August & September ...
After a 10 week hiatus, we finally got back to work when the sanctuary asbestos was removed. It took a lot of work to pull all the pieces back together. Below is the crew and setup that we have found works well. Scaffolding the same width of a wall, four men on the platform, two removing stones with hammer drills, and two positioning stones and documenting each stone on a pallet. Pallets weigh over 2,000 pounds. Individual stones average 50 pounds. The high lift holds the pallet at the work surface. This process minimizes the number of times a stone is touched. Stones are off the wall and in the box. Work proceeds right to left by rows, and top to bottom of a wall.
Removal of the window frames that held stained glass windows.
Pallets are packed with straw to prevent damage to the stones. Pallets are then covered in plastic to shelter from weather. 22-24 pallets per truckload. Finally, each pallet is covered with construction fencing and banded with steel strapping to avoid loss and damage during shipment. Pallets are numbered to indicate what portion of wall is included, and weighed. This pallet is the fourth pallet from wall C, weighing 2,215 lbs.
Finally ... Truckload 1 to Texas
Frank - Foreman Lee
Aaron removing the peak The Peak - 3,173 pounds
Video of the Peak coming down ... Brian's awesome touch !
Rendering of Revival in Bee Cave, Texas.
September
The North Wall with Stone removed The brick interior wall is not fashioned for strength.
Walls can collapse without warning Location of Porch Pallet # 4
Lintels and capstones are numbered with location .. laminated tags fixed to stones. Duct Tape labels did not survive trucking. These tags secured by drilled anchors. Roof Trusses connect to Buttresses. Note large one piece connecting stone.
One of the most difficult tasks was to remove the roof. Composed of several layers of tar paper over very dense wood sheathing. Removing the 120 individual panels was time consuming and wore out saw blades rapidly.
What we start with What we end with
We have 120 of these panels to remove. William and Pedro
The wooden roof structure was complex ... purlins, beams, and trussess attached to stone buttresses.
Next came the bell tower.
Now, for the big challenge .. top 20 ft of bell tower
The first step was to remove all of the decorative stone down to the lintels, then the roof.
Note the big white stones below brick .. 1,600 lbs apiece .. have 48 of them to remove.
Watch a YouTube video of the roof coming down. Just as we wanted.
The building has to be taken down in the right sequence for safety and equipment operational capabilities. Finally, we have reached the 60 ft bell tower. The ladder to the right is an escape route if the rotten roof falls with worker up high
Bell Tower - At 109 years, the stone shows no sign of wear. Just as sharp and crisp as in 1904.
Now the heavy lifting really begins.
Hammer Drill to insert lifting points into big stones Working at tower level, drilling seats for eye bolts
Eye bolts to D-clasps to lifting straps allow safe heavy pickups Stone is removed.
Rain becomes a problem. This is a day after a thunderstorm. Will and Pedro. The working platform increases mobility and productivity.
We are crowded into a tight space. Frank's passion for order takes over our Mini-Mobile secure gear container.
Foundation Stones ... Building lintels and window stones. The big stone upper left weighs 1,150 lbs. So, on a stone that is 53x23x9, weighing 1,150 pounds, the actual weight of this white Bedford Limestone is 181 lbs per cubic foot. 15 % higher than our original calculations of 160 lb. This limestone is denser and combined with color, uniformity and shape is of the very finest quality.
Preliminary architectual drawings.
Electronic mail
Info@ResErections.com