great place to blow in insulation, but there was one big problem with that approach. The same attic cavity stretched down dozens of feet deep across 4 classrooms behind the office.
We chose a holiday to do the work, so we could clean up the mess before the office was being used the next day. As we climbed up into the attic, Pat drew the short straw and became the one moving into the farther recesses to lay out the batts. Cathy was closer to the access door relaying instructions to the ground crew and passing supplies back to Pat. While Cathy was able to insulate the channels around her, Pat was moving slowly along the beams to get to the most remote areas. At one point, Cathy couldn’t see her at all.
By late afternoon, all of the office ceiling was done, with Vicky’s help as ground crew. The office was already feeling warmer, but the most effective test would be how cool it felt months later as the summer heat arrived.
We chose a holiday to do the work, so we could clean up the mess before the office was being used the next day. As we climbed up into the attic, Pat drew the short straw and became the one moving into the farther recesses to lay out the batts. Cathy was closer to the access door relaying instructions to the ground crew and passing supplies back to Pat. While Cathy was able to insulate the channels around her, Pat was moving slowly along the beams to get to the most remote areas. At one point, Cathy couldn’t see her at all.
By late afternoon, all of the office ceiling was done, with Vicky’s help as ground crew. The office was already feeling warmer, but the most effective test would be how cool it felt months later as the summer heat arrived.
Fuel polishing system for the sanctuary boiler Another challenge in the cold weather had been keeping the sanctuary heat running. After the repairs were completed in early January, Fred and Dave turned their attention to the fuel. The tank had been stirred up by a large fuel delivery and the “gunk” in the bottom was making its way into the system. So, they designed a fuel polishing system to pump the fuel from the tank through a 10 micron filter and return it to the tank. This would save the on-system fuel filter and hopefully reduce the likelihood of more blockages.
New picnic tables The Nomads were equally motivated to escape the cold with some indoor work. After disassembling the existing, but badly deteriorating picnic tables outside, they moved their new picnic table assembly task to an indoor location. They developed a very effective process that involved “kitting” the support pieces and assembling them with some templates. This allowed some of the team to turn out assembled table supports from cut pieces that another part of the team would finish into completed tables. By the end of the next week, the next Nomad team had assembled 10 picnic tables. Kim’s Open Door was especially happy, since her kids use the courtyard regularly.
Pat feeds the fire with some of the remaining yard waste Odds and Ends
A typical day at Faith while the Nomads teams are on campus has Dave moving between their tasks, coordinating with Bud to ensure the workers have what they need in supplies, tools and answers to questions. Cathy’s time is spent as a “pinch-hitter”, managing purchases and addressing tasks that come up suddenly or that are outside the scope of the Nomads. When there were 40 bags of leveling sand left over from the brick patio, she made arrangements for it to be picked up, which unfortunately meant a pre-dawn call by the driver asking for the gate to be unlocked. When a call came asking for assistance in clearing the backyard debris at the parsonage, Pat and Cathy spent 2 days burning the remains of yard waste that were cut down back in December. This included a lot of green bamboo, which we discovered makes a loud sound like a gun shot as it burns.
A typical day at Faith while the Nomads teams are on campus has Dave moving between their tasks, coordinating with Bud to ensure the workers have what they need in supplies, tools and answers to questions. Cathy’s time is spent as a “pinch-hitter”, managing purchases and addressing tasks that come up suddenly or that are outside the scope of the Nomads. When there were 40 bags of leveling sand left over from the brick patio, she made arrangements for it to be picked up, which unfortunately meant a pre-dawn call by the driver asking for the gate to be unlocked. When a call came asking for assistance in clearing the backyard debris at the parsonage, Pat and Cathy spent 2 days burning the remains of yard waste that were cut down back in December. This included a lot of green bamboo, which we discovered makes a loud sound like a gun shot as it burns.
 |  |
In between other projects, Cathy, Sandy, and Pat made their way around the buildings replacing light bulbs that were out and installing replacement lenses for several that were missing.
New RV door inside latch plate RV Stuff
Cathy lifted the latch on the RV door to head outside and felt something from the latch fall to the ground. Luckily, she successfully opened the door, because the broken piece was the lever that pulled the latch in to allow the door to open. It was also lucky that she was inside the RV heading out so the door was not stuck in the closed position. Another stroke of luck was that we had a spare door lock in our inventory. Otherwise, we might have had to keep the door unlocked for several days while we waited for a replacement. However, with the spare in hand, it took only a few minutes to replace the inner plate and have the door working again.
Cathy lifted the latch on the RV door to head outside and felt something from the latch fall to the ground. Luckily, she successfully opened the door, because the broken piece was the lever that pulled the latch in to allow the door to open. It was also lucky that she was inside the RV heading out so the door was not stuck in the closed position. Another stroke of luck was that we had a spare door lock in our inventory. Otherwise, we might have had to keep the door unlocked for several days while we waited for a replacement. However, with the spare in hand, it took only a few minutes to replace the inner plate and have the door working again.
We continue to take the bikes out each weekend, but the cover that protected them on the road was becoming a nuisance to put on and take off repeatedly while they sit at our site. We had seen a “bike tent” that Pat and Fred were using that had appeal in that it was easy to stow the bikes, and it kept them off the ground as well, keeping them dryer. So, after buying one for ourselves, we were dismayed to see water pooled in the bottom after a heavy rain. The solution turned out to be an obvious one from tent camping days. Seam sealer. After an application on the tent’s seams, the inside stayed dry.
Cathy at the western (Baldwin) end of the rail to trail that runs 14 miles west of Jacksonville Parting Shots
We took bike rides to the western end of the Jacksonville – Baldwin trail, which we had never quite managed to achieve before, and along a section of the Palatka to St. Augustine trail.
We took bike rides to the western end of the Jacksonville – Baldwin trail, which we had never quite managed to achieve before, and along a section of the Palatka to St. Augustine trail.
Birthday donuts The latter ride was on Dave’s birthday.
To celebrate we started the day with some Duck Donuts and ended it with some good seafood by the St. John’s River at Corky Bell’s in Palatka.
To celebrate we started the day with some Duck Donuts and ended it with some good seafood by the St. John’s River at Corky Bell’s in Palatka.
