FAQ Answers to the Comments at the Open House Feb 11, 2018

 

Question/Comment: Drainage off property in rear.

Answer: This was a really useful comment that we had not previously thought about. The back of our property appears to drain towards the back corner by the garden shed, into the neighbor’s yard. We will need to do some work to redirect the flow, maybe to the swale in the alley. Some rainwater detention may be required. We will be asking the engineer and architect to advise on this.

Question/Comment: Power to house next door runs under the blacktop.

Answer: This was another great comment that made us aware of a potential problem we didn’t know about. We are working to find out if this is really the situation. We’ve requested a “Blue Stake” marking, to see if that will reveal the location of the underground powerline. We looked at the old building blue prints, but the electric lines between the buildings are not noted on the drawings. However, the location of the meters on the cottage and the house next door could indicate that the line runs between the two under our blacktop. We’ll be discussing this with the contractor this week.

Question/Comment: Can doors between kitchen and purple room open into the kitchen?

Answer: We took a look and discussed this with the architect. If the doors open into the kitchen, they will interfere with the existing kitchen door. So we plan to keep the door swing going into the Purple Room and will relocate the large screen TV as necessary.

Question/Comment: How will we stabilize and re-level the floor?

Answer: We plan to work with the contractor and architect to come up with a solution to the front door and other areas in need of support. In looking at the architectural drawings for a prior addition, it appears that the front door actually had some support installed, but needs to be re-visited as it may have sunk or the wood rotted.

Question/Comment:Enlarge upstairs classroom (L-shape)? Or move wall or shrink upstairs storage.

Answer: We looked over the drawings from the previous addition with the architect, and were happy to realize that it looks like there is a fix for the loss of structural support when we remove the bathrooms. So the room that is currently the RE office should be available as classroom or office space.

Question/Comment: Can we expand the # of toilets from 3 to 5 by having a multi-stall bathroom?

Answer: One of our commitments we made when planning this project was to have gender-neutral bathrooms. The best way to do this and provide privacy is to have individual, accessible bathrooms. We are increasing the number of bathrooms from two to three, with a shower and central drain in one of the rooms. This addresses City codes as well as church policy.

Question/Comment: Place for nametags.

Answer: The wall space that will be created with the removal of the bathrooms will open up the foyer and add wall space. The plan is to have a place for nametags under the former bathroom windows on the north wall.

Question/Comment: Hydronic heating (slab) and multifuel boiler. PEX plumbing (Upinoor).

Answer: We’ve asked the architect to suggest some “green” ideas for heating. The slab heating wouldn’t work in this situation, since it takes a long time to heat up and cool down.