In the same time, we have expended $131,969.85. The Session has authorized the use of a portion of the church's reserve funds to assure that work can go on without waiting for pledged contributions.
We will be back at work on the church come spring!
- Bell Tower
Last summer, as you can see, our workmen were high in the air! All of the outer boards on the south face of the tower were removed; then new 2x4s were nailed in place and covered with plywood. To keep water out, a protective wrap of Tyvek is now in place, as shown in the left-hand photo. Sometime this year we will be adding new, freshly painted planks to match the ones below and restore the familiar face of the tower.
In addition to the structural renovation, great quantities of bat dirt was removed! This guano is supposed to be the best fertilizer there is, but we were glad to be rid of it!
Among other deficiencies, the men discovered that one of the screens in the belfry windows had been removed and placed in a corner. It is now nailed securely in place, and that bat entrance was closed. - Foot Bridge (below, left)
Since Christmas of 2010, additional parking has been provided. With the cooperation of the children's center and Perry County officials, a foot bridge has been built across the creek behind the church to provide handicap access between the parking lot next to the gymnasium and rear doors to the Sanctuary and Community Building.
- Front Steps (above, center)
The wooden steps outside the front door of the sanctuary had become warped, and the concrete under them was crumbling. When the wood was removed and the old concrete broken up, it was found that the beam under the floor across the front of the church had rotted and subsided, so it was replaced and the floor by the door leveled. New concrete steps were poured in time for the 2011 graduations in May of that year. - Manse Roof (above, right)
The pastors' house now has a new metal roof that matches the one on the sanctuary. - Lights in the Community Building (above, left)
The fluorescent lights in the Community Building have been blinking and unreliable for some time. These fixtures have been replaced, and ceiling fans have been added. - Support Beams (above, right)
An inspection under the floor of the sanctuary found that the building's support beams were rotting and on insecure foundations. Concrete foundations have been poured, and the beams have been replaced. - South Wall (below)
The sanctuary's south wall, which is the one parallel with Highway 28, has suffered water damage due to run-offs from gutters and from adjacent trees. As a result, some timbers were rotted and the wall had swelled outward in places. The rotted wood was replaced, and new siding was installed. Members of the congregation assisted by painting the replacement boards. The first two pictures show the work being done. The third shows the completed south wall. The lower bell tower was reinforced in 2011 with new panels. The fourth picture show the new siding meeting the old prior to last summer's completion of the work. - Eastern Walls and Organ (below)
Both the external wall at the eastern end of the church (facing the baseball field) and the internal wall that separates the sanctuary from the choir loft and organ, had bowed outward under the stress of eighty years. The interior wall was drawn back into place, and the bowing in the external wall was reduced as a result. For the first time in many years, the doors through the interior wall open and close without scraping the floor. The middle photo below shows a support column which, after resting on and depressing the floor for eighty years, now passes through the floor and rests on a concrete foundation. The third photo shows a reinforced beam in the ceiling of the library behind the pulpit. This work is finished.
- Organ
The organ has been renovated for the first time in some years. The work was done by Brad Rule from New Market, Tennessee. Brad cleaned the manual keyboards, repaired pedals, reinforced the spring rail on the pedalboard, cleaned the Great pipes, installed a roof over the organ, installed a screen behind the façade, and tuned the instrument. On a second visit he rebushed front pins, Great and Swell keys, reinforced the Swell keyboard, releathered key tails, and adjusted couplers. For a portion of his stay, he and his wife were guests of the congregation.
- Kitchen (below, left)
During the other renovations, church members and volunteer work camps painted the kitchen walls and installed a new tile floor (see below). They also did some overdue plumbing and painted the adult Sunday School room. A large share of this work was done by Jerry Combs to whom we are grateful.
- Landscaping (above, right)
We were pleased last spring to welcome members of the Brownstown Presbyterian Church, who came with tools and supplies in hand, to do some landscaping. Brad Napier, their pastor, grew up in the Buckhorn Church, and he played a pivotal role in bringing Gayle and Tom Burns to Buckhorn as co-pastors. While the Brownstown folks dug and planted, Brad's dad Bill installed flagstones between the community building walkway and the building's flower bed.
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The following renovations and repairs have already taken place.
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The first photo, below, is of the temporary supports inside the south wall adjacent to the bell tower. These supports are no longer necessary.
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