Budget and design update; moving toward a contract.

It's been an eventful week! I realize things have been very quiet for a few months. As we explained from the start, this last phase of design is the production of construction documents. That means blueprint-level detail. That means that the architects are slaving away at their drafting desks and keyboards, but there's not much to report on our end. If you saw the documents that resulted, you'd easily understand what takes so long. Just an example: the plug that screws into the fitting that caps the sewer drain clean-out access? There's a part number for that.

This level of extreme detail is required to get bids, and that's happened. It's a very big development all at once, after some months of quiet, so this will be a big post.

First of all, there's no point in sugar-coating it: the bids were very disappointing. The estimate we counted on to prevent any nasty surprises turned out not to be particularly close. The bids came back more than 25% higher than our estimate had led us to expect.

That might strike you as the sort of thing that you just have to expect in a building project, but I know many people will be perplexed or angry or sad or frustrated or all of the above that we were so far off. I can't tell you not to be. God knows I was. But we had to work the problem and work it fast, so there wasn't much time for moping and throwing things.

I don't deny for a moment that the 25% overage was disappointing, to say the least. But if you continue to read, I think you'll be surprised at how well it works out considering that starting point.

Thursday the architect, contractor, and I went line by line through the building. With subcontractor feedback, we were able to identify a good deal of savings just with constructability issues. I mean the sort of thing where you find out you can do something just a little different for half the price. Those things are no-brainers, over-budget or not, you grab them. But we couldn't get down to a reasonable budget without making some bigger changes.

1. The covered drop-off is very beautiful as designed and serves an important function, but would be very expensive as part of the general contract. We are convinced that we can achieve it ourselves at a much lower cost. It's also something that can be added very easily at any time. Hopefully right away!

2. The ceiling is something I'd like to explain in a little detail. The major expense driver here is that we live in a volatile seismic zone near the New Madrid fault. This affects our building code: we are required to have certain structural strengths that might not be required elsewhere (click here for map). Our structural engineer also mentioned that bracing requirements have recently grown by leaps and bounds over what many people might remember from previous buildings. This means that a wood roof on its own would not be strong enough. To achieve the rigidity we need, welded steel is forming the roof. That's very expensive. Given that, the wood ceiling becomes nothing but cosmetic: it's there for no reason but looks. And it was going to be extremely expensive; we're waiting for the revised bids but we're talking many hundreds of thousands. So we'll have a gypsum (drywall) ceiling. Currently considering colors and decoration. Comment below with ideas!

3. Exterior decorative lighting was deleted for now. Again, it's an expensive item that we can add anytime if we choose. One exception: we're dedicated to keeping illumination on the steeple.

4. Here's where it gets really interesting. We still weren't there based on money currently banked and pledged. To meet our current resources, there were two unavoidable deletions without basically throwing out the whole design and starting (expensively) from scratch. Those deletions would be the travertine floor (finished concrete instead) and the spire going up from the stone tower.

5. The spire is another VERY easy addition at any time in the future. But, you know what? I'm fairly certain the parish won't want to accept even a delay on this particular item. So if you're up for it, I think we should plan on raising what's needed. I've no doubt the potential is there. The fundraising committee will be working on a game plan and we'll get back to you soon on that.

6. The floor is absolutely not an "add-later" item; it's now or never. If we go concrete, it's concrete forever. Adding an inch or more of stone and underlayment would not be feasible. I think we should attempt to achieve the floor. And I believe we can.

The million dollar question you're thinking of now is, of course, "so how much are we short?" Well, I'm happy to say it isn't actually a million-dollar question; it will be much less than that. We're waiting for the solid numbers to come back and you'll know very shortly after I know. What I'm pretty sure of now is that it won't be an insignificant sum, but that it will be within our abilities.

We did a LOT of value engineering, and I'm personally amazed that we took 25% out of the building and still have a beautiful, amazing building. I'm not pulling your chain. It is a seriously amazing building and I can't wait for us all to see it start to rise.

I've requested another round of drawings or elevations so you can see the latest. Honestly, it won't look much different at all from the last version you saw. The work since then has been mostly at detail level. But I know pictures are worth at least a thousand words so I'll try to get them soon.

And stay tuned for details as they become available. I just didn't want to wait any longer to let you in on the weeks' developments. I'll try to keep an eye on questions and comments below. Oh, and yes, we're still planning on a March start! That's CLOSE!!! Thanks for your generosity, patience, positive attitude, and prayers!

Confirmation Sponsors' Gathering

After the Rite of Acceptance at Mass officially enrolled our 6th and 7th graders as Candidates for Confirmation, they are seen here gathering with their sponsors to discuss the sponsors' critical role and to break open God's Word. Each Of the Confirmandi were given a new youth study edition of the Bible. 

Working the Budget

Just a status report, really. Design Development has progressed to the point that we can start getting more solid numbers regarding budgeting. Early on, design aimed at our target budget but necessarily vaguely. As design becomes more detailed, so can cost estimates.

As announced before, Poettker Construction of Breese, Illinois is helping us assess cost and constructability. As experienced contractors familiar with our area, they can not only provide good estimates but also recommend cost-reduction options where appropriate.

This Thursday a meeting was held with Msgr. Lawler and Fr. Beatty, Keith Poettker and Tom Arentsen of Poettker Construction, and Ethan Anthony and Kevin Hogan of Cram & Ferguson. We were joined at times by engineers and subcontractors. We put in a long, productive day and are a big step closer to finalizing design.

As this process unfolded, Cram and Ferguson presented a modification to design that will save a huge amount of money without unduly harming the beauty and integrity of our design. The building committee found this modification desirable and elegant. Before, the walls were very high, reaching as high as the vaulted ceiling. A peaked roof rose up from that level. The result was a magnificent upward extension to the building's exterior, but also a great deal of unused space in the attic. This was necessary to achieve the vaulted ceiling.

By moving to a peaked wood ceiling, we are able to eliminate that unused attic space. That means that without much change to the interior dimensions, we are lowering the exterior significantly. It also means a single row of windows rather than a large and small row. The eaves will still be about 24' high with the roof rising from there; I don't think anyone will call this a short building.

I think a finished wood ceiling with attractive beam work will be very beautiful. I look forward to sharing updated drawings with you as they become available.

We still have work to do and calculations are ongoing. Admittedly, this stage of our project has its frustrations, but overall I'm pleased with how it's going. Before we were looking at a stunning design and vaguely hoping we could achieve something like it on budget. Now, we've had to take some cost-reduction measures, but we're still looking at an amazing design. And now, we're much more certain that we're on track to achieve it.

Here's a very quickly produced sketch of the modification we've adopted. The walls are lower; the interior now extends up to the peak instead of being entirely within the height of the eaves. In this design the peak of the interior is actually several feet higher than with the vaults, but the outside height is reduced. This one change introduced a cascade of savings that were really needed to hit our budget.

Note: This sketch also reflects a look at a different transept window configuration. We've elected to stay with the rose window design there.

Contract awarded for pre-construction services

Poettker Construction of Breese, IL has been hired for pre-construction services. This will involve cost and constructability consultation, and two rounds of estimates to help us stay on budget. While we retain the option to put the project out to bid, it is presumed that Poettker Construction will continue in a Construction Management capacity throughout the project. 

I'm very pleased to announce this partnership and look forward to working with Poettker Construction!

Final Schematic Floorplan: Bishop-approved!

Here's what we're building.

Compared to previous versions, you will note some significant changes. For one, seating capacity has been increased. By code, at 18" per seat, there are 445 seats in the church. Figuring for very generous and comfortable spacing, at 24" per seat, the figure is 345. We are very confident about this capacity being ample for our congregation.

You'll notice the confessional and the vesting sacristy have switched places. This was a request from Bishop Braxton, and I think it's clearly an improvement. Since our current liturgical practice is for the procession to begin from the rear of the nave, this is the logical place for the vesting sacristy. I also favor having the confessional up front where it is more visible and prominent as congregants prepare for Holy Mass. Perhaps the little green light showing the availability of a confessor will move some to a more frequent practice of this indispensable Sacrament.

A slight slope is currently shown in the nave, of about one foot over the whole length of the seating from the rear to the point where the transepts begin. This will not be uncomfortable for standing or even for processing with a casket on a rolling platform, but it will enhance visibility of the sanctuary from rearward seats. We would like to include this feature, but are awaiting information about the cost.

You will note a choir location on the north side of the rear of the nave. This was found by wide consensus to be the most desirable location once a choir loft was removed from consideration. This area will have chairs (with kneelers) instead of pews, allowing for greater flexibility in arrangement for the choir. Some sort of non-permanent riser installation is not out of the question.

The Baptistery is in the transitional space between the narthex and nave. This transition has been widened significantly. The location of the Baptismal font here strongly expresses the nature of Baptism as our "point of entry" into the Church!

Soil borings completed - with good news.

Holcomb Foundation Engineering Co., Inc. of Carbondale has completed soil borings to test the ground under our building. The results were awaited with some suspense, as it is known that some sketchy stuff can be encountered in this area. We are building a large, heavy masonry structure and settlement is something that simply can not be risked. If the borings showed a high settlement potential, we would see a great deal of money go into foundation enhancements to compensate.

The news was good! Some excavation is indicated, but it doesn't seem to involve anything deep. This translates to a relatively standard foundation, probably slab-on-grade, with potentially some piers or similar elements as determined by our structural engineer. The very curious might do a quick search on "Vibro Stone Columns" for one possibility.

3D model animation

Little girls will get tired of Disneyworld's "Small World" ride before I get tired of watching this. - Fr. B