SOME TESTING FOR ASBESTOS has been done at Mishkon over the years. (Some abatement work has also been done.)
This post now documents what I have learned from testing reports, our office computer records, and our inspector. It also gives some background information.…
THE CEILING OF our historic Social Hall, according to my recent assessment, has some missing and loose acoustical ceiling tiles.
Ceiling tile gets taken for granted, but it matters a lot. The acoustical ceiling has a significant impact on our experience of being in the Social Hall. By absorbing sound, it reduces the ambient noise and echoes that would otherwise make the cavernous room a difficult place to be in, especially when crowded with people. So it warrants our care!
Below the jump, this post ponders the best course of action. It reflects solely my own opinion.…
AFTER THE BASEMENT FLOOD in June 2023, the restoration company removed the water-damaged wooden bar and cabinets at the southwestern corner of the Social Hall. That effort exposed what lay beneath those fixtures. Namely, the same vinyl flooring from 1948 that is prominent in the sanctuary and that underlies the Social Hall.
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| (As usual, click/tap on a photo to enlarge it.) |
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| Photos taken Oct. 2024 |
In other words, the Social Hall’s vinyl flooring had been installed prior to construction of the wooden fixtures—rather than the other way around.
This flooring has been shown more than once to contain asbestos. Which is why we do our best not to disturb it—and to inform workers, so that they can take precautions. Or if it is to be disturbed, that work must be handled by a licensed abatement contractor.
AS PART OF reviving the Social Hall, it has been proposed that the ceiling be repainted. At the same time, our reserve study specialist has proposed replacing the ceiling tile altogether (at a cost of $20K), for the sake of aesthetics. Both of these ideas have prompted me to look upward and assess the condition of our acoustical ceiling tile.
This post documents my initial assessment, including 14 photographs.
ON OCTOBER 15, Mishkon received a copy of the report from a Limited Asbestos and Lead Assessment Survey that was conducted on June 23, 2023. (If we had received this report previously, it got waylaid due to our staff turnover shortly thereafter.) The testing was done by TRUST Environmental Solutions in Camarillo, as engaged by Tri-Tech Restoration, which cleaned up the basement flood.
This post discusses the report. Apparently for the first time, the kitchen flooring was sampled. Overall, the results were unsurprising.
REPLACING an apparently cracked vent pipe in a wall of the small restroom of the school building (the one on the north side of the corridor between the classrooms, across from the chapel — called the Shemesh Restroom by the pre-school) is one of two non-emergency plumbing projects now being considered. (The other is to add a toilet in the space where the urinal used to be.)
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| Sample cracked vent pipe — is this what’s inside our wall? |
MAKING TEST CUTS into the south wall will be an adventure in discovery. (Best case: we find that the wall’s structural integrity is in good shape. Worst case: we find that there’s significant structural damage due to water damage, dry rot, termites; and maybe there’s mold, as well.) The point of this exercise is to be able to develop reliable cost estimates for structural repair and waterproofing later this year.
There are many issues to consider in advance, in order to ensure that we get useful and reliable answers to our questions. To me, the pending discovery stage feels a bit like sending an unmanned mission to Mars—we’ve got to get it right long before the probe lands on the unexplored surface of interest.
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| An American probe sent to Mars |
Below the jump, this post discusses the various considerations.…
ON THE EXTERIOR of the sanctuary building, along the south and north walls, the tie rods appear to be supported by pillars that jut out from the wall. What are these pillars made of, and what is their condition? Here is an initial answer.
