Boiler Heat - You DON'T just flip a switch!

September 2011 -

Fall is officially here!  Some of you have used the heat in your homes already.  Some probably wish we had some heat around here too!

Prior to start up our boilers are thoroughly inspected by both our insurance company and the state of Minnesota.  This years inspection turned up a maintenance issue that we have to address before the boilers can be filled and fired (started).  What the inspector found were stay-bolts that require replacement.  So, what is a stay-bolt?  Stay-bolts are most commonly found in locomotive boilers. They are needed because of the irregular shape of the pressure retaining surfaces in that type of boiler. Stay-bolts are usually installed in the area around the firebox portion of a locomotive boiler and can number into the hundreds. It is quite common to install them into threaded holes to join the inner and outer sheets surrounding the firebox, although in modern times many of them may be welded in place. Either way, without stay-bolts to give strength to the irregularly shaped portions of the boiler, an explosion would be a certainty. 
(Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Stay_bolt_are_found_in_what_boiler#ixzz1Z5fkIFLJ)

Thankfully we have Jeff Lund back here to work with Chad on identifying the questionable stay-bolts.  Below is a picture of the stay-bolts that have been flagged with orange paint for replacement.  Each bolt is about 5' long and runs through the entire boiler.  The old bolts will be torched out and new rods welded in.  After all that fun, we'll have to re-insulate both boilers.  Then...we'll have some heat! 

Room 204 Library

August 2011 -

Check out the new partition and added bookshelves in Room 204!  We had some matching bookshelves donated and we knew just the place to put them!  We also added shelving to both Pastor Doug and Pastor Bernie's offices!  Stop by and take a look.

Summer Floor Refinishing

May 26, 2011 -

If you visit Grace Life Church this time of year you'll find the hallways a bit full!  The reason is that we are working on the floors (deeps scrubbing and refinishing) in the classrooms while the children and staff are off for summer break.  Steve is doing a great job of getting the rooms completed.  By the end of the week we should have 3 classrooms done on the first floor and a 4th one started!

Scrubbing the Head Start lunch room!

Head Start Classroom with a fresh coat of wax!

Office Swap - Part 1

April 11, 2011 -

Bernie's New Office Windows - Going In!

There is a fair amount of transition going on around Grace Life Church!  Doug Wing has been selected as the new Senior Pastor of Grace Life Church.  In preparation for Doug moving in this summer we are shuffling offices a bit around here.

Bernie Wing is transitioning to the Associate Pastor roll and moving into the Associate Pastors office.  As you my know - we are in an old school building and the windows are one of the weak points.  The existing windows in the Associate Pastor office had leaked and deteriorated from water damage around the window frame to the point where they were not operational. 

The new windows make the room much more serviceable and comfortable.  Thank you to our staff and volunteers who made the installation possible!

The finished product!  Stop in and check it out!

We Needed a Lift!

March 3, 2011 -

Thanks to a special donor we now have a scissor lift to utilize here at the Grace Life Church facility!  What an amazing blessing this lift is to us already!  We knew we needed one, but have never had the finances to purchase one.  Then just this week we had the perfect lift donated to us!  Thank you.

An example of just how useful this "gift" is was demonstrated yesterday.  We had a light bulb burn out in the gym.  We pulled the lift out and changed the bulb in about 10 minutes.  Prior to that we would have needed to wait for the end of gym activities, set up scaffold, and spent over a hour.  Now we really feel like the Jeffersons if you know what I mean.

Sweeping the Float

July 14, 2010 -

Our parking lot repairs are nearly completed!  This spring we elected to do some major parking lot work.  The cracks were getting worse each summer and we had to take action before we lost the option to simply repair the parking lot verses replacement of the whole thing! 

The final steps are for to sweep off the "float".  (Float is the rock laid on top of the oil seal coat that does not end up sticking into the oil.)  Then we paint the stripes and kickball diamond back on the parking lot.

This repair was costly.  It was nearly $25,000 to have the work done!  If you appreciate having the parking lot available and in condition to serve us for year to come - please consider a donation toward this expense!  Remember it is our parking lot. :-)

Chad sweeping off the excess float.

Final Inspection - Restrooms

June 16, 2010 -

We are so close to done with the Phase 1 Restroom project!  There are only a few details to take care of and we will hopefully be able to open them and the main entry this weekend!  All we need is the final inspection from the city building official!

George helping out with the construction clean-up!

Parking Lot

- Before -

June 9, 2010 -

Parking lots are a little bit like roofs.  They require maintenance and sometimes fairly major maintenance.  Fortunately, our parking lot is in good condition overall.  We have noticed increased cracking and deterioration, so we made the choice to do some needed preventative maintenance.  We have had the cracks ground out and filled.  Today the majority of the parking lot is being oiled and rocked.  The contractor will be back in a week or so to do some patching and then we will re-stripe the parking and playground lines.

Please do not drive on the parking lot until Friday June 11th.  Parking is available on High Street and the gym door on that side of the building is open for all to use.

- During -

It's That Time of Year!

June 2, 2010 -

School is almost done for the year!  Only 1/2 a day tomorrow and the students are off for the summer.  That means it must be time to wax the floors in the class rooms!  Sorry about all the tables, chairs, desks and all sitting in the hallways.  It is temporary.  All those items will go back into the class rooms soon.

Freshly waxed floor in Head Start Classroom.

The End is Near!

The Women's Restroom (the partitions are invisable!)

May 28, 2010 -

It is hard to believe that a month has passed since the last update.  We have been working in the restrooms daily, but there really has not been a lot to report until now.  The tile is in - the counters are in - the painting is going on all this weekend...  We have some plumbing and electrical to finish up next week.  Plus, the entry hallway itself needs to be fixed up before we can open it up again.

We are still on track for our planned June completion!  We hope to have things wrapped up and the new restrooms open by Sunday June 27th!

Tile

April 30, 2010 -

The floor tile is almost all installed!  Just two more weeks and the wall tile should be done as well as the grout.  Part of the reason it takes so much time is the cure times for the tile adhesive are nearly 3 days.

The second half of May we will install the fixtures, paint the walls and clean it all up!  It looks like we are still on track for our June completion date.

Details

April 14, 2010 -

We are nearing the part of the project where the work that is being done will remain visable when the project is done!  It is amazing how much goes into portions of the construction that you can't ever see again once the project is completed.

Since the last update, all of the sheetrock and cement board has been installed, the drywall finishing work has been completed, the walls have been primed, the exhuast duct work has been installed, and the ceiling grid has been installed.  This week the new lights will be installed and the tile installation is starting!

Sheetrock'n

March 18, 2009 -

One might think today is St. Patrick's Day with all the green walls going up in the new restrooms!  (This photo is taken from the hallway looking toward the Men's restroom door.)

Don't worry - the walls are NOT going to be green when we are done.  They are actually special sheetrock that is designed to be reistant to mold, mildew, and other fun stuff that can grow in wet places. 

We've Been Framed!

March 10, 2010 -

The project is moving along very well!  After some delay on the materials delivery the framing is nearly done.  The majority of the space should have framed in walls by the end of the week.

The Walls Between Us!

March 3, 2010 -

Differentiation is a very good thing, especially when it comes to restrooms! The Thooft’s have got good start on the framing in the restrooms here at Grace Life Church! Unfortunately, we are still waiting on the 6” steel studs to arrive at True Value. Once they come in (hopefully today) we can finish up the framing and bring the plumbers and electricians in to finish up their parts of the project!

Finished Concrete!

March 2, 2010 -

The concrete is done! The space looks like a clean slate. It's ready for some creation now that the destruction and underground infrastructure are installed.

The materials are still not all in at True Value, but there is enough of it on hand to start. If all goes well we will see the framed in walls by the end of the week!

Concrete

March 1, 2010 -

The concrete floor is back in!  Bofferding Construction arrived this morning and poured the concrete in above the areas where the sewer piping was installed last week.  After we give the floor the rest of today to cure, we can start installing the walls.  The Thooft's will be in to start on that tomorrow morning assuming the necessary materials arrive from True Value.

Plumbing Rough In

February 23, 2010 -

The demolition is basically done!  The final wall came out yesterday. 

We were pleasantly suprised to see what great condition the existing sewer piping is in!  The plumbers are working today to rough in the sewer plumbing that will run under the concrete.  By early next week we will be puting up the framing for the walls.

Let the Plumbing Begin!

February 5, 2010 -

The MN Dept. of Labor and Industry finally sent back their approval on the plumbing drawings! Waiting on the plans delayed us one week, but now we are back on track! Look for new updates as we finalize permits and start to rough in the plumbing later this week!

Phase 1 - Restroom Remodel (Main Entry)

February 1, 2010 -

Grace Life Church has started Phase 1 - Main Entry Restroom Remodeling. The plan is to eliminate the two small main entry restrooms as well as a third small restroom located in the former KinderChurch room and rebuild two large restrooms designed to accommodate the needs of the building users. Our goal is to improve not only the quantity of fixtures, but also to make the restroom facilities much more accessible to all of our building users.

The target completion for this project is June of 2010. Until then please follow the posted signs to alternate restroom facilities through out the building. Additionally, we may need to close the main entry during the demolition and construction project. Please use the MACS entry located directly across from the main entry door. We apologize for the temporary inconvenience as we work on improving the usefulness of this facility for all!

Thank you!

Summer Projects

July 4, 2009 -

Summer projects are rolling along! The new front sign has been beautifully landscaped and the parking lot has been repaired around the fuel tank fill port. From past parking lot refinishing, the fuel tank fill port was a low point in the parking lot! That created a water puddle over the fuel tank and ultimately and ice patch. That is not too handy if you have to add fuel in the middle of winter!

Fence

We had a little fence remodeling done for us on Saturday night (2/21/2009). This nice little tan car tried to "grind the rail" (skater term) on the top of our parking lot/playground fence. The guy in the picture was not driving or in the car. He just thought it would add a little something to the picture if he was in it. Notice the front tires of the car are off the ground as it is completely hung up on top of the fence. - Nice. Since we are in Minnesota and the ground is frozen we can only do a temporary repair now and do the full repair after the frost comes out.

Custom Wall Art!

I feel a little bit like we (Grace Life Church) just got our first real tatoo. We have put up some stickers here and there, but this one is the real deal!

Thank you Matt for lending us your artistic talent to paint the church logo on the wall outside my office door! If you get a chance to come up to the second floor hallway take a look!

Roof Repairs - DONE

This past summer we took a major step forward with improving the roof condition at Grace Life Church.

When we originally took possession of the former Ease Side School building we were told that the roof was going to need major repairs or even replacement in the near future. As with so many other things...the Lord had the solution to meet our need. Through a series of contacts and connections we were able to identify a product designed specifically to meet the repair need of our roof. Even better - we were able to install the product ourselves!

The issue with the roof was that the edges of the roof were developing stretch tears along the edges. The rest of the roof was in near perfect condition. What this repair product does is create a "patch" of sorts all along the edge of the roof. Our best estimate is that this repair will last up to 20 years! That allows us to begin setting aside funds each year to prepare for the eventual replacement of the roof. God is good and he is always providing for all our needs!

Extreme Makeover - Boiler Edition!

They might look like the same 60 year old boilers on the outside, BUT inside they are brand new! This fall we finished completely replacing all of the tubes in Boiler #2. (Boiler #1 was done last year.)

For those of you that don't know. Boilers are filled with long metal tubes about 3" in diameter. Over time these tubes deteriorate and begin to leak. It is not uncommon to have one or two develop leaks and need replacement. We were finding seven to ten tubes leaking, so we made the choice to re-tube the entire boiler.

The is a 20+ year repair! With proper chemical balance in the boiler water and other routine maintenance, these boilers are ready to run for a long time to come!

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Here's Your Sign!

It's almost done! The brick is up and the sign is mounted! All that is left is for the electrical to be completed for lighting and some landscape work next spring!

Hopefully, this will help the community identify this building as Grace Life Church / Marshall Area Christian School instead of "the old East Side building". :-)

Going Up!

The sign frame is almost done! This project has really picked up speed this week. If all goes well, we might have a sign in the front lawn by the end of the month!

BRICK!!!

God answers prayer! The brick came to town on Monday and the crew is here today starting to lay it in! We should have the frame work of the sign standing soon! Check back in a few days to see the continued progress!

Sign Footing

The sign footings have been poured! The main hold up now will be brick. Pray that the brick will arrive soon! It sure is fun to see this sign become a reality.

Sign UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

The hole was dug this morning to pour the footings for the new sign! (With a 6' hole in the front yard, people might think it is the the start of the new Grace Life cemetery!) Still no word on the brick, but we are getting started.

College Drive Sign Time!

Coming Soon! - Grace Life Church has received a permit to build a sign out on the College Drive side of the building! We called in the locate today and digging... should start next week! Hopefully we'll have a picture of the new sign to post here soon!