Sanctuary Work Continues During Final Week Of The Year

Dec. 29, 2020

Sanctuary Project Work Continues During Holiday Period

Check out the new tongue-and-groove wood wall pieces on the interior of the baptistery, awaiting stain. Our carpenters are now installing chair rails and molding throughout the nave. This photo was taken just inside the main entry door.

Work continues at a fast pace this week, despite the holiday period. In response to the torrential downpour on Monday, a quick response by our general contractor, Armstrong Associates, averted damage to the Project, though we needed three pumps to handle roof runoff and site drainage.

We are juggling a few, shall we say "interesting" challenges: Southern California Edison has been unable to schedule our cut-over to permanent power, which is needed for several aspects of our finish work. We are tapping all available contacts to get on their calendar.

Pandemic issues also have impacted our progress: in early December two employees of our HVAC subcontractor tested positive for COVID-19 and were quarantined for two weeks, and on December 26 the foreman of the framing subcontractor tested positive off-site, quarantining him and his full crew. Santa Barbara was already a tight labor market, and replacing these sidelined workers has proved difficult. Additionally, the company fabricating our window frames and sashes has been working short-handed due to the virus, further slowing progress.

For all of that, work progresses on the Sanctuary on many fronts:

Framing of the Memorial Chapel
Ongoing production of window frames/sashes
Final waterproofing and exterior shingling
Electrical, plumbing and mechanical work
Installation of the chancel and nave flooring
Ongoing painting and staining

We are working with Armstrong’s team to project a new completion date and will provide an update to the parish in early January.

The entire Project Team sends best wishes for a very happy and much improved New Year!

Our carpentry team is seen cutting baseboard molding.

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Above, the frieze trim in the nave is being stained. Below, the door frame into the new Flower Guild room gets sanded.

Our painting/staining subcontractor is shown staining the "chair rail" in the nave.

Carpenters add detail to the base molding.

The electrical subcontractor works on the panel located in the "back of the house."

This week's rain left the jobsite a bit muddy. Fortunately, the bulk of the work taking place is inside the Sanctuary. Pumps were used to direct water away from the building.