THE SANCTUARY WALL that faces southeast (which we call “the south wall” for convenience) is pretty massive: 139 ft long, and 25 ft high on average.
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| With the early morning shadows from our neighbor’s suspended cables (As usual, click/tap on an image in order to enlarge it.) |
Below the jump, this post will document and illustrate this wall’s recent rehabilitation, which the contractor says is now about 90% complete.
UNLIKE MOST BUILDING WALLS, our sanctuary’s long walls are made of two different materials: concrete (along the bottom), and a wood frame that is covered with gypsum lath and plaster. This has been a problem for the portion of the south wall that is exposed to the (sometimes blazing) sun, as compounded by re-radiation from the adjacent asphalt parking lot. In reaction to the daily heating-and-cooling cycles, the two parts of our wall respond differently: they expand and contract at different rates. Little wonder, then, that over the past 25 years, a horizontal crack developed along the seam between the two parts of the wall, running about 70' long.
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| 1/10/23: Horizontal crack at the seam of the concrete wall and the frame wall also showing moisture damage from water intrusion (As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.) |
As you probably know, the wall is in the process of reconstruction, as part of the interior painting project. Below the jump, this post explains the steps that we have taken to prevent that crack from reappearing.
YESTERDAY, our arborist, Al Gwilliam of Al’s Landscaping, pruned the street tree on Main Street that shades our front steps.
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| Almost done! (As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.) |
Below the jump, this post displays the two “before” and “after” photos that Al was kind enough to take.
Yesterday I spent the morning with Nathan Delgado, a service technician from Acme Heating & Air conditioning, with whom Mishkon has a service contract.
WHENEVER I COULD, I have accompanied a service technician or inspector when they are on the premises. Yes, I could leave it to Ruben, and he will generally report afterward about learning something or other, but I have found that when I am present, not only do I learn more about our facilities and what matters, but also the technician/inspector will do a better job than they would do alone.
Below the jump, I expand a bit on this idea.…
OUR GOAL IS to get one or two people at a time from the sanctuary (Hampton Drive gate) level down to the Social Hall and back up again — a vertical distance of about 13 feet. It turns out that the right device for that purpose is not an elevator but rather a lift. Specifically, a vertical platform lift (VPL).
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| (As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.) |
Below the jump, this post discusses my first foray into the world of VPLs.…
OUR ALARM SYSTEM operates with the help of various batteries. Below the jump, this post discusses them and how to replace them (upon seeing a “low battery” warning). It focuses mostly on the main system battery, shown here.
SOME YEARS AGO, rainwater apparently made its way through a cracked seam in the roof. It left a noticeable T-shaped crack in the sanctuary ceiling, above the westernmost window on the south side.
Good news to report! CertaPro has now repaired that crack, as part of their prep for the repainting effort that is scheduled to begin in earnest next Monday. Below the jump are two photos that document the repair.
From the Technical Data Sheet and the Application and Maintenance Guide for Dow Corning AllGuard Silicone Elastomeric Coating…
PARKING OPTIONS around Mishkon are not easy to explain to our contractors and vendors.
Below the jump, this post gives a run-down of the options.…
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS prepared one of the modules in the 2003 Historic Structure Report (HSR). Among other things, it assessed the sanctuary’s seismic integrity and offered a plan for improvement.
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| (As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.) |
Below the jump, this post summarizes the seismic portion of the structural module, in light of more recent developments, while ending with a recommended plan for the future. That is, it compiles and updates my various prior posts about seismic issues.
ON JUNE 12, we learned that the wooden post inside our most weather-exposed pilaster is thoroughly infested with termites, resulting in significant damage. This is the same post that we have already treated twice in its bottom 2 feet for termites, both from the inside and the outside. But now we know that they have been active almost all the way to the top, at least on the outside.
Jim Farasatpour, an experienced structural engineer, has examined the outside, and he believes that this post can be repaired for about $5000. (There is a small chance that it might need to be replaced, but we won’t know for sure until we actually set about to make the repair.) We believe that this repair effort can be made concurrently with the waterproofing project. It is essential, due to the post’s structural importance.
As a safety issue, our synagogue leadership considers this repair effort to be a high priority.
Below the jump, this post outlines what that repair effort will involve.…