Worship and Performance Stage Enclosed

The new worship and performance stage on the north wall of the gymnasium was enclosed this week. The roof trusses, roof boards, insulation and shingles were put in place which now allows work to proceed inside, regardless of the weather. This step removes schedule risk associated with rainy weather and gets us closer to opening the new gymnasium in time for the new fall confirmation program and midweek Redemption worship service.

Also this past week, the concrete floors were poured under the stage, in the adjacent storage rooms, and throughout the relocated maintenance rooms. This allows us to continue with interior electrical work and really get going on the stage lighting package. Over the next two weeks you will also see the actual stage floor framing take place over the newly poured concrete floor.

Town Square Foundations Proceed

Work on the new Main Entrance and Town Square is proceeding on schedule. The footings and foundations are nearly complete. The final concrete pour will occur this week on the west wall visible in the photo below. The big CAT excavator sits just where the new main entrance and canopy will be. The next steps are to complete the under floor drainage system, begin building the basement block walls and then pour the basement floor.

From the view below you can see the rectangular outline of the new lower level classrooms that will sit directly beneath the new town square. When the center partition is opened, this room will be larger than the Great Room, have taller ceilings than the rest of the lower level, and be outfitted with audio/visual capability. Uses include Redeemer bible study, VBS, confirmation classes, Sunday School, community bible study and other community events.

Music Wing Renovation

Work started this week on the renovation of the music wing. The current music practice room is being reconfigured for use as the nursery when the project is completed in November. This summer, the balance of the music wing is being renovated so that a new music practice room will be available when the choir returns this September. In addition to the new music practice room, the space will include a pair of new bathrooms. The photo below captures some of the initial demolition work around the area that was the robbing and hand bell rooms.

AC Returns to Redeemer

Who would have imagined two weeks of heat and humidity in the mid 80's before Memorial Day in Michigan? Well, actually, we could have predicted that back in January when we first learned that the air conditioning in the sanctuary was going to be temporarily disabled starting in May and for much of the summer.

But there is cause for rejoicing, as the air conditioning is back at Redeemer -- specifically in the main sanctuary. The photos below show the temporary air conditioning unit just outside the music wing. This will take the place of our regular unit until such time as the regular air conditioning is restored. In the photos below you can see the large white air handling conduits that run from the portable unit just outside the music wing, through the music wing windows and ultimately to the sanctuary. Hallelujah! Join us for church, and enjoy the air!

Nuts and Bolts

Many of you have asked, given the challenging economic environment, if we have been tempted to substitute lower cost materials to make our budget stretch further. Well, when we were walking the site this week, we came across this picture, which proves that we are using genuine Lutheran bolts ...
... Now, if we could just find some certified Lutheran nuts to go with our bolts ...

Construction for Week of 5-24-10 and 6-7-10

Construction continues on schedule, despite the intermittent rain these past two weeks. Things will continue to move at a rapid pace for the coming two weeks. Work on the music wing will begin this coming Monday, May 24. And work on the new Westmaple classrooms will begin just after Memorial Day, Tuesday, June 1.
The large block work is complete on the new worship and performance stage. The walls are being moisture sealed (see black "paint" above) and the insulation and traditional Redeemer red brick will be started this coming week.
You can just see the beginning of the framing and (bright green) drywall around the stage itself.

The trusses for the stage roof will be added shortly and the concrete floor should be poured at the end of this coming week.

Meanwhile work on the foundations and walls for the lower level classrooms are nearly complete. Stone covers the classroom floor in anticipation of pouring concrete.

The outline of the new main entrance is now visible in the lower level foundation work captured in the two photos below.

The 2 week schedule 5-24-10 through 6-7-10:

Stage Addition
· begin metal stud framing
· begin carpentry work
· begin roofing
· begin brick veneer
· pour concrete floor
· continue with interior electrical
· continue with stage lighting package
Town Square
· complete footing and foundations
· complete Waterproofing
· Begin under floor drainage system
· Begin basement block walls
· Pour basement floor
Interior infrastructure
· Continue with Fire suppression installation
· Continue with electrical relocation
· Continue with demo at New South stairway
· Begin new ceiling grid
West Maple
· Remove trees
· Demo begins
· Exterior site work
· Begin footings
Music Wing
· Begin staging for demo work
· Demo begins
· Begin layout and wall framing
Site improvements
· Install electrical service East side of building
· Begin parking lot site demolition
· Research gas main relocation
· Begin landscape repairs

Front Lawn Restored

Last month the front lawn at Redeemer was literally opened wide, to allow work to proceed on two site improvements. The first, an upgrade to our city water main, which will now allow fire sprinkling throughout Redeemer. And second, additional capability for handling our storm water runoff.

Front Lawn, April 28, 2010 ===>

Front Lawn, May 21, 2010

Now, less than a month later, the site improvements are complete and the lawn has been restored. The new, larger water main, enters the building at the southwest corner of the sanctuary. A boring machine allowed us to connect the main directly underneath the circle drive and formal gardens by the church front steps without disturbing any of the beautiful plantings. And the large concrete basins that were on the front lawn have been installed, connected and buried underground.


The Easter Bunny, commenting from his summer home in Northern Michigan, praised the workmanship and declared the 2011 Redeemer Easter Egg Roll "a go."

Tree Removal and Landscape Plan

You will notice this week that trees have been removed from the area between the west parking lot and the front circle drive. This was necessary to install a new underground storm water detention basin underneath the new parking lot spaces that will adjoin the west parking lot.

But please be assured that for every tree that has been removed, we will be replanting (this fall) in almost a two to one ratio, that is, planting almost two trees for every tree that had to be removed. Both maple trees and spruce trees will ring the new parking area, for the benefit of neighbors to the west, those who pass by on Maple Road and for the general beautification of the Redeemer grounds.

Likewise, the sycamore tree out behind Westmaple was removed this week. It too will be replaced. Interestingly, in almost the exact same location. The foundation work for the new classroom near the base of the tree would have disturbed the root system to such a degree that the tree would no longer thrive. Planting a new tree with it's root system intact, in nearly the same location, is a better, longer lasting solution.

As soon as the hot summer weather passes, we'll be replanting in the fall, not only these trees, but other landscaping around the new main entrance and other areas impacted by construction. In the mean time, lawn repair in the front circle drive will begin over the next few days.

Thanks to Jim Eppink at J Eppink Partners for providing such a complete landscape plan.

Easter 2010 Beam Signing

On April 2-4, Easter, 2010, hundreds of Redeemer members, ages 3 to 93, signed special messages on a very large steel beam that was specially displayed in our gymnasium. Now, a few weeks later, that beam has been placed across the top of the new worship stage in our gymnasium. The photographs below capture some of those members and their messages. Everyone who signed the beam was also invited to sign a special book as a commemoration of our 2010 Sacred Space project. Enjoy.

Construction for Week of 5-10-10 and 5-17-10

The two week construction schedule for 5-10-10 thru 5-24-10 is as follows:

Stage addition
· Complete block walls
· Continue with mechanical & electrical work
· Erect remaining steel
· Begin carpentry work
· Begin roofing

Town Square

· Basement footing and foundations
· Waterproofing
· Begin under floor drainage system

Interior infrastructure
· Begin fire suppression installation
· Continue with electrical relocation
· Continue with demo at New South stairway

West Maple
· No work in this area

Music Wing
· Begin staging for demo work, which starts May 24, 2010

Site improvements
· Install electrical service East side of building
· Begin parking lot site demolition
· Complete installation of new water main
· Research gas main relocation
· Begin landscape repairs

Sacred Space Giving Report

Total gifts given and pledged to the Sacred Space capital stewardship campaign totaled $3,860,000 as of April 30, 2010. This total of $3.86 million can be broken down as follows:
Pledged Gifts, $2,458,000 from 225 families
Unpledged Gifts, $1,366,000 from 60 families
Interest Income, $37,000.

Over the past six months we have averaged over $88,000 per month in gifts. March gifts totaled $115,000 and April gifts totaled $100,000.
We are all so grateful for the ongoing sacrifices made by so many families.

Of the total $3.86 million in gifts, $2.30 million has been collected to date. The difference, a little more than $1.56 million, represents outstanding pledges. We are now at the beginning of the second year of our three year capital stewardship campaign, which runs from April 2009 to March 2012.

New gifts, pledged and unpledged, continue to be made each month. We still hope to top $4 million before the campaign is completed.

Ten percent of the outstanding pledges (currently $156,000 as of 4-30-10) are set aside as a contingency against pledge receivables. While this contingency helps assure that we only spend what we can conservatively plan to collect at the end of the three year campaign, it also means that this contingency money is not available to our construction budget.

If you have the flexibility in your financial plans, please consider making a portion of your second year gift while construction work is still in progress. In addition to reducing the 10% pledge contingency, it also will save us the 3% borrowing cost later this year and next. So you can see that the same gift amount, timed for this summer, multiplies in value by almost 15% which directly helps our ongoing construction efforts.

More Construction Photos from 5-4-10

More construction photos from a beautiful sunny May day at Redeemer ...

From the outside the opening for the new stage is now clearly visible on the north wall.

And from the inside, the temporary tarp over the stage opening lights up the entire gym.

Check out the exposed roof and beams that are now visible with the gym ceiling removed.

Meanwhile the cinderblock that surrounds the new maintenance storage room is going up at a rapid pace.

And the lower level classroom walls (below the Town Square) are being readied for concrete.

Out in front work continues on new water retention basins that will soon be hidden from view.