Now that the windows have been installed we went through the arduous process of wire brushng the whole of the tin ceiling. After which, we put down the first coat of primer before moving on to repairing some of the sections of the wood behind the vaulted ceiling. Next stop: insulation and drywall!
Now that we had a better look under the flooring and walls in the basement, we could see that there was a real issue with keeping water away from the building's foundation. In an effort to help solve this we began our first big project: installing a French Drain. With some help from the guys at the Mahoning Valley Volunteer Fire Company, we were able to dig out a channel and get drain pipe, gravel, and a covering installed before burying everything back up. While this hasn't solved the water issue entirely, it has made an enormous difference!
More Studs and Top Plates
As a part of putting in the drain, we had to remove the old concrete pad in front of the front doors to the chapel. Since we'd finished work on the drain, it was time to pour a replacement. It was definitely easier pouring the new concrete than it was removing the old one.
Drywall Part I
The next project on the list was to remove the walls and flooring in the basement. Due to some mildew issues, these needed to be removed so we could address the moisture issue. There were some places in the flooring where the wood was quite literally rotting away. After removing we've been able to take a closer look at the foundation to see what repairs might need to be made.
The next step in the restoration was to remove the old lathe and plaster from the walls upstairs. We needed a closer look at the overall structure of the building to see what further repairs we might need to make. This was a long and arduous process, but ultimately we were able to get everything down to the bare studs.
Priming the Walls
Pouring a New Pad
The Restoration
Next: Studs and Top Plate
What's Next?
Drywall Part II
We have been slowly hacking away at getting all of the sheetrock up and adding insulation to the walls. We only have the front wall and the doorway to finish upbefore we move on to spackling. We do have a small repair to do to the face boards on the inside corner where the bell tower meets the main building, but things have started moving along quickly!
Drywall Part III
The Sword Tag Society
Removing the Furnace
Well, the inside of the main building was coming together. Inside the tower was a bit of a different story. There was some more work to be done replacing some worn down studs and repairing the top plates. But, after we finished these up, the main structural repairs were finished!
Spackle & Sand
Replacing the (first) Sill Plate
It was a long and arduous process, but we were finally able to put a new roof on the building. We had to work on one side at a time, first removing the old slate, adding new sheathing, and then finally tar paper and shingles. It took us the better part of six months over the course of the summer but now we officially have a roof over our heads!
This one took a bit. We slowly worked away at getting all the hung drywall joined together with spackeling compound and paper tape and after we finaly made it around the room we had to go back around and sand it all smooth. But it's behind us now and we can look onward toward painting!
It's amazing how much difference a coat of paint can make. We were donated a paint sprayer for this step, so we were thankfully able to knock out the priming step pretty quickly. And how amazing does everything looks now that it's covered?! The next step is to get the actual paint on the walls and ceiling!
We're close everyone! To finish up the major work in the main room we just have to get paint on the walls and then sand and finish the floors! That won't be the end of the restoration, but at that point we will have a usable space! For future projects we are planning to tackle replacing the wooden clapboard sheathing on the building with more modern vinyl siding as well as putting and adjoining roof over the entrance to the chapel. We also have some work to do in the basement including getting a new HVAC system installed. But everything has been going well and it wouldn't be possible without the support of both our members and those in the community who have helped and donated to the cause!
Thank you for reading and following along with the restoration so far. We would like to give a very special thank you to the following groups, businesses, and individuals who have assisted us throughout the project so far:
- The Mahoning Valley Volunteer Fire Company
- Storm's Lumber and Logging
- Zurn Realty
- American Legion Post #314
- Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church
- Mahoning Township Lion's Club
- Executive Auto Gallery
- Bear Mountain Real Estate, LLC
- Pencor Services
- Ally Schubert
- Cathy L. Smith
- Darryl & Gail Rotherforth
- Richard & Darlene Nothstein
- Anonymous
If you would like to know more about who we are or would like to stay up to date on what we're doing outside of this project, you can follow us on Facebook here. You can also reach out via Facebook with any questions regarding this project or the organization in general. Thank you again for following along!
Strength & Honor
So, we were able to get a closer look at the actual structure of the building but we found there were a lot of issues that we needed to repair. One of the big goals in the restoration is to repair the old slate roof (another cause of the water issues in the building) but before that we needed to fix some of the major structural problems. The first of these was replacing one of the sill plates in the chapel tower. After replacing the first, however, we ended up needing to replace the plates along all but one of the walls of the tower.
Copyright 2015. The Sword Tag Society. All Rights Reserved.
Since we had cleaned out the basement, we now had to remove the old furnace. This old wood furnace used to heat the whole building, but after years of disuse was no longer functional. Sometime later an inefficient oil furnace was installed to replace it which we will also need to remove in the future. It was a large piece of equipment to load out, but after some finessing, we were able to get it out and disposed of. We've also already purchased a newer propane furnace that we plan to install later to replace it
Water in the Basement
Chapel Cleanout
The French Drain
Getting Down to Studs
Now that we had replaced the sill plates, it was time to start working upward. All of the studs and the top place that sat below where the main roof meets with the side of the tower had rotted away due to excess water sitting and leaking below. We had to prop up the roof with some planking and jacks to hold everything in place while we put in the new structural support. With the addition of these new studs and repaired top plate, the inside of the chapel was beginning to come together.
It's finally all sealed up inside the main room of the chapel! We managed to get the last few panels hung up around the window and doorway. We also fixed those last few boards between the main building and the tower so that hopfully we can tackle the siding next year! Now for the laborious task of spackleing and sanding. (The picture is a sneak peak at how that's been going!)
Here we have a list of a few of the projects that we've already accomplished at the Chapel. We've also included a few picture so you can see some of the work in progress, but more can be found on our Facebook page by following this link.
We've come a long way in just a few years. Take a look below for a chronological list of what we've accomplished so far!
We spent some time toward the end of the winter to replace the windows in the upstairs section of the chapel. The whole process turned out a lot easier than expected and we were able to get them installed in one batch. Another big step in finishing the upstairs!
On to the drywall! The first, and arguably hardest part was getting the sheets up onto the ceiling. After a long weekend of effort, we managed to get it all up. Another step closer to finishing the upstairs!
New Windows!
Shingling the Roof
Priming The Ceiling
One of the first projects we tackled after we started working at the chapel was cleaning out the items that were stored here. Over the years, the chapel became a repository for a lot of different things: some antique and others not so much. We first held a sale to try and get these items to people that might want them and then disposed of the remainder.