Continued Push to Make Bookcases

Rain interfered this past week with some of the construction activities, as did the Fire Department's requirement that we have our fire suppression system tied into a fire alarm.  This requirement caused us to contact ADT to get to the library and install an alarm and security system ASAP, but as of this writing, ADT has not put in an appearance, thereby holding up insulation, completion of the ceiling, dry-walling, and painting.  The lintels arrived, however, and were installed the next day.  Brick-laying resumed and should be completed this week.  Then the concrete has to cure before the walls can be painted.


In the meantime, Jim Friestad's bookcase crew has been working apace.  Most of the saw cutting is done, and with good weather, activity moved outdoors.  Lots of sanding, staining, and finishing coats of varathane.  Next time you see Jim, ask him how many hours have been put into this activity so far.  Better yet, come down and enjoy the fun!

Lastly, the plumber has begun to lurk around the new and old sections, and has determined that to cap off various pipes still remaining in the new wing, he has to begin preliminary work in the old wing.  His first step is to shut off the water in the kitchen, and that condition will remain until the entire construction project is completed in August.  We shall see more and more intrusion in the old wing until we have to give it up completely to commence its renovation early next month.

Emily and others are able to work indoors on the weekends.  Good thing when it's raining!

Karen Harris and Steve Martin intently sand a glass smooth finish on the bookcase panels.

Here's the gang using the wide open space afforded by the rose garden to sand and stain the panels.

Nice weather also allows Ron Torp to use his chop saw outdoors to cut 580 molding strips and, with John Fritsche's help, to apply one strip the edge of each of 130 bottom shelves.  The other molding strips will be glued to about 450 metal shelves when they arrive next month.  Everything must be sanded, stained, and finished before the bookcases can be assembled.

By the Numbers . . . . . . .

We've just gone through the rainiest day on record, or so Edhat reported and referred to 2003.  Edhat wasn't here in 1969 when we had 6" the first day and 3" the next.  Now that was rain!
But this weekend's rain didn't slow the bookcase-making efforts - the work merely moved into the new wing to stain and varnish nine plywood panels.  The the sun peeked through on this morning so that a large bunch of volunteers showed to up rout the edges of other panels and to sand them prior to staining and varnishing.  That activity is pictured below.
Consider this, however, dear readers: we are building almost 1/4 mile of shelf space in this first phase; we've made 143 cuts of plywood panels, we dadoed 0.4 miles of slots, and we'll put nearly 0.3 mile of molding on the edges of 580 bookshelves.  That is a lot of wood, glue, and work!  Volunteers have already put in several hundred hours of work sawing, sanding, staining, varnishing, routing, dadoing, and just toting pieces back and forth, sometimes several times a day, between saw and the storage sheds. We're making good use of borrowed sawhorses, tools, and talent.  Thanks to all you volunteers!

Ron Torp nails molding to the edge of a panel that will become the end of one of the bookcases, while Bob Lynn and John DuBois hang on.

Martin Petersen routs the edge of the molding to give it a curved edge, while Gary Matz and Paul Cochet hang on. 

Routing is slow work, so another crew helps in the background.

A belt sander makes the work go a lot faster.

Bookcase Activity Heats Up with the Arrival of Spring

Most of the construction activity has been taking place up in the attic - the installation of the heating/air condition, electrical, and the fire suppression system.  But at the same time, Jim Friestad and his crew have been making a lot of headway preparing the wood panels for the bookcases.  Do you realize we're making 1/2 mile of bookshelves?  We have been sawing plywood for a couple weeks, dadoed 0.4 miles a couple Saturdays ago, and are now sanding and staining the panels.  Have a look below!

Here are some of the things you would see coming down from the attic right now:  on the left, the heating duct, and on the right is one of the several fire sprinklers.

Bob Lynn and Fred Shaeffer fasten clamps to glue two plywood sheets together that will become one of the two end pieces of a bookcase.  They will let the glue dry for at least two days before removing the clamps.

I'd give a nickel for every square foot John Fristche sanded this morning!

Kathie and Cari probably sanded just as much as John.

And here's foreman Jim with the first of the stained panels.

And the Work Goes On

Now at the end of the first week of March, we have windows although lacking glass panes, we have a red tile roof, although needing some work around the chimney, we have electrical and data cables, although lacking final hookups, we have air conditioning ducts, although only about half completed, we have fire suppression pipe delivered but yet to be installed, we have a good start on the exterior brick walls, and we have the beginnings of bookcases a' building by Jim Friestad and his crew of volunteers.  A lot going on all at once!  Have a look below.

These window frames for the librarians' office are the same throughout the new wing.  Do you like the color?

Here is one of the reasons we cannot store books or have parties in the attic.  Librarians and patrons should have little reason to complain about how cold it is in the library, and the books should be very happy in a climate controlled environment.

The Jensens are measuring and marking the exact positions for the bookcases in the new wing.

Our intrepid mason Willi, who, with two helpers, is building a new type of concrete block facing for the building.  The blocks are tied to the vertical metal strips, and a space is left between the blocks and the wall to allow air circulation and an insulating effect.  A special netting goes in that space to prohibit entry of spiders and critters.

The brickwork is nearing completion in the entryway area.

The masonry is really interesting to watch in this video.  It's all in the wrist.