The project of taking a dilapidated outbuilding and trying to incorporate it into the main church building is posing some unique challenges. The structure needs to remain standing over the course of the project, so as to shield our activity from curious neighbors. One part of the project is excavation for and the pouring of new concrete footers, stem walls and a slab for the floor. We are having to move methodically and with great care.
The existing structure was built some time between 1960 and the fall of communism in 1991. The frame for the structure is made of cured lumber in the form of whole logs. Each tree is about ten inches in diameter at its base and six at the top. These logs are held together by 2 x 3s every 1.5 meters and stand about 1.5 meters apart. While exploring what lay above the pressboard ceiling today, I found that one of the logs which composes the roof has rotted in half and is remaining overhead as a course of habit and little else.
This is my first time demolishing something erected by communist-era workers. The methods and materials would not meet any of the codes I’ve come to know in the States, yet the structure seems sound and to have performed according to what it was designed for. This project is the first one I’ve had relative control over since my arrival here in April, and I am grateful for the extra challenges and responsibility. This is where I thrive.
albaniacalling 