Construction Journal
On Palm Sunday morning, March 16, we will go “over the wall” into our new Worship Room
and begin a new chapter in the Chapel’s history.
New Facility Map
Throughout the bricks-and-mortar construction process, maps have helped us navigate around
our facility. Now, a new “map” will lead us on the journey over the wall and beyond. Here are the main mileposts on the map:
Sunday, March 9: Student Ministry Commissioning - we will celebrate with our students as they prepare to move their ministry into our current Worship Room the following Sunday.
Wednesday, March 12: The Moody Chorale concert is the premiere event in the new Worship Room.
Palm Sunday, March 16: Our "Triumphal Entry" into the new Worship Room. That evening, Minister of Worship, Ted Cornell, will lead us in a time of Praise & Worship in our new Worship Room.
Good Friday, March 21: The choir will present Tenebrae, a moving musical reflection on the life and death of Christ.
Easter Sunday, March 23: Join us to celebrate our Lord's resurrection.
March 30: With our new, larger facility, we will return to a two-service format.
Grab your map at the Chapel this Sunday, or click here to download one, and get ready to head "Over the Wall and Beyond."
Nursery Facilities in the new building are now open!
Click here to download a complete, updated diagram of the facility and locations for each Children's Ministry program. (This is a larger file and may take a moment to download.)
Though crews are not quite to the “finishing-touches” stage, they recently reached some major milestones. Concrete for the risers for seating in the back (bottom floor) and the risers for balcony seating has been poured and is curing. All of the sheetrock has been hung and painted, and the ceiling grid is being installed. The catwalk over the future platform is finished, and the proscenium that hides it and that houses speakers is nearly complete. A few speakers are even hanging in the proscenium already. Acoustic treatment installation, platform construction, and audio-video installation are all underway.
Due to construction, beginning Sunday, August 14, the hallway immediately outside of the nursery-side Worship Room doors will be closed to through traffic. A temporary passageway has been established that will lead you to the Education Wing. This change is an integral part of the Education Wing renovation and expansion that will provide more space for the children. Thank you for your patience as we continue to grow in order to better minister of our youngest Living Stone.
Click here for a detailed map of the new pathway to the Education Wing.
In spite of the rain and mud this week, crews made quite a bit of progress on the facility expansion. The cement firewall on the Worship Room side is now within five feet of completion; it is also progressing down and around the end of the Education Wing.
Work began on the steel frame of the stairwell at the northeast corner of the site (by the current Fireside Room), and crews sprayed fireproofing on the steel columns and beams in Area D (by the old office-side entrance). Metal studs went up in Area D where the contractor is framing the exterior walls to provide finished space for the electrical room.
Pray for good weather so the ground will dry out and contractors can continue placing slab in the remaining areas, and for the safety and salvation of all workers who are helping to build our expanded facility.
You may have noticed that watching the construction of a large project is a lot like watching grass grow. Since we are now above ground with the construction, you will be seeing a lot more of the same--more steel, more concrete, and more masonry. Our first step in construction was underground prep work--plumbing, electrical, and audio-visual. When that "rough-in" was complete, the concrete contractor began placing slab. On that concrete foundation the steel contractor began erecting the structural steel beams and the masonry contractor began building the block firewall along the perimeter of the existing facility. This process of concrete, steel and masonry will continue simultaneously in all areas of the new construction, so each week you will see more of the same. Metal studs are now going up in Area D and you will soon see exterior walls going up in this area, outside the present offices and kitchen.
You can see step-by-step pictures of the slab being placed in Area A and pictures of the overall construction site by viewing our latest slideshow on the left.
As we watch our building grow, join me in praying for the new families God continues to bring to the Chapel. May He grow each of us in His word, His love, and His holiness as He makes us His Living Stones.
Work continued in Section A where the concrete slab was poured last week. Steel workers began erecting both the vertical and horizontal beams that will support the exterior walls of the new Worship Room. The concrete-block firewall that will separate the existing from the expanded facility approached its final height of 52 feet this week!
Dominion VA Power began underground work to prepare for installation of the new electrical transformer and brick masons made good progress on the cement-block firewall that will stand between the existing building and the facility expansion. The wall is now as high as the window of our present Worship Room and has begun down the length of the Education Wing.
Workers poured another portion of slab this week in the area that will become the front right corner of our new Worship Room. The slab will allow cement block and structural steel erection in that area. Inspectors test the content and breakage point of the concrete to verify that the foundation will be strong enough to support the structure on top of it. Praise God that we can rest in the knowledge that our Foundation is strong enough!
Click on the link to the left for this week's slideshow and video. We took some shots from the scaffolding to give you some aerial views. Be sure to check them out.
Even though this week’s rain soaked the construction site, workers made a great deal of progress. Soaked areas of the site were de-watered, and work continues on areas not affected by the downpour.
Work continued on the elevator shaft, and steel reinforcement was placed along the Education Wing in preparation for more concrete slab placement. Since the under-slab work for plumbing, electrical, and audio/visual are now complete, we are ready for concrete to be poured as soon as the site dries out, hopefully by the beginning of next week.
Scaffolding was erected along the concrete block wall. This wall is now close to the height of the Worship Room window and will continue along the length of the Education Wing.
The parking and traffic flow on the Chapel property have reached a point of stability. There will be no major changes to the current parking and traffic flow for a considerable period of time. The only change that will occur over the next couple weeks is that a section of the back parking lot will be used by the contractor to store materials for the building project. As these materials arrive, the contractor will need this area to store, or "lay-down," these materials. Because of this, the driving aisle and row of parking spaces in the back of the new parking area will not be available once the contractor ropes it off as a "lay-down" area.
This will take away some parking and minimally affect the traffic flow, but there will still be plenty of parking around the facility and, as always, riding the Sunday Shuttle over from Jamestown High School is a great option.
Click here for an updated facility diagram with this new "lay-down" area marked off.
God sent down "showers of blessing" on our Groundbreaking Celebration. Although rainy weather forced the picnic inside, a spirit of celebration was unmistakable among the 675 members of the Chapel family who gathered to commemorate the beginning of bricks-and-mortar construction. We enjoyed fellowship during a cookout dinner and ice cream, a bluegrass band provided musical entertainment, and Senior Pastor, Bill Warrick, led a lively hymn sing. Executive Administrator, Rob Campbell; Chairman of the Elders, Dave Rudy; Building Committee Chairman, David Stemann; and Building the Church Campaign Committee Chairman, Dave Anderson joined Bill on stage to conclude the evening with a Groundbreaking Ceremony.
The following report describes work that has been performed since the last report dated April 3, 2006 and work scheduled to be performed in the next two weeks
Beginning Monday, April 17, Century Builders will begin the building addition along the east side of the existing building. The start of construction in this area, which is identified on the drawings as "Area D," will block off the existing Chapel Office Foyer and Fireside Room Entrance Doors. As directed by the county building inspector and fire marshall these exterior doors will only be available as emergency exit doors. The Front Entrance doors, Nursery Side Entrance Doors, Library Side Entrance Doors and Woodward Hall Side Entrance Doors will continue to provide access to the Chapel.
The formal Notice to Proceed was issued to Century Builders Inc (CBI) to begin construction on March 15, 2006. The following work has been performed over the last two weeks: Emory Johnson, Project Superintendent arrived on site and scheduled C.A. Barrs (CAB), Warwick Plumbing & Heating (WPH), Coggins Electric (CE) and CTI Special Inspectors (CTI).
2-Week Report:
- CAB began work immediately on the Erosion & Sedimentation controls which were required to be installed before rough grading of the new parking areas began. CAB cleared and excavated the sedimentation pond #1 area located on the west side of the site, installed silt fence and began rough grading of the western half of the new parking area. CAB began rough grading of the new parking areas and performed proofroll of the existing subgrade with a loaded dump truck.
- Warwick Plumbing & Heating (WPH) visited the site and surveyed the existing HVAC equipment. WCC requested that the existing condensing unit being relocated not be placed outside of the senior pastors office window and asked if it could be mounted up on the roof. CBI and WPH will discuss with the designers and advise WCC.
- CAB continued rough grading and installation of geotextile fabric and stone for the new parking area. CAB pipe crew installed approximately 100 feet of 8-inch storm drain pipe.
- Coggins Electric (CE) met with Dominion Virginia Power (VP) to plan the electrical service upgrade. The first option is for Coggins to provide a temporary feed from the electrical room next to the fireside kitchen to the education wing electrical room. This will allow the electrical transformer which services the education wing and which is located in the footprint of the building addition to be removed. CE will investigate and advise CBI and WCC if this plan is feasible.
