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.…
RUBEN TELLS ME that yesterday, he and a plumber were in the process of restoring gas service to the sanctuary building. (Why the gas had been off for a month is a story for another time.) They were in the downstairs kitchen’s closet, bleeding air from the gas line to the water heater. Suddenly, they heard a loud pop and a whoosh.
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| Sprinkler shutoff valve (As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.) |
This post describes what happened next, and its import.…
THERE’S A SAGGING WIRE that emerges from a utility pole on Hampton Dr. and runs over to the sanctuary building. Unfortunately, it’s in the way of the pending rehabilitation of the wall.
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| East side of south wall, showing the sagging wire (As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.) |
Below the jump, I explore what little is known about this mystery wire.…
WHEN IT COMES TO the repairs and restoration of our facility, we seldom know in advance what a project’s final cost will be. Unforeseen circumstances — otherwise known as surprises — are so common in poorly maintained older buildings. Consequently, it is not practical to ask the board of directors to authorize a precise amount (as would fit the purchase of a commodity item). That approach would probably result in halting the project in midstream, in order to get a reauthorization. And that requirement, in turn, would risk not only the success of the project, but also alienating our hard-working vendors.
So how can the board carry out its fiduciary (stewardship) responsibility to maintain the facility in good order? Find out below the jump.…
PUTTING OUR HEADS TOGETHER, the asbestos inspector and I came up with a new hypothesis for why efflorescence has for years been showing up on the walls of the stairwell that goes down to the Social Hall.
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| Years ago, someone (Sonia Cummings?) covered these walls’ lesions with butcher paper. (As usual, click/tap on a photo to enlarge it.) |
My new understanding fits the data pretty well. Below the jump, I will explain — and offer a prognosis.…
EARLIER THIS MONTH, I described my plan to open up two normally enclosed chambers at the junction between the sanctuary roof, ceiling, and walls. Well, that plan was enacted yesterday. We learned a few things, and we took some action! This post describes what happened, and the outcome.…
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| Looking eastward toward the viewing port that Ruben and I had peeked through last week |
PHASE II OF THE FLAGSTONE RESTORATION PROJECT was undertaken in late 2021, mainly to control ongoing water intrusion into the sanctuary building. Three smaller projects meanwhile also had the same goal. As this fiscal year comes to a close, here is a blog post that gathers those threads, weaving them into the fabric of a loosely told story.…
THIS WEEK, a city-sponsored work crew has been cutting into our flagstone pavement. (These portions of the pavement are actually on City property.) They are opening up three places, in order to replace broken (and leaking) sections of a sewer line with new pipe. These breaks were discovered during a remote-camera inspection earlier this month, after the line backed up next door.
The City promises to replace and reset our flagstone shortly.
For a few photos (no discussion), see below the jump break.
JEROME GROOPMAN, MD, author of the bestseller How Doctors Think, points out that even smart minds can easily be led astray by well-known cognitive biases. He teaches that during a diagnosis process, it's important to ask three procedural questions:
This post applies such questions to diagnosing (and treating) a mysterious stench in our school building.
Upon probing, it seems our building’s denizens have actually been enduring at least 2 odors at the same time.…
IT’S USUALLY WORTHWHILE for a facilities manager to be on hand while a licensed contractor is working on the premises (or even just evaluating a bid request). Often such a vendor will point out something important that had previously escaped our notice.
Which is what happened last week, when a plumber came to deal with a clogged toilet, and I stopped by to check in.…
IT’S WIDELY ACKNOWLEDGED that regular maintenance and cleaning is needed to keep ספרי תורה sifrei Torah (Torah scrolls) in usable condition, and to preserve their useful life at the lowest overall cost. However, the lore is not well known.
In this post, I give some basic how-to guidance as gleaned from several סופרים sof’rim (Torah scribes). I also offer some sample photos of anomalies from last year’s inventory of our scrolls.
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| In this scroll, which is said to be some 3 centuries old, the scribe patched the parchment even before inscribing it— and then worked around it. |
Recently, Morley Berenbach (the newest member of our committee) offered to serve as the custodian of our scrolls. If you are interested in assisting him in this effort, please let me know.
(Weekly posts from July–August 2021)
Compiled in one handy location:
Now you can binge-read the entire series…
9. Reckoning with Hole-iness as the Year Turns
An unexpected underground void turns up between our building and our neighbor’s
8. The Season for Going Beneath the Surface
Surprising challenges that must be faced while restoring the front patio
7. How is This Hole Like My Life?
On dealing with a void that opened up in the “solid” concrete pavement
6. Donating to Support Our Buildings' Restoration
About the newly created Capital Improvements Fund
How we found and dealt with these voracious critters
4. How Your Dues Helped Preserve Our Facilities
Tabulation and categorization of expenditures during the 2020–2021 fiscal year
3. Board Plans Facilities Restoration
Defines “restoration” and describes the board’s forthright approach to it
2. Restoring the Building Means Solving Puzzles!
Challenges in dealing with stormwater drainage, given the absence of records
1. Restoration Project Underway: Flagstone on Main Street
Why this project had been undertaken, and its goals