This week the construction site has been plagued by rain, rain and even more rain to the point of looking like The Netherlands on a wet Sunday afternoon (and having lived there for 3 years I know what I’m talking about!). We even had our own version of “The Little Dutch Boy who put his finger in the dyke” in the form of Shirley the Sexton for although she might not go down in myth as the savor of Haarlem* she did fight back the waters as it sneaked under the door in her utility area!
The deluge caught out Higgerson, the site contractor, who were waiting for the delivery of about 20 feet of piping (the blue 12 inch variety for those “pipe-spotters” among us) so they could connect the newest storm water retention tank to the storm water management system. The pipes did arrive on Thursday morning but unfortunately, they were really needed on Wednesday afternoon so much of Thursday was taken up with pumping out the car park, entrance drive and the flooded tank much to the chagrin of Larry and Ryan. I keep asking them if they are “living the dream,” they always answer to the affirmative but this past week I’m not so convinced! Well enough tales of the ODEC recreational lake, what else has been “going down” (or perhaps filling up is more appropriate?). Not much news from the back of the site. The framing and yellow, sheeting water barrier, the latter well tested this week and they appear to work correctly, have survived intact and we wait with bated breath for the roofing work to start. Meanwhile when not waiting for the site to dry out Higgerson have installed the missing pipework, so now the flooding should be abated, and completely ripped up the old car park and surrounding area in readiness for the start of building the Great Hall and Narthex sand pad. As you may recall from the rear wing’s construction it is critical that the ground under the sand pad is completely dry before they start to build what will be the biggest sandcastle on N. Witchduck Road you’ll see this Summer! The word from Ryan is with a dry weekend sand pad building could start as early as Tuesday next week (18 Aug), with pad in place and compression tested it will be time to dig the trenches for the footings then, to my great joy, it will be “concrete pouring time” once again, first for the footings and then the big pour for the floor and hopefully another opportunity to get reacquainted with the concrete floor leveling team. Stay safe and stay healthy, David Beach “the savor of Haarlem”: the myth has it that a little boy was walking along one of the Netherland’s many earth dykes when he came across a jet of water springing from a small hole in the side of the dyke. The little boy put his finger in the hole to prevent the dyke from collapsing and thereby saved the city of Haarlem. I’m sure Higgerson would tell us earth banks holding back water crack open so the little boy would have had a tough time!
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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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