Construction continues at a steady, almost tranquil pace, now the big yellow machines, having done their work, have moved on to construction pastures new leaving behind tracks in the sand and two new entrances as a testament to their labors! We also have a very fine, exposed agate path (I’m picking up some of the terminology at last) connecting the N Witchduck Road crossing point with the Bell Tower so now we can park in the Sentara car park (which is available to us at anytime during these COVID-19 times) and walk on an even surface from car park to Bell Tower with nary a damp shoe in sight.
So what do I mean when I blog “almost tranquil pace”? Is nothing happening, has the frenetic pace of construction tailed off, has the momentum left the job? Far from it, the tranquility is solely due to the recently departed machinery leaving the site in the hands of bricklayers, electricians and carpenters all plying their skills with far less noise! At the front the bricklayers are continuing to raise the firewall that is gradually wrapping the end of Tucker Hall, the old entrance and around past Father Bob’s now ex-windows to the front of the Angel’s office in a concrete block curtain. At the back the rear wing has windows, a wood trim, the electrical system is being installed and outside the finished brickwork is being laid. Above, as already reported, we have a roof that whilst not yet shingled is nevertheless dry! If I paint too rosy picture, then stand fast for all is not sweetness and light. There are, of course, the normal challenges of any new construction; scheduled trades that don’t turn up, inevitable design elements that don’t translate from the drawing board to reality, weather issues etc. but for our construction “the biscuit”* goes to the existing buildings and in particular those bits and pieces that lurk in ambush underground. Last week it was the day school’s sewer lines “lurking in ambush” with no rhyme nor reason for there being an extra line and taking all of Mr. Crumley’s detective skills to resolve the problem. This week it's the three-phase power supply to the Historic Church (powers the air conditioning) lurking in ambush and requiring even more detective, and almost forensic, skills to resolve. Let me give you a layman’s (for that is what I most certainly am) taste of the three-phase power problem! Stay with me, this won’t take too long! Three-phase power to the Historic Church comes via a heavy cable from a panel in the electrical closet behind the Sexton’s office in the main building. That cable follows a path that can only have been devised by someone intent on giving the electrons flowing through that cable a sightseeing tour around the ODEC campus. The cable runs from the panel then underground towards the Church, it then doubles back, breaks surface but only to disappear underground to make a loop outside the back of the old library…….yes, that is completely in the wrong direction. The cable then makes an underground beeline for the Historical Church Sanctuary where it reappears just outside the wall. No surprise then that the cable was damaged when the rear wing footings were laid, even less surprise that no one could fathom out where the problem lay and total amazement that Mr. Crumley and the team from It’s Electric were able to trace the cable’s route and find the fault. Power will be restored next week. That's quite enough three-phase from me, stay safe and stay healthy, David Beach. “the biscuit”: as in “to take the biscuit” a British idiom meaning something has become bad, annoying or objectionable e.g. “the journey was bad but the traffic jam at the HRBT took the biscuit”
1 Comment
Mal Higgins
10/22/2020 09:54:50 am
My head hurts trying to figure out where that 3 phase power cable ran between the historic church and the parish hall, circling and coming back.
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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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