April 2005 - Patience of Job Required for Church Project
By Mandi Harding

No shortage of hardship has befallen Nelson Framing alongside general contractor and fellow AGC member Jaynes Corporation in erecting their latest endeavor. The Mountain View Lutheran Church located at 9550 West Cheyenne Ave. was supposed to have been a cinch of a project in fact merely an expansion to an existing Lutheran school, however circumstances beyond the contractorsâ control have kept them praying for a miracle.
ãJust to put a little perspective on this project for you, the framing scope of work was scheduled to run the course of approximately six weeks,ä said 2005 Framing Contractors Association President Jerry Nelson. ãMy company is still on the job eight months later and if all goes well from here we are hoping to be off-site in another month or mid-April.ä
Nelson cites irreconcilable differences with the architect of record, and therefore the project, since groundbreaking manifested itself into a design-build project among church officials, Jaynes and its subcontractors.
ãItâs been challenging to say the least, but also a valuable learning experience. Just to give you an example of adversity, we had to physically field measure each of the trusses because itâs a compound slope back into the existing building [school] at 1-inch per foot, yet slopes down the rake at 4-inches per foot,ä Nelson said. ãAnd as good as Truss Joist is, they just couldnât get their computer to calculate the figures.ä
Nelson pointed to the block mason working on the elevator shaft, stating that he overbuilt the shaft and is now going back in to remove unneeded blocks to assist the flow of the project.
The original school was built in 1996 by another AGC member ö Martin-Harris Construction. Church officials utilized ensuing years to save and finance the $3 million addition comprised of 15,000 square feet above ground, most of which is allocated for the churchâs sanctuary and a 13,000 square foot basement, which has made room for additional classrooms.
Kirk Lensgraf, Jaynes project superintendent recognized this project has been long and arduous for the entire building team.
ãI have colleagues who have started and finished projects on the strip since this project broke ground. At this point in time we are pushing for a June completion date. Meanwhile, Nelson Framing has given excellent workmanship and all in all has made this job easier at every level.ä
Nelson noted that the he was personally on site everyday for the first three weeks of the project examining how exactly the new building was going to fit with the existing structure and to assess how the floors and such were going to be, as these were aspects neglected in the plans.
ãWhat didnât start out as a design-build has become just that. To emphasize this point our engineer is on on-call status,ä said Nelson.
Another obstacle well embraced by Nelsonâs team was the setting of the trusses.
Lensgraf said, ãDue to the basement below the sanctuary, we are very limited as to the type of equipment we can roll onto the floor of the sanctuary because of the weight factor.ä
ãSo instead of using the using the standard forklift because of the weight problem, we had to use a crane from outside the structure to set the trusses which made for a more awkward procedure and took two days. Just to give you an idea the longest truss we set is 59 feet long,ä said Nelson. ãThis really materialized into a problem when we discovered that the dimensions of the sanctuaryâs north wall were completely wrong, weâve since put our heads together to correct the error, and now we are still a few trusses short.ä
ãThe safety factor on this site has been phenomenal,ä said Lensgraf. ãYet, weâve come through with flying colors.ä
Nelson attributes the safe site to regular review by Jaynesâ safety personnel.
Lensgraf noted that the building team also overcame a jobsite theft just before Christmas, which amounted to the loss of 13 ladders, including Lensgrafâs personal ladders from home.
ãNothing like stealing from the church before Christmas,ä he said.
Nelson as would be expected is eager to complete his portion of the work and focus on upcoming projects. I have a 60,000 square foot two-building office complex with panelized roofs ready to start at the beginning of April.
In the meantime Jaynes will push on with the remaining construction schedule to finish interiors and get the front of the building fitted with stained glass being donated from a church member sooner than later.