The making of The Churchhouse Studios

1st Floor Joist Phase - Complete

The Churchhouse Studios — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 03:30:00 +0000

Finally. The first phase of laying the new floor joists is complete. We have laid the back half of the sanctuary from the mini support wall to the building wall. At some points it was very slow moving to the point we only got one of two joists done per day. Laying down these new joists within the old joists takes a well laid out game-plan. And just like any other game, even when you have a game-plan the other team (in this case the old joists) will throw you something you didn't expect and force you to rethink your plan. We've done quite a bit of rethinking over these last few days. Enjoy the pictures!

Labor Day

The Churchhouse Studios — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 03:45:00 +0000

What better way to celebrate Labor Day than by... working!? Today we laid down a good amount of new floor joists. We were able the get the rear half of the middle section done. Looking at the pictures you may think that installing floor joists looks pretty easy. Well, believe me when I say that it's not! You have to be very watchful and do your best to make sure everything is level or you could end up with one sloped floor. Keeping everything level in a building built in the 1890's is a challenge all in itself.

Tomorrow we continue to lay more joists toward the side of the building. We'll get a late start though, because we have to go pick up some lumber.

A Day of Figuring

The Churchhouse Studios — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 02:45:00 +0000

Today was more of a mental workday than a physical one. We had to figure out how and where we were going to start laying our new floor joists. Since we are laying the new floor joists within the old joists, things got challenging. The original builders of the building did not follow any sort of standard when laying the floor joists. Usually floor joists are set "16 on center" which means they are 16 inches apart from each other. Well, the original joists are no where near that. Some are 16, some are 17, and some are even 18 inches apart. This makes it difficult for us to keep a system going because if we place our joists in the center of the old joists and we keep ours "16 on center"... well eventually our "16 on center" lands directly on an old joist. We are pretty sure we have a plan and hopefully we will get a couple set tomorrow and than really kick in on Monday (Labor Day). Here are some pictures of the first joist we are laying (it's 16 feet). It's not quite complete yet, but it gives you an idea.

More New Floor Joists

The Churchhouse Studios — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 02:30:00 +0000

Today we were able to lay down the rest of the front floor joists where the old baptistry used to be. We also installed the joist supports. Please note our fancy new shop vac! :) Check out the pictures!

Tomorrow we plan on laying some 16 foot floor joists starting in the center back of the sanctuary.

Problems Solved

The Churchhouse Studios — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 03:45:00 +0000

Yesterday I mentioned that the corner where the "Choir Room" meets the sanctuary had rotted out. Well, today we fixed that problem and got a lot more accomplished. It was an extended work day for us. We were able to get the mini support wall for the floor joists done. We also got the stringer made that will support the the floor joists from the other side. Ideally, we would have been able to have rested the new floor joists on the same beam that the "Choir Room" floor joists sit on (look closely at the pictures and you will see them). That was not to be. As I also mentioned yesterday, clearly the "Choir Room" addition was not put on by professionals. The beam the "Choir Room" joists sit on is a stringer beam made of of three boards and is not put together well. We decided that it would be best to just let the "Choir Room" stand the way it has stood for the past 77 years and not add anymore weight to it. That's why we created the new stringer beam that will support the new floor joists. Tomorrow we put up more new floor joists!

Pictures:

#1 The stringer beam and mini support wall complete

#2 Another angle of the stringer and support wall

#3 Yet another angle

#4 The rotted corner now fixed

Fixing Problems

The Churchhouse Studios — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 02:30:00 +0000

Well, we went in today with the intention of laying the rest of the six foot floor joists where the old baptistry used to be. When we began figuring out the strategy to lay them, we found out that one corner of the building was very rotted. As I mentioned in the "Quick Facts" post, the building was built in the late 1890's and then the basement was put underneath it in 1928. In order to dig the basement they had to dig a hole at the back of the building and then started digging in (picture a cave). Once they had the basement dug they decided to leave the hole that they used to get started and build an additional room above it off of the back of the sanctuary. While the folks that put the basement in were obviously professionals, we get the feeling that the back room was built by the Saturday church volunteer team. When connecting the "addition" to the building they didn't do it right and water seeped in the corner over the years leaving a rather nice mushy mess for us to fix. There are many more problems with the "Choir Room" as well... some we will be able to fix (by the end of the project it will basically get all new outside walls) and some of the problems we will just have to deal with.

The good news is we have a plan, the bad news is that by the time we got it the lumber company was closed for the day. So we spent the rest of our day getting the other area where the floor joists will sit ready. We cleared out the bottom of the arch so the new floor joists will be able to sit on the beam. We also pulled up some flooring that was in the way and laid down the base plate of the new mini support wall.

Pictures:

#1 The rotted corner

#2 The bottom of the arch is clean and clear, ready for floor joists

#3 The brown board on the beam is the base plate of the next mini support wall

New Floor Joists

The Churchhouse Studios — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 02:30:00 +0000

Today we laid our first new floor joists. We laid new six foot joists back across what used to be the altar area. First we had to place a cleat board on the wall and then we secured the first seven joists. You'll notice in the pictures that the level is spanning the new joist and the support wall for the loft (both of which the new floor will be sitting on). And everything is perfectly level... so far so good!

Tomorrow we have to build more mini support walls over in the old baptistry area as we prepare to lay more six foot joists there.

Another Mini Support Wall

The Churchhouse Studios — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 02:15:00 +0000

Today we went and purchased the lumber for our first floor joists. We removed the final three old floor joists at the altar area. As you know the new floor joists have to be raised and supported. The old beam that the support sits on does not sit level all the way across. So a way to support the new floor joists and at the same time level out the support (so our new floor will be level) had to be thought of. Well, we decided to go with another little support wall (much like the one on the other beam) because you are able to adjust each individual support stud so that in the end, you have a nice level support.

Tomorrow we start setting some new joists as well as create another mini support wall in the old baptistry area.

Mini Support Wall Finished

The Churchhouse Studios — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 02:30:00 +0000

We had an abbreviated work day today. We were able to finish up the mini support wall for the loft. The little wall you see in the pictures is going to sit underneath our new level floor with the floor joists. The sanctuary ceiling is 22 feet tall providing plenty of head space for a second story loft. This mini wall sits on a very large wooden beam and will provide the support and distribute the weight of the loft. We now have a good visualization of what a level floor is going to look like. I tried to show some pictures that would give you the idea as well.

We'll be laying new floor joists soon!!!

Quick Facts

The Churchhouse Studios — Sat, 26 Aug 2006 02:00:00 +0000

Here are some quick facts about the building that is becoming the new KICKS Ministries Production Center.

#1 The church was originally built in the early 1890's

#2 In 1923 the entire church was set on jacks and the entire lower-level was dug out and built. This is also when the "Choir Room" was added to the back of the building.

#3 The baptistry and other improvements were made in the summer of 1988

#4 KICKS Ministries bought the building in 1999. We renovated and updated the building to serve as our church meeting place.

#5 Now in the year 2006, we are converting the building from a traditional church into a full fledge production center that will house the new KICKS Club Television Studios as well as the ministry's audio studios.

The Teal Wall

The Churchhouse Studios — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 02:15:00 +0000

The second batch of joint compound was applied to the drywall in the lower-level today. The mini support wall for the loft is officially half done. We removed the floor joists and other various pieces of wood from the "behind the baptistry" wall area. We also took down dropped ceiling in the room behind the old baptistry (the room was originally used to prep the church choir). When the dropped ceiling came down, we discovered that someone at some point in history was able to actually sit in a room entirely painted in a light, pastel teal color!

We have tomorrow off, so I think I'll post a little history lesson about the building tomorrow... so be looking for that.

Picture #1 - The mini support wall for the to be loft

Picture #2 - Another angle of the support wall

Picture #3 - Floor joists behind baptistry area and in front of the "Choir Room" are history. (Watch your step!)

Picture #4 - A shot of the "Choir Room" with the cleared out floor joists and ceiling tile removed

Picture #5 - Pastel teal????????

Wall coming down... wall going up

The Churchhouse Studios — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 02:15:00 +0000

The day started out with applying the first batch of joint compound to the lower-level support wall drywall. While that is happening we begin tearing up yet some more hardwood floor that was behind the baptistry area. We were going to wait until later in the project to tear down the wall behind where the baptistry sat. However, once we got the floor up, we saw that laying our floor joists would be impossible with the wall still up. So we began tearing down the wall. We also laid down the first 2X6 on the beam that I mentioned will be supporting the new loft.

Tomorrow's menu includes adding the second batch of joint compound. Trying the finish up the mini support wall for the loft and continuing to clear out the under floor area of the "behind the baptistry" wall.

Picture #1 - Joint compound on dry wall

Picture #2 - "Behind the baptistry wall" about half torn out (check earlier blog entries to see the area with the full wall)

Picture #3 - "Behind the baptistry wall" is gone!

Picture #4 - "Behind the baptistry wall" is gone again!

Picture #5 - First board for loft supporting wall is installed on the beam

Getting Started

The Churchhouse Studios — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 02:00:00 +0000

We begin by removing the pews and ripping up the old carpet. Next we begin removing the old hardwood flooring. The sanctuary floor is sloped. The very back of the sanctuary sits exactly 16 inches higher than the front of the sanctuary. For the production center (Studio 85), we must pull up the old hardwood floor and lay down new floor joists to level out the floor.

Take note that in the first picture at the upper right you will see a sliding glass door leaning against a stone covered baptistry. After we remove about two thirds of the sanctuary floor, the baptistry is coming out.

While some of the crew is working on removing things upstairs, the rest of the crew is working on constructing a new supporting wall in the church lower-level. I'll post some photos of that in a few days!

The main platform... continued.

The Churchhouse Studios — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 02:00:00 +0000

After Friday and Sunday off we got right back to work on the main platform today. Before removing the platform joists we first had to remove the entire ceiling of the lower-level stairway that sits under the platform. This turned out to be a very messy job with dust and insulation flying everywhere. Once we did get it complete, it was time to start on the platform. First we knocked out the lower platform supports and then set in on the 2X10's. Other than the joists on each end of the platform (and with the help of a large crowbar) the joists came out pretty smoothly. The three remaining joists you see in the photos have to stay there until we lay the new floor joists down because they are holding the lower-level stairway light and some furnace duct work. The second photo is looking down into the lower-level stairway from above the platfrom (now you see where we are storing the carpet we pull up).

Tomorrow we put the drywall on one side of the new supporting wall in the lower-level and then we start planning out a strategy of laying our first NEW floor joists upstairs!

Some drywall and more...

The Churchhouse Studios — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 02:00:00 +0000

We had another successful day, today. We started out the day by dry-walling one side of the new supporting lower-level wall. After that we began mapping a strategy to lay down our first new floor joists. We needed to remove some more hardwood floor to expose the beam that the new joists will sit on (this is the same beam that is being supported by the new wall in the basement directly below it). We also needed to remove the flooring to uncover a beam that runs the length of the sanctuary from front to back. This beam is going to have a support built onto it to not only level it, but to also be a support to the new second story loft we are putting in the sanctuary! More info on the loft in a future blog!!!

The second photo shows the new lower-level wall supporting the beam above it and the last photo shows the newly uncovered beam that will support the new upcoming loft in the sanctuary.