Photo Update of Building Project

Yeah! I have got some pictures to show you of all the hard work we have doing around here recently on the church building. Though the weather is lovely today, no wind and reasonably warm, our main builder, Valera, whom I assist, is flat on his back with a sore throat and a high temperature, which means that I have time to write this post – a bitter sweet coincidence.

Well, here goes with the pictures:

Inside view of the addition

 

Outside view of addition including covered entry way.

Side view of addition.

Freshly shingled roof of the addition

Patience, Patience

 

Friends, I want to write you a quick note informing you that I have NOT abandoned my blog! In fact, my blog is on one of my mind’s front burners. The reason I haven’t been able to post as often as I would like is because I am facing a time crunch with the church’s current building project: constructing an addition on to the front of the church. The time crunch is due to something that is inevitable and unstoppable – the weather. This year it is getting cold faster than it did last year. I imagine that our night temperatures will be hovering around the freezing point in a week or so. As it is, the mornings are already chilly. The point is that it will be cold soon and we have to get our construction project done as quickly as possible. Why? The addition is targeted for our children’s ministry, which is currently meeting in a tent. In a week or two, it will be too cold for them to meet in the tent, and we will definitely need to move them inside. That means that the addition has to be completed soon, and that it is the reason I don’t have oodles of time for my blog. So, please be patient, don’t give up on me, and don’t migrate elsewhere. Everything will be back to normal soon. 

Let me give you a quick construction update. We have finished the foundation, walls, roof, and ceiling of the addition. We plan to finish the floors tomorrow, which is Friday. Next week, we will start working on building the covered entrance way which leads into the church and hopefully install the windows (3) and one of the insulated front doors. I would love to get a start on installing the drywall for interior walls as well. 

By the way, and I’ll end on this note, we need more finances to finish this essential project. I figure that if we had an additional $5000 we could wrap everything up, including installing insulation and siding on the exterior of the  entire church building including the addition. Please agree with us in Jesus’ Mighty Name that this need will be met. If you have a desire to help us with this project, send me an email at “davidmaxey@list.ru”, and I’ll get back with you on how to help.

The Roof 1

This week we made some huge strides forward with the building project. For one, we completely finished the walls of the new addition. Not only that, we carefully put into place the heavy wooden beams that span the walls of the addition and ulimately form the support base for the entire roof structure. This was a time consuming process since the beams had to be placed perfectly level. In addition, we set the roof joists, which determine the pitch of our roof, and will support the rafters and the sheeting. Today, we spent the entire work-day nailing up a framework of boards to the underside of supporting beams, which we will fasten sheets of ply-wood to. This layer of ply-wood will form the base for the ceiling. Next week, we plan to install the rafters, Styro-foam insulation, and sheeting. We may even get the shingles laid.

How to Fasten Squared-off Logs Together

At last, I am ready to give you a step-by-step tutorial on how to fasten squared off logs together the old-fashioned way. This method is very simple, yet extremely reliable and very strong. Our church building that we are attaching our new addition on to is 96 years old. It was constructed from squared off logs held together by pegs, just as our new addition is. I think that this proves the reliability of this particular system, especially when you take into account the severity of our weather here in Khabarovsk, and the fact that our land heaves due to the thaw-freeze factor which can tear a poorly constructed house to pieces.

Ok, here’s how it works. First, you need to fashion wooden pegs that correspond to the size of the drill bit that you’ll be using. Our drill bit is 32 mm in diameter so we made the pegs slightly larger to ensure a tight fit. You don’t want loose pegs! We used 2×4 boards cut to length for our peg material, and then fashioned the octagonal shaped pegs from these boards on a lathe. Naturally, the length of pegs should be an inch or so less than the total depth of two of your logs since you’ll be drilling down through both of them and the peg will join the two together.

This is a sample peg.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After your pegs are cut and ready, then you can basically start laying your logs, which I won’t go into detail about here. Once you have your first layer of logs laid, then you need to attach the second layer to the first with the pegs, which requires drilling. From here, you need to drill holes at regular intervals which penetrate the top log and sink deep down into the log underneath.

Valera drilling through top log

After you have drilled through both the top and bottom log, then the next step is to simply place the peg down into the hole and drive it in till it is completely flush with the surface of the top log. After you have done this, make sure you use a large metal punch to drive the peg’s head below the surface of the top log.

Me driving a peg into place with a small sledge

And there you have it, that’s pretty much it. It’s simple, yet effective. By the way, the pink stuff peeking out from between the logs is insulation that is laid down between each layer of logs to make sure everything is warm and wind-proof.

Our Practically Completed Walls

Last week, my main construction guru Valera and I erected 14 layers of squared off logs to practically complete the walls of our add-on. We raised the walls, except for one tiny section, to the height of the roof joists. It turns out that the ceilings in the add-on are going to be a tad low, but adequate. To give you a rough idea of their height, I will be able to touch the ceiling while standing and stretching my arm upwards to its full extent; by the way, I am 5 foot 10 and a half. I’d say that puts the ceilings at right around 7 to 7.5 feet. Not a lot, but we can live with it.

 

This week, we will be concentrating on the roof. We need to buy ply-wood for sheeting purposes and asphalt shingles to top everything off. Thankfully, we have enough high-grade tar paper left over from last summer’s roofing project to cover the sheeting with under the shingles. In fact, referring to it as “paper” is an understatement. The guys from Texas who roofed our church last summer said it was the thickest, heaviest, most durable tar “paper” they had every seen. But most importantly, it is extremely tough and this tar paper along with quality shingles are supposed to last for at least fifty years.

 

I am still planning on giving you a step-by-step tutorial on how we pegged the logs together, so don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten.

 

Here are a few photos of the “practically” finished walls of our add-on.