Floored Part II

Last week in our exciting episode of "Let's Renovate an Old Church in Our Spare Time" we left halfway done with the floors. So what was it like to go back at it the following weekend?

It was awesome. It was like getting back on the horse, after you had fallen and broken all the tender bits on your body!

The Stage is set for more work...

And work it was.

Plug and play!

When we finished last weekend, it felt like we might be halfway done. Or even more!

Nope.

Lots more to love.

But it won't get done by wishing, so let's get started!

First we used the large sander. Last week we had the drum sander, but we wanted to try the circular one. It had about the same effect. It took off the top layers a little quicker than the drum sander, but it was a lot trickier to handle. If you tried to steer it,  it had a tendency to spin off into its own circular spasm of cyclonic motion, taking the handler with it. But if you got all zen with it and let it do its thing, it would drift along in a cloud of dust and swirl its way down the planks.

Swirly

Gettin Zen widdit.

But to really finish the job, the Bronco had to be engaged.

Engaging the Bronco

You can see the difference.

Bronco Mike and his Bulging Biceps!

Viva La Difference!

And so it went. Circular swirls and Bronco bucking.

Next thing you know,

Are we done yet? 

Yeah, we got done. But did I get a shot of it?

Not really, so this will have to do.

Dunzo.

A Few Additions...

It's the busy season at the Church. Summer was right for hanging out at the Ice Cream Store, shooting the breeze and eating ice cream.

Sittin' and Chattin'

But Fall hath come, and worker bees are swarming the church ready to make some sweet, sweet honey. Sweet and fresh as the wild honey the bee gathers on the moor. (Anyone get the reference?)

(Where Honey = Finished Church)

But before we get to the big changes, I need to catch up.

So let's go back a week or so when a back door was added. We needed a second exit, so a hole was cut and a giant door was inserted. Here it is!

Big giant metal door. 

Another added feature is a bathroom. The Church never had water or septic, so we've been using the handy but rented Port-a-John just outside the front door. But winter's a-coming and it's time to move the operation indoors. The bathroom will have its own lovely window for viewing. Not sure how we'll deal with that yet...

Potty room! No peeking!

It also features a very high ceiling and will sport a very heavy and old marble sink.

High, ceiling!

It'll be pretty once it's cleaned up! Trust me!

The toilet will be new. The septic tank will be new. The water tanks that will hold our potable water will be new. Meanwhile, back at Fort McMahon (the cottage in Port Austin) the sinks and toilets were thick with hair. Since both Mike and I have long hair, the drains get clogged with amazing regularity. So here we are spending 15 minutes at the Walmart shopping for a plunger. We've got that kind of time! 

"I like the black one,  it feels thicker than the pink one..."

Really, we have to break ourselves away from the church to take care of other business, and it's not easy. But when one hears directly from God to finish the church, one must obey! Other stuff can and will have to wait.

So back to the Church. We've had a lot of prep work to do. We'd already had the plaster and lathe removed, and the electrical is mostly all installed. But there were still pockets of aged filth, ductwork that needed to be moved, and just all kind of nasty little jobs that had to be done. 

High work...

And low work...

I went up high to remove the last of the nails and dust and animal leavings. Mike went low to wriggle around in the dirt of the crawl space. This blog doesn't come with smell-o-vision, but perhaps you can imagine the aroma of damp, aged, lived-in dirt under a 120 year old church. I was lucky to get the other job since rolling in the dirt is not my idea of fun! Poor Mike always gets the dirty jobs! 

The church has a crawl space. The story as we know it is that the church was originally built about a quarter mile away on Carrie lane! It was moved to its present spot around 1902.

Crawl space? Who wants to crawl around down there?

Working all week, and then working all weekend makes a body tired. Here we are after our respective adventures. High or low, it's most likely Bud-O-clock. 

Weary, but satisfied with a job well done!

Repair, Restore, Remake

Those are comforting words. Repair: to fix what's wrong. Restore: to bring back what once was. And when you can't restore or repair, then remake! Do what you gotta do.

As you know if you've been following the story of the White Church Gallery, or perhaps better known to locals as the Grindstone City Methodist Church, the Church needs lots of love and tenderness. Even when tenderness means opening a can of whoop-ass on it.

Whoop whoop!

Repair: One whole corner of the church had serious water damage. Time and tide had left a hole in the roof, allowed water to cascade down into the wall, and turned the support structure into a weird kind of wood-soup. Dry, chunky wood soup. That makes no sense, but when you grab a handful of it, it's what comes to mind.

A year and a half ago, we thought it was artsy. 

What doesn't kill us, makes us stronger...

But it turned out to be rotten to the core. 

Topped!

No leaks here! 

The roof is complete! The expanse of roofing tiles is glorious, and it defies raindrops to do their worst.

Well, not their worst- I'm sure they could find a way in during a lake storm, but barring a hurricane I think we're good to go!

Michigan doesn't get hurricanes! 

In case we've forgotten, we'd better do some before and afters. They are the mainstay of the blogosphere, after all!

Before

Bell Tower Decay

Much better! 

Sweetness! Thank you Picard Builders!

I feel the Grindstone Pioneers would heave a sigh of relief that the church has a new topper. They are a constant presence around Grindstone Corners.

There is activity across the street as well. Captain Aron G. Peer's house made of Grindstone got a beautiful facelift. It gave me a good feeling to watch the work on this piece of history. It was done with love and care, and with strong hands. Just like the original must have been built. That's why the benevolent ghosts of the many souls who toiled and triumphed here are so omnipresent.

Winterized porch

Plotting and Planning

Come on in!

Just amazing. Beautiful, hand made porch, in the fashion of the past.

Everyone's smiling, even the Church!

Grindstone Corners is blessed! 

Fore and Aft

This project is all about Before and After. Progress. Taking a decrepit, aging old church, a church that no one has  much cared about for decades, and stopping the decay. Restoring what was, and possibly making it even better.

For us, one of the most exciting things to see was the restoration of the bell house. We had been dying to see the bell itself, to try to get a clue about the age of the church. 

1882! The bell says 1882!

The Precious Bell House. It needed a facelift. Thanks to Ron and crew, it got one!

Beee fore...

Ahhhh fter! 

The bell house is the crowning glory of the church, but even more important for the life of the building is the repair of the roof. It's big, steep and in quite bad shape. 

North side roof, you go first. 

Before

After

After the North side was done, Ron Picard and his crew moved on to the Bell house, as you saw. Then they moved on to the South side. I climbed up with camera in pocket to see the view.

First the tiles get peeled off. 

Then comes the OSB over the old planking.

Whoa! Don't look down!

We have a new appreciation for what Ron and Crew are doing up there!

Be careful up there!

We had to leave before he was finished, so we can look forward to seeing it complete next weekend, weather willing!

Very exciting!

But even more has been done. Back at headquarters, some cute-ing up needed to be done.

Beloved Cottage! 

The cottage in Port Austin has always been a haven, but since we bought it 8 or so years ago, we've put a lot of time money and hard work into improvements. New roof, new siding, new windows. New roof on the shed out back, we put in a garden and a compost, and other little things we've done over the years. But I always wished it were a little cuter when you pull up. I've tried flowers in front, shrubs, rocks, driftwood. It always looked awful.

Raggedy grass and old concrete. 

So we asked an expert! We knew we wanted a patio, but there wasn't enough clearance for wood decking, so we went with concrete. We also tore up the grass this winter since we drove on it so often,  so we thought it was time for a driveway. I personally didn't want that much concrete in my front yard reflecting hot sunlight, so we went with crushed asphalt as per recommendation from several people. But the finishing touch was something to make the front face cute. We had thought of shutters, but there wasn't enough room between the windows. We thought of awnings, but that was expensive and maybe wouldn't look very good. What we never thought of but which now makes perfect sense, is the color in the gables! The beachy blue siding that makes the front pop- and the sides when you see them! It was the perfect solution!

Before...getting a patio and driveway...

After! Yay!

Obviously we're not done- I see some comfy patio furniture and some pots full of colorful flowers in my future. And I'm going to dig up the tulip and daffodil bulbs and find a new home for them. No more raggedy plants out front. I'm going to acquire some shade loving flowering trees or bushes, and call it good.