A look ahead at my final 6 months as chair

WHEN I TOOK ON THE MANTLE of chair of the B&G Committee, my initial commitment was for the second (i.e., last) year of my term on the board. About halfway through that period, I announced my willingness to remain as chair for an additional fiscal year — so that Cindy’s successor could enjoy the continuity while growing into the job of being president. (Little did I know at the time that my own dear spouse would decide to stand for office — and get elected as president!) Indeed, that decision has proven to be helpful to Carole.

Now, as I am on the cusp of my final 6 months in this post, let me share my vision for the remaining period. (Aside from certain termite-related work that is discussed elsewhere on this blog, which is already scheduled for January.)

Air filters and air flow in the sanctuary’s heating system: A status report

WE HAVE LEARNED this winter that on cold days, the heating system in the sanctuary has not been able to heat the room adequately while the doors and windows are open (as needed to reduce the risk of airborne infection). The relatively cold room has been uncomfortable for some, and a frustration for those who feel responsible for the situation. 

One factor to consider is the heating system’s air filters, which probably affect its ability to heat the room. This brief post discusses the impact of those filters, and related considerations.

DIY air filtration: Research report

TWO RESEARCH QUESTIONS: What difference does it make to use a 2"-thick hospital-grade (MERV-13) air filter in our DIY filtration units, versus a 1"-thick filter? And is it indeed practical to place these filtration units in series, creating continual air movement around a room, so as to induce the thorough mixing of air?

This brief post continues an ongoing discussion that’s been tagged as “ventilation.” (See index.)

Gross usable area of preschool rooms

INTERIOR Gross Usable Area  =  Large Classroom  +  Shemesh Classroom  +  Library  +  Chapel  =  1986.09 sq ft

EXTERIOR Gross Usable Area  =  Play yard  =  1390.67 sq ft

For the measurements and calculations, based on the “School Floor Plan” as-found architectural drawing in the 2003 Historic Structure Report, see below the jump.

Smoke alarms and CO detectors in the school building

THIS POST is an inventory of safety devices on the walls and ceilings — sensors whose batteries occasionally need to be replaced. (It does not make note of the alarm system’s motion sensors, nor of clocks.)

Avoiding a Pilaster Disaster

A PILASTER IS “an upright architectural member that is rectangular in plan and… usually projects one third of its width or less from the wall, and that may be load-bearing” (Merriam-Webster’s). I.e., it’s a rectangular pillar or post that sticks out from a wall. 

Our sanctuary’s south wall has 7 load-bearing pilasters. And in July I learned that the base of one of them was visibly damaged, as described HERE and HERE. Because of the structural importance of the pilaster, this damage is turning out to be a significant problem.

Damaged base of pilaster, as seen in July
(As usual, click/tap on a photo to enlarge it.)

This blog post discusses the challenges involved in repairing this pilaster base.

Mezzanine Void Project: Addressing Termite Infestation and Damage

ABOVE THE MEZZANINE ceiling is a large void that, until last week, was inaccessible to human beings — but accessible to termites. 

(Previously termites had been spotted through a ceiling hole in the southwest corner of this space, and also in its northeast corner through a roof hole, so the likelihood seemed very high that they were established also in the void between.)

Back (western) wall of the sanctuary.
(As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.)

This post describes how we created access for humans — who observed not only the purported termite infestations within, but also the structural damage that they have caused.…

South Wall Discovery Project: Initial Report

ON THREE OCCASIONS during the past two decades, structural engineers have recommended that we do test cuts into the south wall of our sanctuary. The goal: to enable more reliable cost estimates for waterproofing and possible structural repair work, hopefully later this year. Given more than two decades of known water intrusion and termite activity in that area, the engineers were concerned that there might be significant structural damage in the wall. They told us that there was only one way to find out: to look beneath the plaster surface.

Prep work, as viewed from bimah:
Marking the locations, and placing air purifiers to catch plaster dust.
(As usual, click/tap on a photo to enlarge it.)

This past week, we finally undertook that adventure in discovery. Although the board had approved this work in May 2021, it took until now to arrange for the proper alignment of funding and expertise. Careful planning (described HERE) was needed to ensure that we would get useful and reliable answers to our questions, given our limited budget. 

This post reports on what was done, and the initial findings.