ON MARCH 3, Mishkon submitted a grant proposal to the National Fund for Sacred Places, which I helped to write. If awarded, the grant would provide a 1:1 match of funds, namely half of the estimated $186K needed to rebuild the glazing in the 12 exposed windows, and to overhaul their frames and hardware, in our historic sanctuary building.
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.…
ANSWERING THAT QUESTION is a complex endeavor, because of the indirect way that the approval came about. The short answer is Yes: the board approved two related motions in February that together constitute approval of a full stairlift. One motion approved its upper half, and the other motion approved its lower half.
What has puzzled some board members is the fact that the stairlift was not mentioned explicitly in the wording of either motion.
Below the jump, this post explains how it all came together.…
THIS YEAR, with the incidence of Covid-19 infections at a moderate level and a predicted high temp of 78° for Rosh Hashanah, we implemented a particular plan to provide reasonably healthful air for attendees at our High Holy Day services.
JUST IN TIME for the High Holy Day crowds, a pair of air purifiers was installed yesterday in our historic sanctuary’s HVAC system—one for each blower. These devices use needlepoint bipolar ionization (NBPI) technology, as described HERE—from when we were preparing to install one in our school building.
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| One of the new ion generators, mounted inside the forced-air unit (FAU) |
These ion generators are designed for a system that is up to 2.4 times as large as ours. That’s good, because our retrofitted system is only about half the size needed when the sanctuary is full of people. In other words, our air purifiers are properly sized for the space.
For links to evidence that the ions produced by this device are indeed effective at neutralizing airborne pathogens directly, see HERE.
ALTHOUGH I HAD provisionally concluded that duct smoke detectors were not required in our sanctuary, as described HERE, I nonetheless looked for an opportunity to get an authoritative opinion. That opportunity presented itself exactly one week ago, when Tom Nasrollahi, a mechanical (HVAC) engineer, made a site visit as a consultant on our main-floor restroom renovation project.
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| One of the new duct smoke detectors |
Unhesitatingly, Tom replied that these devices were indeed required in our sanctuary, according to code.
He explained that even though each of the sanctuary’s two systems has its own thermostat and each one by itself has a small enough blower to be exempt, they must together be treated as one overall system because they both participate in conditioning the same space. The system’s cubic feet per minute (CFM) for the total space is what counts.
Happily, a pair of detectors was installed yesterday. They were placed just upstream of the air filter before the blower intake (see photo).
Thus we have made a capital improvement (betterment) that addresses a life-safety risk, which is of course the highest priority use for our precious funds.
(How did it come about that the installer of our replacement heating system in 2017 did not include these devices at that time? Maybe I don’t want to know.…)
IN HONOR OF the High Holy Days, most of the brass fixtures in the sanctuary have now been professionally polished. This includes the door pulls and push plates between the lobby and the sanctuary, and on restroom doors. The difference will be immediately evident when you walk in.
And in a nod to the value of preventive maintenance, a protective clear coat has been added to those items, so as to preserve their shine.
Some other brass fixtures in the sanctuary, such as the banisters leading to the bimah, were manually polished. They will continue to need repolishing each year (but see below).
NOMENCLATURE: The Historic Structure Report (2003), in its cataloging of our sanctuary building’s architectural features, most often employs the term copper alloy rather than “brass.” The more general term is preferred in preservation and museum circles as a matter of accuracy. That is, the term “brass” is seen as possibly misleading because of the widely varying proportions of its ingredients (usually copper and zinc, but sometimes also other elements), which can shade into bronze, which is likewise a copper alloy. But in this blog I will continue to use the more common and informal term.
PRESERVATION TIP: The salty air in our ocean-adjacent location means that our brass tarnishes relatively quickly. Yet for brass items that are not meant to be touched (such as the chandeliers in the Social Hall), there is a relatively easy hack: After polishing such items, rub them with a cloth that has been sprayed with WD-40. The resulting thin layer of that lubricant will help to protect the brass over time.
(Indeed, it is said that WD-40 can also be used as brass polish, by spraying it on the metal and letting it sit for 15 minutes or so, and then rubbing it off.)
CONTACT INFO: The vendor that polished and coated our brass items was: V&M Metal Polishing (Chatsworth), vmmetalpolishing@gmail.com 818-632-0603, "ask for Vidal.”
APPRECIATION: Thank you to Carole Stein and Ginni Rosenfeld for this round of brass polishing! Long may it shine!
AS OUR ARCHITECT prepares to meet with City officials next month to discuss our entry accessibility plan, it is timely to revisit the stairlift component—which was introduced HERE (Feb. 12) and updated HERE (May 8).
Again, the overall goal is to ease the entry to (and exit from) our sanctuary building for people who find stairs difficult. Our doing so is required in order to get building permits to make further alterations to the facility, such as expanded restrooms.
Below the jump, I give updates on three aspects: recommended equipment, cost, and the permitting experience of a nearby church.
IN FEBRUARY 2023, I described the sanctuary’s HVAC system in this post. Just recently, I have revised three aspects of my earlier understanding. The newer picture looks like this:
Below the jump, this post describes and documents the salient results of what I learned from my recent explorations.…
PLYWOOD IS THE KEY to the seismic integrity of our sanctuary building, according to three structural engineers I have spoken with. Although no plywood seems to have been employed in its original construction, a layer was added overhead in 2004 during a re-roofing effort, as discussed elsewhere in this blog.
As of this past week, I can say with confidence that the roof’s plywood is adequate to ensure that our building provides at least a minimum life safety level of performance in the event of a serious earthquake.
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| Cross-section in a cut at the walkway alongside the roof's barrel, showing 3 layers: plywood, sheathing, and rafter. (I added a typical nail for comparison—but placed it too low.) |
Last month, in the process of making structural repairs to the roof, enough plywood was exposed that I was able both to see the size of the nails employed and to measure the nailing pattern used. Those two factors affect the seismic integrity of the roof.
Below the jump, I show and discuss my findings, while looking ahead to similarly strengthening the walls.…
A DUCT SMOKE DETECTOR is an HVAC-system device that can prevent flames and smoke from being spread or fanned by the system. In the event of smoke, the detector sends a signal to shut down the fan. Its presence is required by code in most circumstances. Normally the determination is made by city building department officials when a permit is applied for.
The HVAC contractor Jessy Perets told me that our sanctuary’s HVAC system lacks duct smoke detectors. He also pointed out that our twin HVAC units were installed in a visibly low-budget manner, apparently without a building permit. Which has led me to wonder whether or not a pair of duct smoke detectors were technically required in our case.
For a fire safety measure, the fact of requirement (if it indeed exists) would argue for installation after the fact (which would cost $1,275 as quoted by one contractor). Conversely, if our case is an allowable exception, that would argue for leaving things as they are. At its June meeting, the board adopted that approach and asked the B&G Committee to find out whether duct smoke detectors are required by code in our sanctuary.
I have a provisional answer, which I lay out below the jump.…
THE MATERIAL SELECTED to cover the roof of our historic sanctuary (later this summer) is silicone with the brand name Type S, manufactured by American Standard Coatings (ASC), based in Chatsworth (Los Angeles). It will be applied by roller according to manufacturer’s instructions at a coverage rate (thickness) that the ASC will then warranty for 15 years. Our roofer calls this “a 15-year specification.”
DURING THIS SUMMER, it will be time to do major work on the roof of our historic sanctuary. Mishkon has saved up the funds to pay for this two-part project, and we have been preparing to carry it out.
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| A silicone “cool roof” recovering is applied in Torrance. |
SINCE FEBRUARY, when I proposed that we install a stairlift in our historic sanctuary building’s front stairwell (a move that shortly thereafter was independently suggested to me by Ed Geil), I have spoken with several more vendors of stairlifts. In the process, I have learned a few things.
Below the jump, I share the two biggest lessons learned, and their implications.…
GETTING IN AND OUT of our historic sanctuary building cannot be done according to either the normal building code or the more lenient state historic building code, unfortunately. Yet surely our impending restroom expansion will trigger a review of the building’s entry accessibility. This topic must be addressed before we can proceed with that larger project. Therefore I have been working toward a draft plan for entry accessibility, while discussing the topic with several architects.
Ultimately, such a plan will need to be formally developed by an architect of record. However, I find that our building poses certain constraints that will inevitably guide that plan. Below the jump, this post discusses those constraints, and the remaining options.
A LACONIC PLAQUE on the north wall of our bimah states that our congregation will say Kaddish eternally for Ben Levy on his yohrtsayt, the 16th of Tevet. Indeed, we did so on the Shabbat immediately preceding the 100th anniversary of his death, just a few weeks ago.
Over the years, the synagogue has gone to some lengths to keep Mr. Levy’s name alive—apparently to accord with promises that were made to his widow.
Below the jump, this post documents five signs about Ben Levy that have been posted at Mishkon through the years. In addition, his impressive and informative tombstone is discussed.…
STAIRS POSE A CHALLENGE to many of our members and visitors. One option to increase accessibility is to install a stairlift. The prime location for a stairlift is in the front stairwell of the sanctuary building, between the street-level doors to Main Street and the lobby level.
Below the jump, this post discusses a stairlift for that section of stairs, based upon my meeting with one vendor (for orientation).…
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.…
THE NORTHEAST CORRIDOR is the only entrance to (and exit from) our historic sanctuary that works for someone in a wheelchair. Yet that success is mixed: It relies upon employing portable aluminum ramps that are placed at a steep (and thus rather unsafe) angle. And making it work requires careful attention from at least a couple of people at a time.
Surely we can do better than this! Therefore I am planning to propose to the board that we engage an architect to design a solution for us.
Below the jump, this post lists the criteria for a proposed project to improve the level of accessibility through this corridor. It also touches on the role of an architect in this project’s success.