We've been framed (part two)

Frame complete !

Today the final parts of the frame were erected. The shape is complete and Ive got to say it looks much bigger than I thought it would be. Tomorrow I'm on site so I will get some pictures and post them on here.

CB

We've been framed (part one)

The sight of a HUGE crane rolling into town this morning must have been quite something. By 09:00 the Leviathan was parked and ready to hoist into position the frame of a building which will literally change the whole face of Union Rd, the first new building to appear on the main road since the Co-Op.

By 09:15 the steel had arrived and by late afternoon, three quarters of the walls and part of the roof frame were in situ. It is anticipated the rest will be completed tomorrow. On Wednesday the building team will be the first people to set foot in the confines of the building ! I am actually really excited about getting in there this week and photographing the thing





Photo courtesy of Flick

A church without walls

There is a meeting on site on Wednesday with the builder and the architect. Its a standard practice to have a full site meeting on a monthly basis to discuss how things are going. We are hoping that by the time of the meeting we should have some steel up forming a frame. Once the frame is complete the floor goes in followed by the walls.

The frame is pre-cut away from site and simply assembled when it reaches us. A Crane is on order for Monday to start the job so the first real scale of the build will be evident.

We have had to have surveys done on the land to establish the best position for the crane, weight calculations etc have had to be taken so that we don't damage what has been done in the foundations.

Please continue to pray for the safety of the men on site.

CB

Baptistery

A couple of people have asked about the baptistery. I can confirm that the building will have a baptistery. It will be located adjacent to the stage area. I understand the architect has issued the builders with plans for its installation. It is a full walk in number for full imersion baptisms.

CB

Message from the builders

I've caught up with the builder today and can report the following :

We are today pouring the concrete for the foundations which will finally see an end to the ground works for the building. The works in the ground have been very time consuming, but we are finally over the final hurdle and hopefully from now in, we can actually see visible progress above the ground as opposed to progress which is in the ground!

We have also fit most of the new drainage for the site and connected to the existing mains sewer.
Due to the problems which have happened in the ground, we missed our original slot for the steel frame installation but we are now officially booked in for Monday 17th November. The steel frame should take around 1 week and will give you an insight to the overall scale of the building.

The builders further report that the estimated completion date is early April although they hope to make up time so that they can complete a tad earlier than this. A lot depends on the weather over the next few months but once the roof is on there will be some protection from the elements.

As for the building team we will over the coming months work closely with the Grants team to establish what money we have for finishing the fitting out of the building.

I anticipate that we will be in a position to confirm our opening date by mid-February. Certainly by the time the AGM comes around we should be in the new building and can plan for the future.

CB

Now I get it......

Mick has enlightened me about the poly blocks.

The lads were on site yesterday back filling the outer edges of the poly blocks with shingle to hold them in place. On the inside, the steel skeletal network has been separated from the poly blocks by plastic spacers. The plan now is to fill the channels with concrete completing the skeletal foundations.

Whilst on site today I also noticed that the external rain water drain is in place with spouts placed at numerous points which will eventually be linked to the guttering. The drain follows the outside perimeter of Union Road and around John Street into a the drains at the back of the building. Interestingly (yes I'm going to get even sadder now) the drain has its date of birth on it 6/6/08

Coming Soon....a building

Not much appears to have happened this week other than further demarcation of the variations of the rooms by what appears to be polystyrene blocks !?!? Must admit for the first time I actually have no clue what these are for but I'll report back after I've had a word with the architect !!!!

Meanwhile our ever resourceful worship team have produced a lovely little CD for Christmas with songs exclusively written by members of the team and available only on this CD. Proceeds to go to the new building fund :

CHRISTMAS CD
by
SIGNPOST

Are you Ready for Christmas?


Two members of our church worship group have written Some Christmas songs. Proceeds from sales of a CD of the songs will go towards the new building fund

The writers, Linda Asbery and Dave Wilkin, have teamed up with Josh Potts, now a drummer for Helmshore Christian Fellowship, and called the resulting group SIGNPOST. The CD is entitled “Are you ready for Christmas”?

Like a signpost the group aim to point the way to Jesus in their music

The CD costs £4 (plus £1 if P+P required.)

You can hear extracts from the songs here on the blog

To order a copy see Dave or Linda or email davewilkin_uk@yahoo.co.uk

For more about Josh visit http://www.joshuapotts.co.uk/