Portacabins - Gone

My eagle eyed spies report that the portacabin site offices have gone ! This is a significant mile stone because it indicates that the building is now 'livable in' and also that the ground works on the car park are likely to be started very soon.

More scaffolding has gone, the Oak Street elevation scaffolding is down revealing to 'fault lines' one either side of the door. Apparently these are expansion points and Will be mortared in shortly.

CB

God : Did you doubt I would show up ?

The excellent news of funds being enhanced by a very generous contribution from the trustees of Stonebridge Christian Centre caused great elation in church on Sunday and there was a very tangible motion of thanks to God for this incredible gift.

In reality though this is very much the way God operates. It took years for the church to step out in faith and start the building project and God has challenged many people along the way. It hasn't been easy in fact speaking to our oldest member who has been in the church all of his life, the new building is the best thing to happen to the church and it is by far the best facility we have ever had.

So why would God not show up with the bounty to finish the job ? Of course he would but to be fair he has made us sweat for it !

The additional funds will allow us to complete the building to a far higher degree of comfort and practicality than we had anticipated. The car park for example can now be completed in tarmac with white lines to mark the 12 car parking spaces, the interior can be decorated professionally without the need for any of us trying to climb the 7.5m height of the main hall (thankfully!!)

We can complete the kitchen to a higher standard than anticipated, security systems, projection equipment and the like can all now be taken care of.

How great is our God

CB

The scaffolding that has obscured the building from view throughout the construction process has been removed on both the John Street and Union Road elevations to reveal the almost completed product. The main door is still to be installed and the scaffolding is still up in that area but I believe this is to be completed this week.

It seems an odd thing to say but somehow taking the scaffold away makes the building look taller - I think that's probably because the walkway on the scaffold at the front of the building was higher than ground level. Nevertheless I'm very much looking forwards to getting in and getting on with building our church !

CB

All go go go

The site is rampantly busy this week - the meter for the electricity is due today and numerous meetings will be held on site in the next few days to measure up for items we need to finish off such as kitchen, security, power sockets and that sort of thing.

The rain has hampered plans to finish exterior painting but the oak boarding features are all in place. Once the scaffold is down we will get a better idea of the finished product.

Please continue to pray for the safety of the men on site. We have thus far had a 100% safety record and in these final days it would be nice to maintain that.

CB

What a difference

Im pleased to report that significant progress has been made on the building over the last few weeks. Today's priority on site was plaster boarding and installation of central heating piping. The scaffolding should be down by the middle of next week and our electricity meter will be installed on Wednesday. The builders report no health and safety problems or security problems on site.

The boiler and associated heating systems are coming along and the suspended ceiling in the is being installed shortly. The hardwood entrance doors and windows are on order.

All in all its looking very good.

Windows Done

A lot has happened since my last post. The upstairs feature windows are in, the triangle one in the apex and the arch in the Oak Street Elevation. The render and oak boarding is also in place on the John Street side, the floors have been screeded both upstairs and downstairs, the back classroom doors are now both in place and the entrance doors from the car park are in place.




I understand that the scaffolding may come down at some point this week as well. Still some way to go but the jobs left in hand are minor. Plaster boarding, fitting power sockets, door frames and doors etc.




It finally fells though like we are nearly there.