Things Are Moving Quickly

Between January 9 and January 14, I was at the church four different times. And every time, additional progress was clearly visible. These photos are from Sunday, Jan. 14, and undoubtedly there will be new views next weekend!

Cabinets, counter top, sink and floor tile all appeared in this week.


Where once a small kitchen unit backed up to two tiny rest rooms, we now have a well lighted, functional small kitchen. We are shopping for a stove, microwave hood and refrigerator to complete the look. The faucets will be installed when the plumber pays us a visit.

Also ready for the plumber are the new accessible restrooms. The entry from the hallway is finished and ready. (And no, it isn't crooked at the bottom. It's just the optical limitations of my camera.










Once inside the entry, each restroom has a door. This one is to the women's restroom. Of course there will be signs when the facilities are ready to use.




Handrails are installed and all is ready for the plumber to connect the toilet and the carpenter to install the stall divider. This view below is in the men's room.




















Sinks have been fastened to the walls with care in both rest rooms. This is another men's room view (the lighting was better.)
All is ready for the plumber to come back. Barry, where are you?

Meanwhile, outside we can see that Barry's work fixing the roof drains and under ground tile on the north side of the sanctuary is complete, and the concrete guys have laid the foundation for the next phase of the ramp that will lead to the sanctuary door.


Rounding the corner and looking south, toward our neighbor Jack in the Box, part of the old plaza is demolished and more grading and footings are in place for the continuation of the ramp. We have learned that the brick facing on the remaining portion of the porch (which covers the basement utility room) is in worse shape than originally thought and will have to be replaced, raising the cost of the project. We don't yet have that estimate.

This view from the southeast corner of the sanctuary shows the demolition progress on this side. In addition, Barry is also repairing the roof drains and underground tile on the south side of the building, after we discovered the tile was laid uphill, causing the runoff to back up in heavy rains. No more mopping the fellowship hall after a storm, we hope! Stop by next week for more updates, and also some exciting views of a wonderful gift that a member has donated to our fundraising campaign.

Concrete Progress

With good weather this week, the contractor was able to pour the ramp and walk that lead up from the street level. A portion of the walk that leads to the education building door is also in place.


This close up of the entrance shows the new, wide, low steps into the building. No more giant leap! The roof drain has also been re-connected to the underground drainage system, fixing a long-standing water problem in the fellowship hall.







Indoors, the carpenter has been busy painting walls and hanging the new overhead cabinets for the kitchenette. The base cabinets will be ready soon.


Work continues on getting the floor level in the kitchenette. The old bathrooms didn't have real tile on the floor: this is concrete scored to look like tile. Getting it out is proving to be a challenge but the workers are chipping away.







Lighting is installed in the new bath rooms, and the walls have been painted. The new all-in-one sinks and counter tops are delivered and ready to install, still in their protective shrink wrap!

Figures for the financial campaign for Compton Cares have been updated to reflect the audit done on the accounts as of Dec. 31, 2007. Some totals in the categories of money pledged and received will be a few thousand dollars less than previous reports, reflecting corrections for having counted two contributions twice. But the giving continues to be generous and the support of the project is amazing. The overall cost of the project has also increased by $3,200, the add-on charge to have our plumbing contractor take care of a collapsed sewer in the alley behind the education building that became evident when the project dumpster was moved into place. Having the same contractor take care of that problem now will save money in the long run.

Construction for the Holidays

The Outdoor Phase of Compton Cares con- struction has begun! The concrete con- tractors began work on Wednesday, Dec. 26. When people drove by for Happy Friday and when they arrived for worship on Dec. 30, this lovely orange net greeted them. After 5 months when the work was mostly indoors, now all the world can see that we are "doing something" to the entrance of the church.

Access to the education building is temporarily blocked by the grading and forms that will become the new ramp to the sanctuary level, as well as a new sidewalk to the education building door. In these photos the grade of the new ramp is beginning to take shape.




This view is from the side of the sanctuary toward Grand Ave. The drains from the roof were discovered to be disconnected from the storm tile underneath, so they have to be repaired before work on this side can proceed.

This view of the South side of the sanctuary entrance shows how badly the steps and brickwork on the plaza have deteriorated. All of this will be replaced, and brick will be used to face the portion that faces the street. The city's Landmarks commission required that for our permit.


A bad section of the walk from Flora Place to the education building has been broken out and slated for replacement, too.





Guest preacher on Dec. 30 was the Rev. Norm Linville, filling in for Jacque as she took a well deserved break visiting her family.






The Tree of Warmth collected a second offering this year. It was cleared once, and donations given to Isaiah 58 ministries, but on the 23rd and 30th, new offerings appeared.









Progress inside the building is evident in the Gleaners' classroom. A few feet of the room was taken for the new accessible restrooms, and the utilities were routed across the ceiling. Here, the new ceiling lights and grid are in place that will hide the work when the room is completed.

Workers are using the Gleaners' classroom to store and stage their work, but the new wall is in place and primed for a new coat of paint.