Weeks 2 and 3: New bricks, new mortar, and a few more holes

Thankfully the weather has been cooperative - and cooler - in the last two weeks.  If you walk around the building, you'll see that sections of bricks have been removed in preparation for installing new bricks with new mortar around them.
   A note about the timeline:   The windows will be worked on after the roof and bricks are finished. No need to have the windows exposed to all the construction dust!

New brick and mortar on the corner of the working sacristy

Work on the peak over the chancel window

New bricks and mortar, and new holes on the alley side of the nave, under the chancel window

Broken bricks and old mortar have been removed from the pillars of the sign on the corner of Chicago and 31st.

An enlarged view from the alley showing scaffolding.  The newer bricks of the Parish House are on the right.  Note the narrow chancel window on the left of the chimney.  This view shows the complexity of the structure in this section, with numerous valleys and joints, all places where water and ice can do damage.  Work is proceeding on the lower part of the chimney because as the contractor stated, they don't want to release that old rusty metal band at the top until they know that the bricks underneath it won't topple.  Good plan.

The cherry picker viewed from 31st Street outside the south transept.

There was a bit of a scare last week when the construction crew suspected that part of the roof deck (the wooden planks under the roof tiles) might be rotted away.   This would have added substantially to the cost and complexity of the project.   However, it was a false alarm.   Thank goodness!

A final thought:  Some Mount Olive people have inquired about making a donation toward the building project.   We are, of course, borrowing the funds to complete the work, but welcome donations to decrease the amount that we need to borrow, or to complete the loan payments sooner. Donations can be designation to the 2015 Renovation fund and sent to the office or put into the Sunday offering plate.