sAs my old Mum* used to say “It’s been cold enough to freeze the balls of a brass monkey” * this past week on the building site! Before you think I’ve sullied the blog with unbecoming language please take a gander at the translation foot note below!!
Yes it has been a mite chilly but happily we are now at the stage where there’s enough work on the inside of the buildings to keep the site busy and as we know where there’s an opportunity the Scott Crumley driven construction engine will keep rolling down the tracks. Outside, before the Siberian weather arrived in Hampton Roads, the roofers "went-a-roofing" and now the Great Hall and Narthex are blessed with their shingles. Underneath the roof is a testament to the skills of architects, designers, structural engineers, manufacturers, and the team that erected the trusses. Having been into the Salisbury Cathedral’s roof space and tower more than a couple of times I like to think I know enough about trusses to recognize good truss work when I see it. It is almost a shame that this intricate web of over 500, interlocking, prefabricated trusses will be hidden behind the finished ceiling. Perhaps an opportunity for a Historic Traditions guided tour of the future? The back wing has also had its share of glory in this past week. The dry, heated and illuminated building is obviously a much more pleasant working environment for the contractors lucky enough to be out of the cold and so it was this week when a team from Secure Network Solutions (SNS) took advantage of the peace and quiet to start the installation of our new data network. When finished this new, integrated system will span the Great Hall, Narthex, rear wing, the Historic Church, day school offices and the office corridor and provide good Wi-Fi connectivity throughout our buildings. Staying with the “technology theme,” ONYX, our audio/visual (a/v) contractor, has visited the site and met with Father Bob and I to finalize the scope of the a/v system for the Great Hall. The first part of this system has already been installed in the Historic Church, and is regularly used to record and stream services and the Great Hall’s system will greatly expand that capability. We will be able to stream content from both the Historic Church and the Great Hall to the web for home viewing as well as from the Church to the Great Hall where it will be possible to project the audio and visual to a wider audience via a quality projector and sound system. The Great Hall itself will have three fixed cameras covering wide angles, telescopic, and close-up shots and the dais area will be equipped with two connection points where the band can plug in and fill the Hall with sounds. Next week part of the old library and the corridor that used to run to the back door leading to Alfriend House will be demolished as the first step in constructing the new, much wider corridor connecting the rear wing to the rest of the building. Less there be any undue excitement, or even confusion, there is still a way to go before the new wing is ready for occupation. That new corridor must be built, there is painting yet to be done, the data network and new fire alarm systems need to be cabled and installed and once that cabling is completed the ceiling tiles installed, carpet and tiles laid, and the restrooms finished. Once the fire alarm is fully operational and the building has passed numerous inspections, including the Fire Marshall, then and only then, will it be ready for occupation. On that cautionary note I will “blog-off!” Stay safe and stay healthy, David Beach. “Mum”: Brit for Mom. "It is cold enough to freeze the balls of a brass monkey": The comes from the days of sail powered warships where iron cannon balls stored on the deck were stacked on a dimpled brass plate called a "monkey." When is very cold the brass contracted sufficiently to cause the iron balls to roll off the brass plate.
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AuthorDavid Beach is our Building Project Manager, and has been an active part of our parish family for more than a decade. He is retired from NATO and the British Army and is a joy and blessing to all of us. Archives
July 2021
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