We were very fortunate that Wayne Stauffer, a retired contractor and new member of our congregation, agreed to be the project manager for the step modifications. His plan, which worked perfectly, was to extend each step by adding carefully cut construction lumber in sufficient quantity to extend the tread depth from 10.5 inches to 15 inches. Those modified steps would then be carpeted along with the rest of the sanctuary.
Since Wayne never stopped moving, I somehow never got a picture of his face, but that's him kneeling in the front while removing old carpet from the steps. In the background, Doug Lunger is doing the same thing to the top step.
As we uncovered those steps, we found that they were made of high-grade oak. That piqued my curiosity, and Troy Nace and I uncovered the rest of the top chancel area. We found a good-condition oak floor, completed but never varnished. For some reason, the church leadership in the 1950's, when the building was built, had a hardwood floor built and then immediately covered it with carpet!
We quickly alerted decision makers in the church, and over the next 24 hours we decided to leave that top chancel uncovered and carpet the steps and center chancel, all the way to the top chancel. We were even able to change the carpet order, saving enough money to have the oak stained and varnished. We proceeded to install the already-cut construction lumber, making some very sturdy steps.
The next day, with a few more helpers, we removed the heavy modesty panel in front of the pews, removed the first row, and reinstalled the modesty panel in the new location. The two pews wound up in the choir room for now. If you know a good home for them, let me know!
After that heavy lifting, John Zimmerman and Laverne Eyer did some improvements to some of the remaining pews in the sanctuary, while Wayne moved the electrical wiring for microphones in the Chancel.
Three professionals from Mt. Everest Moving came in to remove the grand piano from the top chancel, and they helped remove the heavy communion table at the same time.
The project seemed to be nearing completion, but then... we removed the carpet from the remainder of the Chancel, and uncovered another beautiful oak floor! At that point, all the workers said, "Don't cover that back up." I quickly gathered decision makers from both staff and laity via email, and sent the following picture:
The numbers are a legend that referred to the following names for discussion:
- Top Chancel - the part we had already agreed to leave in oak and have finished by professionals.
- Top Chancel Step - a single step up, that we had just extended to 15" in depth.
- Center Chancel - the newly uncovered floor under discussion.
- Front Steps - also just-extended to 15" depth.
- Sanctuary Floor level.
After much discussion, we decided to continue the carpet from the sanctuary floor (5) up the front steps (4). We would cap the top chancel step (2) in oak, and leave it in oak as well as the top chancel (1). As for the big center chancel (3), we would spend the month of August evaluating the changes in sound in the sanctuary before deciding whether to leave it uncovered or re-carpet it. After having three different choirs in the chancel for different services, and evaluating the changes to the spoken word, we decided to keep it all in oak.
But before that decision was even made, work moved to my workshop at the Grant Street Garage to make that oak cap for the top chancel step. We needed enough to make a step nearly 14 feet long by 15 inches deep, and also two oak risers. That was around $350 worth of oak!
First, I had to rearrange the shop so that I had 14 feet of clearance on either side of the table saw, jointer, and planer, plus enough work space to work on the step.
Wayne and Troy joined me and we glued up three boards to get sufficient width for the step:
I got to work on the risers, and Troy and I installed them. There was a lot of hand-planing to do to scribe the riser to the step. I later realized that, in all that crawling around while wearing shorts, I had worn the skin off both knees!
I will confess to losing sleep over that big step. We had one chance to cut it right. I made templates to show how we had to trim each side to fit around obstructions, and measured the length four or five times on different days to make sure I had it right. Finally, there was nothing to do but to cut it. It fit like a hand in a glove - what a relief!
There was one more interesting problem to solve. When we installed the new organ console a few years ago, a new platform for the console was made to be flush with the carpet on the top chancel area. Now, it was nearly 3/4" too high, and had a gap:
I rigged up a set of fences for my planer that allow the wood to be fed through at an angle, creating a profile that made a ramp from the top chancel to the organ platform:
Finally, our part of the work was done, and this week Ron Bomberger Hardwood Flooring arrived with their sanding equipment to sand, stain and varnish the floor. They advertise their equipment as "dustless" and it nearly was. We had to install a 220 volt outlet to power their sanders, but fortunately there was a nearby electrical panel and our electricians made quick work of putting in a temporary outlet. Here's the final result!
Some of the color differences, especially on the risers of the top chancel step, are photographic artifacts. We'll wait 30 days to move the piano and communion table back up to the top chancel, to allow the finish to fully cure. But even now, three days after the final coat, Bomberger says we can play basketball on it. Quite a project - many thanks to all the members of the congregation that helped make it happen!
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