Roof Takes Shape

The roof is beginning to take shape now. As you can see, the gable toward the parking lot has been built and the sub roofing is being nailed down as I write this. The top photograph shows the north edge of the reconstructed building. The north gable will have a window in it (which you can't see), which means we will get light into the sanctuary from four directions.

Rafters Continue

The rafters continue to rise at 10 Harrison Ave. The builders were working through some tricky angles this week. We should see the gable take form next week. The sheathing that you see on the walls has not been cut away to show the three window openings. You can just see the wide headers for the windows sticking out above the plywood above the green pipe. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done on the walls!

Rafters Rise

The lumber we were waiting for has come in and the rafters have started to rise. There were no rafters on the building when we were there at 9:00 this morning, but by the end of the day there were rafters at both ends of the building! Next comes the perpendicular gable facing the parking lot.

Framing Continues

Framing has slowed a little bit because of a lack of properly sized lumber for the center beam of the rafters, but work continues. This is the framing for the south wall of the sanctuary. A book case will be in the middle of this wall; the door to the left will be the entrance to the basement and the door to the right (not yet moved into place) will be a closet.

Framing Rises

The framing started to go up today! The shape of the building is now beginning to become apparent. Things will be happening quickly now.

Surprises Happen

Who let that big beam in here? Every building project seems to have its unexpected developments and this is one of ours. The building committee had worked to create a basement deep enough that our tallest members wouldn't have to duck when retrieving things from it. We thought we had 7.5-foot clearance in the basement, but no one mentioned the depth of the big beam running down the center! The beam is obviously important for supporting the structure above and can't be changed, so we will just have to remember to duck when going downstairs. At least we will have a useable basement, which we didn't have before.

Floor Joists Spanning Foundation

Its sure has been hot out there, but work is progressing steadily on the synagogue. The slab (basement floor) has now been poured and the foundation has been backfilled with dirt. Floor joists now span the foundation opening. More to come.

Foundation Poured, Water Service Connected

The foundation has been poured and the water and sewer services have been connected to the city's pipes under Harrison Avenue. Last week Harrison Avenue was split in half as the street was dug up to access the pipes under the road. That's the street with a pile of dirt on it in the photo above. The neighbor's yard can be seen at the very bottom of the photograph. This week the floor of the basement, or "slab" is being poured over the pipes and crushed gravel which will direct the ground water away from the basement.