Building Our Future: Construction Updates

Stained glass windows design team measuring for future installation.

New wood slats in parish hall ceiling create warmer room feeling and sound absorption

Parish Hall floor being ground to perfection!

New exterior walkway outside adoration chapel being poured.

Fr. John going up the down staircase.

Outside the chapel entrance concrete being poured.

Relamped chandeliers being installed.

Backfill is being put into place on the north end of the church, and new landscaping will go there. 

The kitchen is taking shape as easy-to-clean walls are installed. 

The altar interior stucture is in place and the marble slabs of our original altar (which used to be against the back wall) will be put in to place over this structure at a future date. 

The choir loft/overflow seating area flooring is almost all in place.

Lowering the exhaust tube into the roof which will vent the kitchen stovetop hood. 

The Altar “skeleton” being constructed.

The big concrete boxes near the slab for the new foyer will be planters.

Sheet rock is being installed all through the parish hall. The kitchen is at the far end with the temporary blue walls.

The kitchen floor in the hall starts with this slurry being rolled out. When it hardens it will have a slight grit to avoid slippage, but will be easy to mop up messes. 

Sheetrock is being installed in the narthex at the main entrance of the church. 

White fiberglass paneling (easier to clean) will make up the walls in the hall kitchen. Thick protective paper has been laid down on the finished floor to protect it while workers are going about their business. 

Interior wood panelling is going up. Workers do their very best to match the grain of the wood for pieces which are right next to each other. After the wood panels are all in place they will be stained to complement the church pews. 

Various stages of the construction of the Adoration Chapel.

As of this photo, most of the sections of the ceiling have been completed. That is the final finish (except for light fixtures and sprinkler head and ventilation finishings). Like the choir loft, where the workers started, the sanctuary will be logistically more complicated, due to floor hight differences while using the scaffolding. 

Grant Construction hires and amazing crew who specialize in ceiling plaster. The final stage of plaster is mixed with the paint. So the ceiling is at its final stage, other than the light fixtures and sprinkler heads. 

The church ceiling now has a recessed sprinkler (fire suppression) system. Sheetrock covers the runs and the ceiling is awaiting several layers of plaster. 

The Reconciliation Room is located near the stairs up to the choir loft. 

The "light well" is filled in with gravel and dirt has been pushed back into place where plantings will go. This will bring daylight into the west side of the parish hall. 

No, it’s not a swimming pool in our parking lot! It’s a new bio-swale that is required for the water abatement plan for the addition to the Church.

Crews are beginning to frame in the adoration chapel now located on the outside corner of the church.

Now that sheetrock has been replaced, covering the new sprinkler system (fire suppression), the workers are starting to finish the ceiling. There will be several coats of plaster on the entire length of the church. The final coat will contain the white pigment as the final color. Lots of scaffolding is being moved to and fro around other workers (electricians, HVAC installers, carpenters, architects and the occasional curious priest). It’s a busy place!!

Structural Steel going up for the Adoration Chapel.

One can now see how the Adoration Chapel is taking shape, nestled in the southeast corner of the church exterior.

Here is a family who toured the construction site today.  Annemarie (Maag) & Kevin Liddy were married in this church on July 11, 2020. Annamarie had been baptized, received her First Holy Communion, and had been Confirmed in this church building and her and Kevin‘s children, Shamus (not pictured, who will start pre-K this fall at our school), Liam and Kiera were all baptized here and will receive their First Communions in the renovated church.

Workers framed the grand staircase leading up to the church entrance. Concrete forms and steel rebar reinforced the retaining walls.

The concrete base for the new Adoration Chapel was poured this week. You can begin to see the shape, location, and entrance. Now the framing of walls can start.

Here is a view from "inside" the new entrance foyer, looking at the elevator block and workers getting ready to pour the frame of the grand staircase that will lead up to the narthex and church entrance.

Here is a view of the stairs on the west side of the church leading to the choir loft. There will be stairs on the east side as well. The loft now extends 8ft and will have seating for the choir and congregation.

The new “light well” (one the west side of the building, looking north) has all the windows cut, and the retaining wall formed. This will let natural light into the west side of the lower parish hall. Dirt will be replaced up against the left side of the retaining wall and landscaping will be planted along the wall.

Looking at the loft in the back of the nave one can see the beginnings of the staircases going up to the loft on either side. And, under the ladder, the entrance to the new Reconciliation Room in, basically, the same place, but with a new floor plan.

Some new pictures of the concrete pouring 6/5 of the Adoration Chapel floor and part of the new foyer/atrium.

Here is a photo of the new framing of the narthex and choir loft, which extends into the church nave an additional 8 feet from the previous design.

We finally received our final building permit. Now we can pour the footings to start building the new foyer, which you can see on the front of these construction plans.

Forms and rebar have been laid for the footings, which will be poured on Monday, May 4. Compare these footings to the photograph of the construction plans, where you can see the glass wall of the new foyer.

This is the footing of the new elevator shaft that will be right next to the new grand staircase, which will take one up from the foyer into the narthex at the main entrance of the church.

Another view of the concrete forms that will be poured on Monday morning, May 4.

The new choir loft is starting to take shape, which will be over an expanded narthex.

The first footing has been poured for the new foyer to the parish hall.

They also poured the first footing for the new elevator, which will be right next to the new grand staircase. 

The north end of the parish hall is the location of the new bathrooms, which are just now being framed in.  The drywall above holds in insulation, which will provide a sound buffer between floors. A designed ceiling will hide the drywall. 

On the west side of the church, they have dug out the area for the "window wells”. Windows on this side will bring light into our lower-level hall, so that natural light will now come in from both sides of the hall.

Forms have been built for the wall of the “foyer” (entry area) of the hall and the Elevator shaft.

Forms to be poured for future glass walls of the foyer to the parish hall.

The elevator shaft concrete should be poured this week. 

THE BIG POUR!

Concrete was poured for the foundation of the Adoration Chapel, walls for the Foyer (entry area for the hall) and elevator shaft.

Three cement trucks brought wet concrete to the site, which was poured in stages, e.g. the elevator shaft was poured in 3 stages, in six foot segments. 

Before the foundation for the Adoration Chapel was poured, Fr. John Kerns placed these items into the ground where the concrete was poured, right underneath where the new stained glass windows will go: A cross from the ACTS Retreat, a Fisherman’s Bracelet (reminding us that we are all “fishers of men and women” and unused Sacramental Holy Oil from 2025. Customarily, after the new Holy Oils are blessed each year the unused amounts from the previous years are to be buried. The usual practice at Our Lady of the Lake is for them to be buried in our Sacred Heart Cemetery. But in this historic year the Adoration Chapel seemed to be a fitting place. 

This photo was taken after the first stage of the foundation was poured for the Adoration Chapel. The green star marks the location of the religious items (ACTS Crucifix, Fisherman’s Bracelet and 2025 Holy Oils) which Fr. John placed into the foundation.

Windows are begin cut from the walls into the basement. This is called a “light well” to bring in more natural light to the parish hall.

Windows are begin cut from the walls into the basement. This is called a “light well” to bring in more natural light to the parish hall.

Here is the view of the beginnings of the new choir loft.

Here is a few from the new choir loft into the sanctuary. 

Ductwork and air handlers are being installed in the parish hall. And one can see where the windows will be cut for the “light well” to allow for natural light from the east to illuminate the hall. 

Framing for a hallway that leads to a new men’s restroom (on the right) and a new women’s restroom (left) and (on the far left) a multi-purpose room that can also serve as a “Bride's Room”

Skilled workers installing the sprinkler system in the ceiling of the church.

We now have our main building permit for the church renovation and addition! Previously, we received initial permits for things like demolition, excavation, installation of fire sprinkler pipes, installation of plumbing pipes, and conduits for electricity. These have allowed us to get much preliminary work done while we were waiting for the main building permit to be approved. The overall permit will allow us to pour the footings, build the framing, and put up sheet rock.

Sprinkler pipes being delivered to the church. They will be installed in the ceiling where it has been cut away, so that, after the sheetrock is replaced, just the sprinkler heads will be exposed. This will be a huge safety improvement.

Plumbing is being laid in the parish hall. This is looking through the wall from the room where the dishwasher will be (see the big square drain) and peering into the kitchen where water pipes are leading.

This photo is looking to the north in the parish hall where new bathrooms will be. The pipe has been laid and passed inspection. The pipes sticking up are for drains and toilets and sinks will be located.

The excavator is loading the dump truck with concrete debris. 

The grand staircase and new elevator will bring parishioners to this location, where they will enter the church. Below is packed gravel where footings will eventually be poured. 

Chopping up the wood from the trees we felled last week.

Chopping up the wood from the trees we felled last week.

The estimated 80-foot tree near the northeast corner of the church has been felled. This is before the tree felling.

After the felling.

Before - aerial view

After - aerial view

Clean up

This is the old “boiler room” being prepared for new electrical and plumbing connections.

The view of the church from the front on January 14th.

Part of the construction project is to bring electricity from a new location on the property. Presently the power line crosses A Avenue to a power pole on the Northeast corner of the Church. From there it goes underground to the Southeast corner of the church. After construction is completed, the power will come in to the church underground from the Southwest corner of the property. 

The power will come from this pole on the Southwest corner of our property (the corner of 8th Street and Evergreen). This photo is looking North (see the church in the background). The conduit travels North along 8th Street six feet deep so as not to disturb the tree roots that line the street. 

The conduit comes up at the North driveway near the back of the church at a junction box which will later be installed, and then goes back underground to cross the driveway to the church. 

The conduit terminates at the Church and will enter the building at its Southeast corner. In this picture you can see where the power presently enters the church, but from another direction. Eventually, that will all be disconnected when the new power line if ready to go. 

The new sanctuary structure is going up. Stair steps will eventually be in front of this.

Pathways have been cut into the plaster ceiling for fire-suppression pipes and sprinklers. When the plaster is replaced over the pipes, only the sprinkler heads will be visible. 

A view of the sanctuary. The third step still needs to be built. 

The Sanctuary with steps being formed and the wheelchair ramp.

Starting to remove the glass staircase structure (some called it the “hamster shoot”) that led from the lower courtyard into the A Avenue Narthex. 

The elevator shaft and stairwell are gone. One can see the second floor doors that took you from the elevator into the east transept.

Work begins on the wheelchair ramp into the Sanctuary.

Kitchen area

Plywood being laid over the shiplap flooring, using glue and nails.

Photo taken looking at the ceiling of the hall, which is the floor of the church. 2 x 10 boards were “sistered” to the existing 2 x 12 joists. This will help to strengthen the flooring.

One of the workers for Grant Construction Company is removing the X-blocks between existing joists in the hall. (This is looking at the bottom side of the church floor.) New joists will be added lengthwise, parallel to the existing joists, to make the church floor much stronger. This is one of the structural improvements that this project makes possible.

The choir loft and narthex are gone! But this will allow for the planned larger narthex and choir loft, with much better sets of stairs on either side to get up there. 

The sanctuary has been greatly reduced for now. A new sanctuary will take its place and a wheelchair ramp will be added on the left side of the sanctuary. 

Statue of Mary in courtyard boxed to protect it during construction.

Choir loft deconstructed and readied for rebuild and expansion.

View of the church from the main entrance on A Avenue.

View of the hall from the back wall of the kitchen area.

The old boiler has been removed and will be replaced by an energy efficient heating-cooling system.

The glass staircase and all glass has been removed to be ready for building the new entranceway.

The church and loft after asbestos abatement.

The church and loft after asbestos abatement.

Asbestos flooring has been completely removed from the choir loft so that it could be brought down and then eventually rebuilt to be larger, more useful, and to add stairs.

Presently, the rest of the sanctuary is tented in by plastic as workers remove the asbestos tiles from the floor of the main church. Those tiles had been covered up by flooring (tiles and carpet) that were laid down in the 1980s. This provides a strange view of the interior of our church.

Inside the church looking at the choir loft ready for abatement.

Inside the parish hall after asbestos abatement.

The Front Entrance & Nartex is being prepared.

The main altar has been safely removed and will be installed at the front of the sanctuary for Mass. The tabernacle will be enthroned on a new marble base in its previous location.

The narthex will be expanded under the rebuilt choir loft and the confessional repositioned to make room for the new elevator.