A Christ-Centered, Bible-Believing Fellowship
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Check back on this page. We will keep you updated on our progress. Scroll down for an overview of our Growing Together Project.
Although the early spring like weather has departed for the last week or so, to be replaced by normal temperatures for Winston-Salem winter, good progress has continued on the Growing Together project. The structural construction of the foyer/tower area is progressing well with final dry-in anticipated by the end of next week (about February 25th). The masonry work both in the lobby area and in the playground area is to be completed by the end of next week as well. The placement of the Glulam structure for the picnic area should also be installed next week.
Once the lobby is in the dry, several subcontractors (electrical, tile, painting, plumbing and mechanical) will be able to continue their respective duties. There remains a great deal yet to be put into place, but each completed phase is an encouragement.The size of the lobby seems to grow in perspective as the structure becomes more complete. The aggressive schedule that Davie Construction recently updated shows a completion for early in April. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to use our new lobby for our Easter service? There are many variables which can come into play to slow the completion down, with cooperative weather being the greatest to impact production. This too is in the hands of the Lord.
The improved weather, particularly for the last week, allowed much to be accomplished in the playground area at the rear of the educational building. Footings for the retaining walls around the perimeter of the playground and column bases for the picnic structure were installed. The sidewalk from the basement entrance to the educational building and connecting to the sidewalk at the rear of the nursery were poured today. This will at last provide the much needed access to and from the parking area and to both the nursery entrance and the educational building. Masonry installation in this area will progress next week.
The new bathroom facilities are substantially roughed-in to include metal stud walls with rough-in plumbing, electrical, and mechanical. Sheetrock is being installed today as well. The long awaited delivery for the glulam structural components occurred today. Installation of these structural members will begin next week allowing for the normal project progression to go forward. Weather permitting, the entry tower should really take shape in the next few weeks.
Occupancy approval for the nursery wing was received on January 18th. Next Saturday, January 28th, is the target date for moving the nursery operation into our new facilities. The hallway carpeting will not be installed until after the pavement is installed in the rear parking area. The overall appearance of our property is really coming together with the landscaping installation nearing completion.
The inclement weather continues to slow down the progress on our Growing Together project. The normal rainfall for the month of November in our area is about 3.5 inches, this year the rainfall was over 7.0 inches. Certainly not conducive conditions to enable the compaction of sub-grade materials in preparation for pavement placement. However, we know that these circumstances do not come as a surprise to our sovereign God. Probably there is a lesson to be learned by us all in this. The last two weeks did provide enough sunshine to allow for the installation of a significant amount of the new sidewalks in the rear of the new nursery area. This addition along with most of the curb and gutter for the rear parking area does provide a clear picture of how the rear parking area will be shaped. These accomplishments along with the completion of the firewalls behind the balcony and the near completion of the new nursery area provide much encouragement as we continue our journey through our renovation/construction experience. The installation of a significant portion of the trees and shrubbery by the landscaping sub-contractor is also an encouraging site. The impact of the Holiday season is that most companies provide paid time off to their employees and thus jobsite production is greatly diminished. However, weather permitting, efforts will be made to further the progress on the rear parking area and related concrete installation.
The pavement for phase I of the parking is now in place (including the parking striping). The new smooth asphalt provides great encouragement to our construction project disruptions. Phase I completion provided the opportunity to begin Phase II which includes the reshaping of the existing paved areas which were our “old” parking areas.The increased inconvenience created by the removal of the old asphalt is an even greater test to our patience. As in many things, it must get worse before it can get better. Favorable weather conditions are needed for the completion of preparation of Phase II pavement base materials. Anticipated paving of the rear area of Phase II would be during the week of November 21st.
The remodeling work on the new nursery wing is progressing well. The new paint and floor coverings will be installed beginning the week of November 28th. Substantial completion of the nursery should be the first week of December. Approximately 80% of the structural steel for the entrance tower and foyer area has been delivered. The setting in place of the structural steel will begin on November 9th. Seeing the framework of the new areas will be very exciting. We need to exercise even greater safety control over our children during the erection phase of our project. The structural materials stored on site are also an area that we need to keep our children from “inspecting” too closely. The cooperation and calm acceptance of the construction inconveniences by the church body continues to be excellent.
The rain event from late September severely impacted the progress of the project. Parking lot grading was curtailed for more than a week and the heavy rainfall caused compaction problems with the sub-base materials of the paved areas. The subsequent time period has been used to re-compact the sub-base material to prepare for the stone base course of the pavement. This week the preparation work was completed and the stone base was put into place in preparation for the paving in the phase one area of the parking lot. The entrance apron will be installed next week and paving of phase one is scheduled for early the week of October 17th. The underground plumbing and electrical rough-in for the new bathroom and the new entrance foyer areas has been installed along with the new water service. Water and sewer service to the educational building have been restored allowing the church to resume the normal Sunday School schedule. Final preparations for the floor slabs for the foyer and bathroom areas will be completed on October 10th with the pouring of the floor slabs anticipated for October 11th. Extensive renovation work on the new nursery area is scheduled to begin during the week of October 17th. The cheerful acceptance of the parking situation and the inconvenience of building access is greatly appreciated.
Continued progress on the parking lot phase I -- curb and gutter is now substantially complete, final grading in preparation for stone base is underway with stone placement to begin next week. The preparation of the entrance areas remain to be done. If agreeable weather conditions prevail, an aggressive schedule would be for paving of the paved areas of this phase to be completed the first week of October. Footings for the new foyer and new bath rooms were poured on September 15th. Finish grade for the floor slabs and the rough-in plumbing for the rest rooms should be completed next week with anticipated floor slabs to be poured probably the last week of September. Completion of these two floor slabs will allow a great visual picture of the extent of these areas. Thus far the weather has been very cooperative to the construction progress.
Sunday School will be cancelled for this coming Sunday, September 18, due to the water/sewer lines being disconnected.
Excavation for the firewall to be added to the educational building has been completed. The foundation is scheduled to be poured on Friday, August 26th. Masonry work is scheduled to begin next Monday. The installation of the storm water piping and drop inlets is 95% complete. The anticipated completion of the parking lot is by October 1st. It will be a welcome relief to have a more convenient parking situation after these weeks of scrambling to safely accommodate everyone. Our appreciation to the Deacons for their excellent efforts to provide this service to the church. Demolition of the lobby area is also progressing well. Foundation work for the new lobby is scheduled to begin next week. The patience exhibited by our church during these trying but exciting times is greatly appreciated.
Parking plans: We have a new plan for this Sunday. (Use the map below for reference.) First, we will fill up the rear lot (1). When this lot is at full capacity, we will park on the front lot of the church (2). Upon filling the front lot, you can park on Boone Ave. (3), which is the street perpendicular to the church (preferable, park alongside the empty lot there). Or you can park on the lawn immediately in front of the church auditorium. Parking attendants will be there to assist you.
The time has arrived for closing off the breezeway between the two buildings. Please look for alternate ways to enter the buildings. Those needing to go into the educational building (Bldg B) for children's classes, student ministries, the Fireside Room, etc. will need to enter at the far south end of the building (near the open field that will become a parking lot). That building must be exited through the same door. The Worship Center building will need to be entered (and exited) from the back by the offices, or through the door on the north side (under the "overhang"). There will be emergency exit doors for the educational building and Worship Center if needed, but we cannot use them as entrances. We regret this inconvenience, but it is necessary for a while. We'll keep you posted as to when the breezeway will be available for use again. Thanks for your patience!
Current construction progress on the expansion of the TCBC facilities is primarily excavation construction of the storm water/sedimentation control pond. Approved completion of this structure is a requirement for the issuance of the final permit. Other work in progress is primarily preparatory work to facilitate the demolition and reconstruction which is planned in the hallway and lobby areas, and purchase order activity to ensure timely delivery of the necessary materials and equipment to be installed.
These are exciting days at Twin City. The Lord is taking us deeper into the riches of His Word, and we are therefore growing in the knowledge of Christ. He is also causing a wider impact to our ministry as new people join with us. This growth in numbers is a source of great joy as well as a source of challenge.
It is crucial that we as a body provide adequate ministry space to meet this challenge. After much thought and prayer, the elders began evaluating the best approach to refurbishing and expanding our facilities. Important input from our Expansion Team, along with suggestions and insight from Fuller Architecture, has culminated in the development of a Master Plan. This plan consists of three proposed phases.
May the Lord excite your heart with the prospect of what He can accomplish through your faithfulness and generous support!
