Tools of the Trade

We are making progress around the perimeter of the space. We have begun to frame walls on the opposite side of the temple. I'll post some 3-D renderings soon so it's easier to envision what we are working towards.

Some of our most trusty tools of the trade helping us make this hard work look easy. If you don't know how all three of these items work together... come by, and we'll show you a thing or two.

And Behold, Before Me, A Crows Foot.

Framing continues at a slow but steady pace. I'm still wrapping up chalking line throughout the rest of the space. There are Crows Feet and X's everywhere. We got a lot of framing to do still, but it is exciting to see the entire space mapped out on the floor. And when doing so, a steel carpenters square and a tape measure are really your only best friends.

Sixteen Inches On Center

Brother Rob and Brother Jimmy came by today and we ran over to our favorite Temple supply store, The Home Depot. They have everything for your temple building needs. We picked up a set of 100 standard and pressure treated 2x4's to begin our first day of framing the space.

Our Body Master Soror De Profundis shows us the finer points of using our 0.22 caliber Ramset Mastershot gun. We use this little number to shoot nails through the floor plates right into the concrete.

After measuring and snapping chalk lines on the floor and ceiling, we started with the bar area naturally. In reality, it was the ideal area to begin for us and we made fast work of some additional walls headed toward the doors. Not bad for just a few hours of work, but there is so much more to go.

Lumber goes fast and this is no where near enough to finish the job. I estimate we will need close to 400 2x4's before we finish the framing portion of the build.

Unlocking the Door

The floor in front of the door way has been repaired and has had some time to cure. We have measured twice and marked the wall with the proper dimensions where our door is to be installed. We will again be needing to use diamond saws to cut into these foundation walls to make the opening. Difficult work.

The wall section has been cut out earlier in the day. We went through concrete block, wire mesh and heavy stone to create the proper sized opening. We are welding in heavy steel framing around the new opening to secure the structure. Once this is complete, we will do a little finishing with some mortar around the stone work and then move the new doors into place.

The double doors are in place and fit perfectly. They have been sealed and we are ready to go.

A Firm Foundation

Concrete was poured into the new space about 5 days ago. It has cured enough for us to begin moving equipment in and finally start work inside. The new space is roughly 2,040 sq. ft., a huge difference from the Cabbagetown location.

New bathroom appliances have ben purchased and are awaiting eventual installation.

The outside portion of the bar has been moved into the space as well. But it will not be in use until a large number of tasks are taken care of first.

The concrete work is not totally complete. The initial pour did not go up to the foundation walls edge due to the vapor barrier that was initially in place. We have cut away the barrier areas as needed and will use a diamond blade concrete saw to cut a clean edge down the length of the floor in several places to clean the jagged concrete edges left behind from the initial pour. Once this is complete we will pour more concrete and finish these open areas to ensure our floor is against the foundation walls without any issue. This will be some tough work with the diamond saw, but worth the effort as we need a clean, even foundation to afix our pressure treated 2x4 wall plates to as well as our new entry way door.