During the storm "Sandy," on October 29-30th, Grace Church had some damage. The scaffolding on the bell tower began to come off during the storm, and due to the strong winds some of the boards on the scaffolding fell on to the roof of the church. One broke a stained glass window (the "come to me..." with Jesus with outstretched arms), and another board punched a hole in the church roof. There was also some other roof slate damage as well.
Due to this happening as a result of the contractors work on the building, our contractor, and their insurance, is liable for this damage. The scaffolding has now been re-secured, and temporary patches placed on the roof. The stained glass window has been removed for repair. Please see the photos and video below to see the scope of the damage and the repair.
A hole in the Grace Church rood from the storm
The Bell Tower scaffolding being repaired after the storm
The broken stained glass window being removed for repair
On October 23-25, the Bells were re-installed into the tower of Grace Episcopal Church. Our Bell contractor, Chimemaster of Ohio, installed a new bell frame, the 8 old Blake Brothers Bells, and the one newly recast bell (see previous bog post for the story of the recast bell).
The Medford Bell, once intended to be a fire bell for the City of Medford, is the largest of the 9 bells. Here is it being raised into the tower...
Here is another movie of a bell being installed on the new frame...
Chimemaster Jeff Crook talks about the difference between the "old" and "new" bells
We are now waiting for electrical work to be completed, and then Chimmaster will return to finish the installation job. We are currently on track to re-dedicate the bells on Sunday, November 18, 2012 after the 10:00AM service.
Most of the exteriors work is complete on the bell tower now. We are waiting for the bells to be delivered, and the new louvers to arrive from the manufacturer, for the louvers to go in. The new bell platform in complete, along with the new ladder. See below for a view...
The bells are set to arrive this week, with the new bell frame. The newly re-cast bell has been delivered from Holland to our bell company. Take a look at the new steel frame and the re-cast bell below.
The new steel bell frame at the bell company, before it is galvanized.
Re-cast Bell delivered to our bell company
The bells are set to arrive, and be re-installed this week. We plan on spending a few weeks figuring out how to use them, before our big Bell re-dedication on Sunday, November 18. November 18 will be the first Sunday we ring the bells (though there may be some seek-peak times during the week).
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