Moving Forward

On December 20, 2008 the last B'nai Mitvah will be celebrated in the Sanctuary before the renovation begins. On Sunday December 21, 2008 we will begin preparations for the renovations. A small group of volunteers will make sure the Sanctuary is ready to turn over to the contractor before they begin demolition. This is an exciting time!

We will use this blog to post construction updates and to keep the community informed. Currently, we are finalizing the contract and schedule to finally begin.

Step one will be for the Contractor to protect the stain glass. The carpet and whatever pews are left will be removed and a liscenced abatement contractor will be coming in to remove the flooring. When we began this process a hazardous materials engineering firm, tested the sanctuary and found that the floor contains asbestos tile. In Massachusetts, the Department of Environmental Protection regualates how this can be removed. The first two weeks of the renovation will be primarily the removal of the tile. The process involves air testing at every stage and whenever work is being done the Sanctuary will be sealed. At the end of the abatement further air testing is done to ensure that everyone is protected.

In January we will see much more activity as the renovation begins to take shape. Feel free to post questions and we will attempt to provide answers as we go from the years of planning to the reality of renovation.