Building and Grounds News

In the November Newsletter we shared with you that the Building and Grounds Committee is tasked with maintaining and managing the physical facilities for worship, study and fellowship and reported on the installation of the new windows in the Sanctuary.

As often as possible when work needs to be done to maintain the building, the Building and Grounds Committee does the work ourselves to save on costs.

This month, we’ll share with you some additional projects that were done this year, not just by those who serve on Building and Grounds, but also by members of the congregation at large.

Main Narthex Doors and Trim and Moffett Street Side Doors and Trim

The Narthex and Moffett Street side doors and trim were in bad shape. A member of the committee volunteered to scrape and paint the doors. This was especially challenging with the hot weather we had this summer. It looks so much better.

The Narthex Patio

During late spring, if you accessed the Sanctuary via the patio outside the Narthex, you probably noticed an unsightly scene. There was 12” high grass and weeds growing in the cracks between the bricks. This has happened in the past, but we’ve always gone for the “easy” fix of removing the grass and weeds without looking for a way to prevent the weeds from growing back. This time around Building and Grounds determined that a long-term solution needed to be found. This solution involved not only removing the grass and weeds but also removing the old grout and replacing it with new grout between the bricks.

Contractors could do this work for $10,000-$15,000. Instead, we chose to enlist the help of members of the congregation at large and do the work ourselves. During early summer all the unsightly weeds and grass were pulled. On two Saturday mornings in late summer, a group of 8-10 people manually removed the old grout and new grout was spread on the patio. Then it was sprayed with water to harden. Lastly, a mixture of natural materials was applied to suppress new weeds from growing. In the future, the mixture will need to be applied as needed to prevent more weed growth.

We encourage you to look at the patio outside the Narthex the next time you attend worship and pay attention to the amount of grout between the bricks to appreciate the time spent and hard work that was performed to complete this project. One member commented, it now looks like a great place to hold an event (Strawberry Festival anyone?).

Miscellaneous

This is just a sample of the other work that was done this year: Painted railings, cleared out roof drains, replaced lights, replaced emergency lighting batteries and sanded stuck doors. In addition, committee members meet with contractors to get bids and meet with contractors when work is being performed.