Are you wondering what all those brown paper
bags are on the right side of the church steps?
That was the year we had the church insulation project, done by Dave Sevigny,
Ed Sulva, John Fisher and many others.
We climbed on top of the rounded dome of the ceiling and installed a complete
layer of about 8 or 10 inches of fiberglass insulation.
17 June 2019 Begin removing the individual step
stones
Making good progress
19 June 2019 Photo of the steps
20 June 2019 and the steps are now gone!
I asked one of the construction workers about
the holes in the stone wall. He explained that they were probably holes for
beams
used for securing staging during the original construction of the church facade
in 1884-1885 etc.
This is the new design of the steps.
Basically they will be 16 feet wide versus the
original 64 feet wide and will be granite.
The railing will be of aluminum and the lamp
posts will be restored and reused.
Here is the side view
Here is the top view.
As you can see, the steps will be about 16 feet
wide; with an 8 foot green space on each side for grass or bushes or trees,
and there are 16 feet of open space outward
of those. All the open space and sidewalks will be new concrete I believe.
I am not the expert but I am just trying to
simplify what is actually a very complex design document, so that we non-designers
can understand it. In order to create these
3 images I removed much detailed info.
I hope that you enjoy watching this project
get completed. John
23 June 2019 We are now down to the foundations
of the church
25 June 2019 - putting in the forms for the
new steps
28 June 2019 Base foundation poured and dry
3 July 2019 Installing the forms for the
platform and steps
3 July 2019 The forms for the step section
alone
A 4 day break for our Independence Day
12 July 2019 Foundations are complete
Step foundation done and filled in on 20
July 2019
24 July 2019 Installing the forms for the
high platform in front of the 3 doors
2 Aug 2019 Filling the concrete forms for
the platform
6 Aug 2019 platform concrete is finished, removing
the forms
6 Aug 2019 Setting up the forms for the steps
10 Aug 2019 The concrete support for the
new steps look very good
16 Aug 2019 Filling the platforms with stone
24 Aug 2019 Concrete on platform filled and
hardened
27 Aug 2019 Installing the first granite
step (3 each 5 feet wide)
28 Aug 2019 Adding more steps
30 Aug 2019 Granite steps completed. Now
installing same thickness granite on the total platform above
Next they will apply the veneer stone. some
granite and some red stone, on the left side first.
13 Sep 2019 Applying the stone veneer
The side is original redstone and the front
is granite like the steps
28 Sep 2019 closeup of the side wall
28 Sep 2019 Wall, steps, deck and green area
coming together
4 October 2019 New curbs and sidewalks completed
Workers are now installing granite blocks
on top of the platform
26 October 2019 Finished the sides of the steps
and added granite to the top deck
Added the railings; and the refurbished original
lights; almost done!!!
5 Nov 2019 -- Adding more railings; and now
landscaping; almost done!!!
9 Nov 2019 The step project is completed
- at the Saturday 4 pm Mass
The steps will be blessed tomorrow during
the 10 am Mass by Fr. Harlow
Bruce Rioux is one of the first users of
our new steps
