Star is Installed

The star screen was installed yesterday at the far end of the synagogue's sanctuary yesterday and it looks fantastic! The screen is made with horizontal slats of wood and the star shape is created from voids in the slats. Two windows can can seen through the slats. A light behind the screen illuminates the wall behind the screen to accentuate the star. The room lights were also installed, giving plenty of artificial light to the room for times when the abundant natural light is not enough. More wood working continued today with the installation of bookcases in the sanctuary.

Bimah Backdrop

Work is almost finished on the popular wood panel behind the bimah (above -- the white specks in the photo are air-born dust caught by the flash). Work on the screen at the south end of the sanctuary is also continuing; I hope to be able to post a photograph tomorrow. the bookcases may also be shown in tomorrow's post. The maple floor in the sanctuary is complete and a new carpet now adorns the Daughly Gould room.

Final Push

We are expecting a flurry of activity this coming week as the contractors try to get the space ready for religious school on Sunday. Although there is a lot to do we have been assured that the space will be useable on Sunday. There will be a few things that won't get done until later, but the built-ins will be arriving on Monday and additional painting will follow. We will move in on Sunday with the religious school students helping.

Some of the lights were installed late last week. These photos show the ner tamid and lights over the reading table (above) and the light and windows next to the yahrzeit boards (below). The ner tamid is a beautiful red that was not captured well by the camera. The memorial boards will be installed to the right of the light and will be one of the last things completed.

Woodworking Underway

On the far side of Barre, wonderful things are happening in the wood shop at Lajeunesse Construction. All of the cabinetry is being fabricated there and will be transported to Montpelier early next week and installed in the synagogue. Above, a worker primes clapboards while wood for the area behind the bimah is stacked to the left. In the background rests a template for the cutout of the Star of David that be constructed in the screen at the south end of the sanctuary. Below, bookshelves rest upside down on desks after being finished with a clear coat.

Sanctuary Floor Installed

The maple floor in the sanctuary has been installed and it looks terrific! This is the view looking toward the street end of the sanctuary. Bookcases, which are being made off site, will be installed in the space straight ahead. A closet is on the right and the door to the cellar stairway is to the left.

We are still working out the details of the flooring for the community room, but the old carpet has been pulled out and a new subflooring has been installed. The mustiness seems to be gone.

Progress Continues

The new synagogue was a busy place last week. When we stopped by on Wednesday and Friday many subcontractors were busy trying to complete the project. The most visible change is that the clapboards have been installed on two sides of the building. The clapboards have yet to be painted. The new portion of the building will be tan with white trim while the older portion will be a dark grey-blue color.

Inside many of the walls have been painted with a preliminary coat. The photo below shows the new entrance into the Daughly Gould room and a peek into the sanctuary. We have decided to replace the carpet in the all-purpose room because the old carpet seemed musty when we opened up the building after it had been sealed up during construction.

Chairs are Reupholstered!

Work on the synagogue took at 4-day break for Rosh Hashanah, Shabbat, and the workers' usual Sunday off. Work will be resume at a serious clip this week as the clapboards go on the exterior and paint is applied to the interior. In the meantime, the chairs for the sanctuary have been reupholstered in a new, green & gold, patterned fabric. In the photo above, Darryl Bloom works to load the chairs into a van for the trip back to Montpelier. The chairs are being stored off site until the building is done.

Two Spaces Joined

The progress being made on the building is incredible! The temporary wall that had protected the community room during the rebuilding of the sanctuary has been taken down and the two spaces have been joined. Actually, it was much more complicated than that to join the two buildings, but the most visible part of it was the removal of the temporary wall. The photo above shows the new view from the Daughly Gould room into the new sanctuary. And what a wonderful sanctuary it will becoming. All of the windows and almost all of the sheet rock has been taped, giving the visitor and sense of the new space. It is a light and airy space with natural sunlight coming in from all directions.