New Bathrooms Almost Ready

Well - The drains for the new bathrooms are ready. The next step is to fill the inside of the foundation with gravel and rebar in preparation for pouring the slab. That pour is scheduled for next week. The gravel mountain shown below will be partially used for the under-slab gravel. The remainder will be used to surface a temporary parking area where the new parking lot will be located.

Old and New

No it is not Jim Rodante who is old, but the brick he is holding. Jim is the JH Batten site superintendent. He discovered a cache of bricks during excavation of the footings for the new building. These bricks are old and of a size that pre-date the current buildings at Shiloh. More of them can be seen at his left. It is believed these bricks are from the original church that was destroyed in the tornado in 1948. Jim placed one of them in the concrete as it was being poured for the Family Life Center foundation - thus ensuring that a bit of the oldest building is part of the newest one.

Plumbers Lay Building Drains

The plumbing crew lays the main drain line for the Family Life Center. The electricians are also on site installing under-floor conduit for our electrical and audio systems.

Masons Finish Foundation

The masons lay the brick facing on the foundation. This completes this phase. Starting Monday the electrician and plumber will install the under-slab conduit and piping so that the building slab can be poured.

Unsuitable Soil Problem Costly

The unsuitable soils problem discussed earlier has been resolved, but at a price. Almost 3000 cubic yards of soil were removed, replaced, and compacted to achieve stable soil for the new building and the expansion to the parking lot. This was in addition to the fill required to achieve the grade levels specified in the site plan. The problem came about due to the fact that the old parking lot covered a large portion of the construction area. It was not possible to know exactly what lay beneath it. We knew that our old septic system was there, but it turned out that there were two septic system tanks and drain fields located under the footprint of the new building. The potential for the septic system creating a problem was identified by soil borings conducted by Froehling & Robertson, the soil engineering firm that Shiloh engaged prior to the start of grading. The problems were confirmed once the asphalt was removed and actual conditions could be observed.

The borings also identified a potential problem area in the southwest portion of the future parking lot. This turned out to be the larger problem and the most expensive to correct. The area contained a large quantity of old fill consisting of organic matter, asphalt, concrete, and building materials. It appears that at some time in the past this area was used as a dump of some sort. A lot of soil had to be replaced to achieve stable conditions.

The F&R soil engineer supervised all of the unsuitable soil corrective efforts and achieved satisfactory compaction test results in the affected areas.

The final cost to Shiloh for this unsuitable soil effort is right at $50,000. This cost is not part of the $1,310,000 construction contract with J H Batten. Fortunately the church voted to give the New Building Committee a budget of $40,000 to cover any costs that are not included in the construction contract - so the cost of the project has not increased by the full $50,000 - but it has increased.

Other costs to the church at present include a $1,000 increase to the soil erosion barrier and a $2,000 change to the electrical plan - both required by King George County. The county has also mentioned that they may require that the roof be constructed with fire-retardant plywood. This change would also result in additional cost. As soon as all of the additional cost factors are fully identified, the New Building Committee will come to the church for guidance.

Tree Spared!

VDOT has agreed to the re-design of the left turn lane. This change will save the tree whose branches are shown in the top right of the photo.

Block Work Continues

The masons are nearly finished with the foundation and the outline of the new building can clearly be seen.

Masons Have Started Work

Masons lay the foundation block on the footings.

Ready for Final Pour

Concrete workers install last of the rebar in preparation for the last pour of concrete for the building footers.










Here the completed footers can be seen








The mason will begin to lay the block (shown in background) starting Monday

Foundation Started

The pouring of the concrete building footers has begun and will continue this week as weather permits. The mason is scheduled to start next Monday (27 March) to lay the block on top of the footings that will be the building foundation.

At Last!

Digging of the footings has started! The block has been delivered and concrete is planned to arrive this Monday (3/20/06). This week will mark the transition from site preparation to actual construction.

Ready to Dig Footings

The exterior and interior walls are now shown in orange paint in preparation for the excavation of the footings.

Building Permit Issued!

We now have our building permit and the site grading is complete. The storm drain culvert for the new parking lot is being installed today. The concrete contractor has commenced mobilization to our site and will pour the footings as soon as they are excavated. That excavation work should commence tomorrow. We expect the mason to begin laying block on the footings next week. We plan to meet with VDOT in two weeks to address the modifications to the left turn lane needed to spare our oak tree.

X Marks the Spot

Well .... Actually it is the stakes with the red flags that mark the spot where our new building will be erected. The surveyor has laid out the corners of the building and excavation of the footings will begin as soon as the soil dries out from all of our recent precipitation.

Woodsman, Spare That Tree!

It was brought to our attention by the builder that the current design of the VDOT mandated left turn lane will require removal of one of the three remaining oak trees in front of the church. The tree is the one shown in the front right of the photo. We will work with the builder and VDOT to redesign the turn lane so as to save the tree. Relocating the power pole that can be seen to the left of the drive may permit the turn lane to be moved far enough to clear the tree. This will require the church to obtain the cooperation and coordination of VDOT and Dominion Virginia Power. Pray for us.

Grading Almost Complete

The grading of the building site is completed (top photo) and most of the expansion to the parking lot is done (bottom photo). The surveyor will soon lay out the precise corners of the new building so that digging the footings can commence as soon as the site dries out from the snow. Some have asked about the top soil that was placed in the grassy area in front of the church, which is shown in the bottom photo in the February 10 post. The soil will be spread to improve the quality of the lawn there.

Progress!

The dry weather has permitted Reuwer and Son to complete removal of the unsuitable soil and begin compaction of the new soil.





Fill dirt is being placed to create the new parking area.








Union Bank & Trust places a small sign.

Site Work Slowed By Rain

The recent wet weather has delayed correction of the unsuitable soil condition. The bad soil has been removed from where the new building will be located, but the new soil is too wet to be laid down and compacted. The forecast for this week is for dry weather, so progress will resume shortly. Also, several areas that will support the new parking lot must be worked. This soil contains tree roots and residue from earlier Shiloh construction. Some of this can be seen in the dirt pile in the foreground of today's photo.

$$$ Current Financial Status $$$

The builder is under contract to deliver the new Family Life Center for $1,310,000. Additionally, the New Building Construction Committee is authorized a budget of $40,000 to cover any items not in included in the construction contract or any changes to the building the church might identify during construction. To date these items include the cost to correct the unsuitable soil issue, and purchase of the kitchen appliances.

The loan package with Union Bank & Trust allows us to borrow up to $750,000 and we currently have just over $710,000 in our New Building Fund. Since the approved budget for the building is $1,350,000, the maximum amount we will actually have to borrow is $640,000. The final amount of the loan will likely be less since we continue to receive donations to the building fund.

Our builder is scheduled to turn over a finished building in mid-August of this year. It will include the typical built-ins plus a large ceiling mounted projector screen and stage curtains for our dramas and musicals. The necessary sound equipment is not included nor are tables and chairs. As the completion date draws nearer, the New Building Committee will be seeking the church’s guidance regarding these items. A total of $1200 has already been donated for the audio equipment. The furnishings in the existing social hall may be used if desired.

Site Work Continues

As previously reported several areas of unsuitable soil were uncovered at the building site. The existence of this problem was first revealed by the core samples done at the request of our builder. Unsuitable soil is soil that is not capable of supporting the weight of the building. It turns out that a previously unknown and abandoned septic system under the parking lot was filled with rain water and keeping the soil saturated. This soil is being excavated, replaced with good soil, and compacted. This additional effort does not appear to affect the scheduled completion date of mid-August.