THE FIRST PHASE of the multiyear renovation project in our historic sanctuary building is well underway. As its contours have taken shape, observers have naturally asked: Why are only 3 of the 4 restrooms being addressed at this time—what about the downstairs women’s restroom?
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| A stall in the basement women’s room |
Below the jump, this post gives the back story, to explain why we are not touching that restroom during Phase 1.…
LAST MONTH, we received a revised plan from our structural engineering consultant. One crucial aspect was their assessment of the concrete foundation that is needed underneath the basement floor, to support the loads from the structure above.
The renovation plan, as submitted to the City for review, calls for demolishing the existing walls of the basement men’s room and its adjacent small corridor, in order to install three new strong structural walls atop new concrete footings.
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| Foundation plan around the basement men’s room |
Below the jump, I interpret the illustration and discuss its implications for synagogue programs.…
ONE OF THE many reasons to provide wheelchair access to the basement is to achieve Mishkon’s own renovation priorities. Those priorities include the installation of proper HVAC systems in the basement (Social Hall and kitchen). It appears that according to the state building code’s Section 11B-202.4 (quite apart from the ADA), we will not be allowed to even start those projects unless we can show how someone in a wheelchair can travel to and from the basement.
Below the jump, this post briefly discusses the trade-offs involved in that big decision.
BEFORE WE COMMIT to a small elevator (or not), let’s consider one other way for a wheelchair user to get to the basement level: via the east stairwell that runs between the sanctuary building and the play yard.
Few members even know of this stairwell’s existence, because Mishkon has long treated it as an emergency-only exit. It is located outdoors yet is covered by a shed roof and shielded from the play yard by opaque wooden fencing.
For wheelchair access, when compared to the more familiar west (Main Street) stairwell, this east stairwell has two advantages:
Could an inclined platform lift run along a track mounted in this stairwell?
Below the jump, this post explores the feasibility of that option for improved accessibility. It concludes with a ballpark cost estimate.…
UNDER THE CONCRETE FLOOR of a storage closet that houses our sanctuary building’s electric meters, under the shed roof between the building and the play yard, is an opening to a vertical shaft.
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| Raised platform on floor of storage closet (marked by dotted red lines) |
Below the jump, this post describes the shaft’s configuration, how it connects to the basement, its purpose, and its history—according to inferences drawn from my exploration of it this week.…
BECAUSE OUR SANCTUARY BUILDING is empty most of the time, a sudden plumbling leak or backup might easily cause a lot of damage before anyone knows about it.
Happily, our synagogue’s insurance company (Church Mutual) has provided us—at no cost—with a small, continuous monitoring and alarm system.
When one of its sensors detects wetness, the system not only beeps every second (much like a rather quiet smoke alarm), but also sends out an ALERT text message—to me, Fleming, and Ruben. That way, we have the opportunity to act quickly to prevent a small issue from becoming a big problem.
Below the jump, this post shows the location of the sensor units and the base station.…
OUR FIRE SPRINKLER SYSTEM includes an alarm to alert us in the event of unexpected water release. Normally we would not know that it even existed, let alone that it is always looking out for us. I still don’t know where exactly is located. Its measuring probe is just above the hatch in the ceiling of the fire sprinkler room (downstairs).
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| The water flow sensor in our sprinkler system |
Presumably the associated alarm is nearby—i.e., not far from the doorbell that is above the door to that same room.
The basic operation of such a flow detector is helpfully described on a vendor’s blog, which explains:
“[Such an alarm] signifies an activated fire sprinkler head or a leak in the system.”
The Fire Department requires that this alarm be inspected and tested every 5 years, as part of a regular overall check of our sprinkler system. Our most recent “Fire Protection Equipment Performance Report” (8/16/21) indeed noted that our water flow alarm device consists of a water-flow switch of the vane/paddle type, and that it produces a local alarm sound (as opposed to activating the building’s fire alarm, or being monitored by a supervising station).
Our switch is meant to activate its alarm if a water flow of 4–10 gallons/minute continues to occur for 20 to 60 seconds anywhere within the downstream dedicated sprinkler lines.
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| Nameplate on the water flow sensor |
During the next test, which is slated to be conducted later this year, it would be prudent to find out where the alarm is housed and what it sounds like, so as to record both facts for future reference.
NO SINGLE MODE of movement will work for all types of people to access all of our spaces. A mix of modes is needed, as this grid shows.
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| (As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.) |
AN ENTRY ACCESSIBILITY PLAN was required by the City as a prerequisite for doing renovations. Happily, ours has now taken shape. On October 23, our architect presented the draft plan to a civil engineer on the disability access team at the Department of Building & Safety (LADBS). She said that the concept seemed workable, given our needs and constraints. That not only clears the way for the planned restroom renovations, but also sets the course for significant accessibility improvements.
Below the jump, this post lays out our plan.…
OUR PROSPECTIVE CONSULTANT, a mechanical engineer, has observed that our restrooms have exhaust fans yet no clear way to replace the exhausted air. He believes that in order to approve our permit for expansion restrooms, the City might well require a dedicated source for intake air. (HVAC people call it make-up air, presumably because it “makes up” for the lost air that the exhaust fan is removing from the room.)
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| A typical restroom exhaust fan |
This raises the question: What is the best way to supply make-up air to our restrooms?
This question will eventually apply also to the basement restrooms, since they are likewise slated for eventual expansion. So let’s think about a comprehensive solution that will work for them, as well.
Below the jump, I offer a couple of cautions about one option that the architect has mentioned as being fairly normal. Then I outline a custom alternative that takes advantage of our building’s unique configuration [revised 9/10].…
AN EXPERIENCED H.V.A.C. CONTRACTOR submitted today a proposal for a two-stage HVAC system for the Social Hall. The installed cost of a ventilation system would be $28,000. Later, we could add heating and A/C for another $21,600, plus the cost of electrical work. Subtotal: roughly $50K.
I asked for this bid because the Ad-Hoc Committee on Capital Priorities recently named such ventilation one of its top five items:
“The Social Hall should once again become an integral part of Mishkon’s life. [It] needs new ventilation and heating.”
Below the jump, I describe the elements of the vendor’s proposal and discuss them, including related options.…
WHAT IS ABOVE the exhaust grilles in the ceiling of our kitchen? The answer is important, as we move toward the necessary improvements to meet the current mechanical code for exhausting air from the room.
Below the jump, this post documents the existing exhaust system, with 7 photos (some with circles and arrows) and a diagram.…
THE COMMITTEE WAS ASKED to provide the Board a list of priorities for the use of funds currently held in the Mishkon Tephilo Capital Improvements Fund (at Morgan Stanley). The committee was informed that approximately $400,000 was deposited into this fund from proceeds of the sale of the Powerhouse property and the bequest of Larry Kasdon.
(So begins the report. Below the jump, the remainder is given verbatim.…)
LAST YEAR, Fleming arranged to have our non-working stairwell lift removed and scrapped. Which raises the question as to what exactly had once been there, and what went wrong.
Below the jump, I report on what I have recently learned from modest exploration and inquiry.…
YESTERDAY, I discovered a steel post downstairs—like the covered columns in the Social Hall but in an unexpected place.
This one came to light as I was taking photos of the lower portion of opened-up walls that had been damaged in June 2023 by a flood caused by a faulty sprinkler head. (That story is HERE.) I noticed that one vertical member looked more like metal than like wood.
Below the jump, I show annotated photos of our normally hidden post.…
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.
ON MAY 31 while in the Social Hall, I noticed that there was cracking in a certain section of ceiling, and blistering paint and cracking on the wall near the ceiling. This water-damaged area is located below the south wall of the sanctuary. Presumably rainwater has run down from above.
Is the damage evidence of leaking during this past winter? Or is it a holdover from before we had the south wall waterproofed last July? Unfortunately, I do not know the answer, because I did not think to take baseline photos in the basement at the time of the waterproofing project. (Live and learn!)
So now going forward, we need to monitor this area carefully after each rainstorm. Taking periodic photos and testing with a moisture meter would be advisable. And to that end, this post—below the jump—documents the present state of things.…
RECENTLY WE RECEIVED an insurance settlement to cover repairs to the basement spaces that were damaged by water from a defective fire sprinkler. Given that we not only want to fix the torn-up walls but also create a space that we can readily use (and even rent out), what steps should we now take toward reviving the Social Hall, and in what order?
Below the jump, I sketch out an integrated approach—which represents my opinion alone. I am not speaking for Mishkon as a synagogue.…
As we begin to prepare for a (series of) rehabilitation projects in the sanctuary building’s basement, it’s worth thinking carefully about fire safety. Surely we wish to ensure that our plans will satisfy City officials. Furthermore, we also want to see that the construction work itself doesn’t start any fires.
Helpfully, a section of our Historic Structure Report (2003) is devoted to these topics. It quotes from two documents by the National Fire Protection Association, titled “Recommended Practice for Fire Protection in Historic Structures” and “Standard for the Protection of Cultural Resources Including…Places of Worship.” Below the jump, this post will share some highlights from that section.…
ONE OF THE TWO areas of known, active rainwater intrusion is located in the basement, on the eastern side, in the corner “furnace room” (B-04A). Sometimes this space is called the mechanical equipment closet. Anyway, during a few days of downpour, water percolates through the unfinished concrete wall in two places, and it collects in puddles on the floor.
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| Wet spot on wall in corner. Nearby on the left is a wooden post. (As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.) |
I have not previously mentioned this case, because it pales in comparison to the previously discussed cases of water intrusion. Mainly because this case occurs out of sight of nearly everybody. Nonetheless, any such water still threatens the long-term integrity of the concrete, not to mention nearby structural wood. Below the jump, I briefly discuss a few considerations.…