to_do Property Repairs & Improvements Needed (Throop
Memorial Church)
David S. Lawyer
Version 29, Nov. 2003
Please contact David Lawyer to add items or make corrections to
this list. Also see him to find out what recently completed
projects should be crossed off this list and to determine if you
have the latest edition of this list. It's revised every couple of
months or so. There are likely a number of projects which need
doing but are not on this list. 5hr$30 means 5 hours estimated time
and $30 estimated cost of materials. If prefaced by a "C" (such as
C8hr$90) it means a Capital improvement. Time includes time to
plan, search for parts, etc. Cost includes the value of materials
even though the materials were found in storage at the church.
Painting work is under the name of the object to be painted such
as: Interior Surfaces, Doors, and Windows. See low_priority file for a list of low priority
and controversial projects. * designates high priority. More
details on some of these projects may be found in the other
property documentation at index.html.
This is a summary list with more details to be found in the main
entry in this to_do list. Below, they are listed with highest
priority first. In some cases, only the most urgent part of the job
should be done before moving on to the next task such as: At first,
only repair gutters which leak into the basements; only partly
organize tools, etc.
- Consider installing our own system to save monthly fees (and
false alarm fees. C60hr$500
- *Throop Hall to patio doors: Door 1 is far N one. Door 1 needs
handle at bottom to enable closing it. Doors 1 and 2 needs some
re-glazing. All need painting/staining. Also may need regluing. Put
closing instructions on doors. 12$15
- Railing on Del Mar by basement door: Re-glue top strip to
railing. 3hr$5
- Have more outside lights activated by motion detector (to save
energy). C15hr$70
- Run more wires for stage lighting to front pipes. Presently
disco ball shares circuit with front floods. C8hr$10
- Install low wattage LED's or luminescent panels in exit lights.
Or enable them to be turned off when not needed. C6hr$250
- Reinstall fluorescents in Throop Hall lanterns. Use
fluorescents that can dim? C4hr$130 (standard fluorescents)
- Reinstall old globes in sanctuary. 5 @ old center globes are
stored in kitchen pantry closet. 3 @ are missing (were broken many
years ago). Large glass ones would cost over $1000 each since they
must be hand blown. Old small globes are stored in basement. Need
to paint white inside and buy fluorescents which can be enclosed.
Replacing 3 missing ones is low priority. C30hr$800 for installing
5.
- Replace lighting in Fireside Room with fluorescents. Difficult
to find nice looking hanging fixtures for indirect lighting.
C8hr$500
- Replace incandescent bulbs in Ministers Office with
fluorescents. C4hr$100.
- Replace kitchen & main office lighting with new ballasts
& tubes C7hr$320. Sub item: replace burned our ballast in
kitchen 3hr $40h
- Reinstall old fixture (8 ft. fluorescents) in RE office. New
ballast. Will provide better light distribution and save energy.
C3hr$60.
- Install conduit to feed fluorescents overhead fixture in
electric basement. C5hr$40
- Replace broken overhead light socket near exterior door in
electric basement. 1hr$7
- Paint rusted canopies & chains for Throop Hall lanterns.
4hr$3
(As old ballasts fail elsewhere, replace with the most efficient
electronic ballasts and T8 tubes of highest efficiency.)
- Install more outlets in upstairs meeting rooms. Electric boxes
exist in Morrison Room walls, but no wires go to them. Red (North)
Room, and Morrison Room have wall outlets only on N. & S. end.
Will need to use conduit and crawl in tight space between floors.
C60hr$200
- Henry House rewiring for second floor. There are 11 outlets on
one circuit breaker and only 3 on another. Rebalance. Insure that
all of the outlets in the main upstairs rental are fed thru our
private meter in the electric basement. One isn't. C15hr$30
- Repair rust damage to bottom of main switchboard by painting.
2hr$5
- Connect 4 outlets on E wall of Throop Hall to a single 20 amp
CB fed from the kitchen CB. . They are now on 15 amp circuit which
has a number of lighting loads on it and the CB often trips due to
fan loads. C6hr$20.
- Replace missing covers on junction boxes under building:
Locations: 1. Near tower-sanctuary junction. It's about 4"x4" but
one this size didn't fit so measure first. 2hr$2 2. Near sancuary
organ (two boxes). One is a huge box about one foot high. The other
is an old large one. In both cases, the wires may not fit into the
box. Also, wires to box enter via the open side. 30hr$25 (very
rough estimate, need to evaluate more).
- *Gable over Jesus window (W. facade): Caulk all cracks. Put
stucco in crack of capstone. In 2004, water leaks into upper choir
room ceiling and is being caught by a plastic sheet in attic.
20hr$30.
- Tower: Repair broken off chunks & cracks in 12@ gargoyle
pediments at top of tower. Need to expertly match old "cast stone"
texture. 20hr$25
- Tower: Stain wood bell room louvers and replace ones that are
badly damaged by weathering. Ones on N side have been done.
45hr$150
- Re-stucco or touch-up with paint the unsightly patched spots on
the building walls. Use "sand" of same texture as original and add
color tint to match original tan color. C40hr$100.
- Remove stains from exterior walls. For stains apply acid such
as HCl and then wire brush. Thompsons cleaner (for exterior walls)
not as effective but removes dirty spots (as does TSP).
30hr$100
- Put 1" redwood boards in cracks in walkway between Montessori
and church. Hard to find true 1" thickness. 6hr$30
- Put up signs visible from street naming Throop Church. 30hr$300
Lighted sign would cost --C20hr$2000. Possible permit problem.
- Restore brochure boxes on exterior. 7hr$0
- Replace some broken flagstone in the Patio. 3hr$20
- Air washer (green) in basement: Paint inside to stop rusting.
Replace rusted support bars so that the eliminator and piping
doesn't fall down. 12hr$50.
- Clean out dirt, etc. from ducts and registers. Fix duct leaks
(some near filters and in basement floor trapdoor). 35hr$10
- Clean (sand) and paint rusted sanctuary blower fan blades and
interior housing (use paint wands). 12hr$15
- ?Reattach broken hangar strap for rectangular duct in basement
(over humidifier). Install new strap around 1' dia. round duct to
replace a crude pipe support (just to E. of humidifier). 2hr$5
- Replace missing wall register grills in E. side of Morrison
Room and in Tower Room. Where are the old ones? 15hr$300
- Establish policy and instructions for optimal operation of
heating and ventilation. This includes manual opening of windows
& doors for ventilation. (This and above should significantly
reduce utility bills). 40hr$1 Partially done in "Using ..."
document.
- Adjust bearings (see hvac_hardware) & replace seals of
sanctuary blower. 20hr$10.
- *Air filters in basement: buy new and fix so that they don't
fall out of place. Upstairs and Throop Hall fell out in '94 but
fell out again in same year. We are out of replacement filters.
Establish policy on changing-cleaning them. 7hr$250
- Repair vents near flagpole so that they ventilate the
sanctuary. May need to get porous (open) drapes for the sanctuary
so that air will pass from rear chancel hallway into sanctuary.
Vent doors need repair. Policy on use? C7hr$50
- Find and fix gas leak in furnace basement. It has smelled of
gas in the basement since 1990 but leak has never been found. The
gas Co. will help find it. Cost to fix unknown. 3hr$10
- Obtain grates for sanctuary crawl space openings. This will
provide more ventilation under the sanctuary and help eliminate
musty smell. C6hr$100
- Sort out "junk" and spare parts, etc. in various closets &
basements. Inventory it & sell/giveaway useless items. Save old
building fixtures for possible future restoration. 40hr$0
- Make directory for building (including "map" of building) to be
posted near entrances. Office rooms should have the name and title
of occupants shown on the doors. 25hr$100
- Get more (and better) used furniture for upstairs rooms.
30hr$500
- Repair broken chairs. 20hr$100. How to repair broken
backs?
- *Floors: Finish with highest quality clear plastic "varnish".
Throop Hall, the stage, and upstairs hallways need it.
a. Throop Hall & stage: 15hr$60
b. Upstairs Hallways: 40hr$50
- Replaster wall sections where plaster has fallen off.
12hr$50
a. Public Telephone room walls
b. Stage Basement
c. Electric basement ceiling (due to conduit hanger)
- Replace broken ceiling panels in S. Closet of Morrison Room.
30hr$400
- Repair squeaks in Throop Hall floor such as between drinking
fountain sink and kitchen door. 40hr$10
- Repair squeaks in other floors: Threshold of S. door of
Morrison room; office stairway; Others? 20hr$10
- Stain sanded spot on Sanctuary Balcony front railing.
2hr$5
- Touch up peeling paint above kitchen sink. 2hr$2
- Range: Repair door spring rods for right oven (door doesn't
fully close). Paint front of range with high-temp engine paint.
Paint sheet metal under oven burners with a rusty metal primer
provided they don't get too hot when the oven is on (measure temp
with wet finger). 12hr$20
- Pantry cabinet: Fix it so that it will lock. 4hr$30
- Replace passages (door latches which don't lock) on interior
doors with better quality ones containing 3 springs (hard to find).
Needed for doors from Throop Hall to Telephone Room. Need a few
more black lever door handles (antique). 8hr$200
- Inventory keys and make list of what they open. Make copies as
needed. Current status ?? 6hr$20.
- Rekey gate lock for an existing key. 2hr$0
- *Sewer pipe to Choir Room toilet. Clear blockage in sewer
Cleanout plug is likely underground below toilet and we can dig it
out. Cost is for a rotor-rooter Co. 6hr$100.
- Throop Hall sink area: Find several replacement 1" x 1" tiles
5hr$10
- Shutoff valves which don't fully shut off: upstairs drinking
fountain; Upstairs restroom lavatory. Water heater (red handle).
6hr$15
- Put water bottles or special kits in toilet tanks to conserve
water. C3hr$20
- Rod out pipes under kitchen which frequently clog. 4hr$0
- Replace attic vent screening so that birds can't get into
attic. 15hr$25
- Paint S. aisle roof w/white roof coating to preserve it.
6hr$40
- Paint tower roof w/white roof coating to preserve it and stop
minor leaks in NE and SW corners (each about 2 ft. from the corner
but water may run along boards). 3hr$20
- Caulk flashing on S. aisle roof. 2hr$6
- *Roofs (SE offices, Sanctuary -both sides): Renail loose
shingles. 12hr$5
- *Gutters (at edge of roofs) need cleaning (of sand, dirt, rusty
nails), scraping of rust inside, painting with rusty metal primer,
& caulking of leaks. Much of the work is gaining access to them
by use of ladders, ropes, etc.
a. N Side of Sanctuary at level of flat aisle roof. 4hr$6
b. North room gutters (E side): 4hr$6; W: 3hr$6 hole above center
of door)
c. Minister's study gutters: N is OK; S: 4hr$6
d. Administrator's office gutter. Needs more straps. 4hr$6
e. Patio gutters. Break in middle. 5hr$6
f. Aisle gutters on W side of sanctuary 4hr$6
- Clean out drain between kitchen steps and curb which is clogged
with sand from shingles. Did it once before with rented snake but
failed to remover sand by flushing. Hose will not go thru it even
if drain is open. Going up it from curb doesn't work since main
line is on a Y branch. Drain cleaning Co. in 2002 couldn't do it. A
jet vac would likely do it but would cost $200? Buy/rent a pump to
make our own jet vac? 10hr$100
- Seal water leak around conduit hole in electric basement
exterior wall. Hole is behind switchgear cabinet and may be
accessed by digging a hole outside in the garden area. Causes
basement flooding. Fill with caulk and then with high strength
cement. Was filled once before with caulk but has failed.
8hr$15
- *Patio: Repair break in flagstone edging and patch cracks in
dam at bottom of fire escape stairway. Water gets under building.
3hr$10
- Downspout on lower S. Aisle roof gutter is clogged. It's the
one NE of the choir room door. Standing water in it doesn't drain
resulting in water flowing over edge of gutter. Cost to fix
unknown. A temporary fix would be to break the pipe underground so
that the water flows into the lawn, if it's not feasible to clean
it out to the street. 8hr$100
- Exterior basement stairway on Del Mar. There seems to be no
drain at the bottom of this stairwell. Since the bottom stairwell
is a few inches below the basement level, a rain of under an inch
will not get into the basement. A temporary fix is to use a
portable pump whenever a rainstorm is over an inch.
- Trapdoor to ventilation duct in furnace basement. Water from
basement flooding leaks thru this trapdoor opening into the
ventilation system. Using cement, raise level of trapdoor so that
water will not flow past it, but instead will flow into the
basement drain located near the air washer.
- Adjust sprinklers for even watering. Install risers.
11hr$30
- Replace section of pipe in Los Robles parkway between old water
meter and sprinkler to S. Point of partial obstruction was marked
with a large nail next to sidewalk. Pounding on pipe and use of
snake (dug hole; put snake in) would not clear. But sprinklers
still usable although blockage tends to re-clog. 6hr$15
- Blockage in feed to far N. sprinkler head at public sidewalk
(next to Greene & Greene property. Backflushing wouldn't open.
But air pumping helped slightly. Use chemicals, get powerful air
pump, etc. 4hr$8
- Full circle sprinklers in Los Robles lawn in front of parking
lot do not put out enough water. They are all on the same valve.
Calculation shows that they should work OK on non-restricted supply
pipe (1 1/4"). Test by using hose from front yard as a parallel
feeder. Install parallel pipe feeder? Split circuit into 2 parts?
May '94: DL Freed blockage in W. row by backflushing 40hr$100
- One copper control tubing to Los Robles valves leaks to N of
light pole (just SW of tree trunk). Leak is inside root and
difficult to fix as 3 working tubes are also inside root. Thus run
new tubes inside conduit. The "two valves on one control line" fix
doesn't work well (one valve will not operate). 30hr$100
- *Termites. Termites in tower can be treated by handyman.
Subterranean termites in window frames of handicapped restroom.
12hr$15 for tower. 3hr$10 for subterranean (but could cost much
more if applying poison in crawl space doesn't work).
- Replace post footing just behind crawl space access door from
electric basement. The sewer pipe is about 4 ft. below the grade.
Old concrete footing is there. Fill in trench. Need fill dirt.
10hr$30
- Install anchor bolts and other reinforcements under building to
protect against earthquake damage. Much of building is reinforced
concrete and is structurally sound but mudsills under building
(near Men's room) are not bolted to the foundation. C50hr$200
- Paint I-beams supporting Throop Hall. Access difficult. May
need midget. 20hr$30
- *Organize spare parts and other hardware in basement. Use old
cigar boxes etc. 20hr$20.
- Obtain 40 ft. ladder to replace one that was stolen.
2hr$450
- *Window sills (and some window sash and wood vent louvers for
the basements) have peeling paint and cracks due to long neglect.
Some glass needed glazing putty. 80hr$150
- Attic vent louvers (wood, 7 of them) need painting. Need 40 ft.
ladder. Not too feasible to paint from inside attic due to need to
paint exterior vertical edge of sills. 14hr$20
- Throop Hall 4 @ transom windows. Replace or repair 3 of them
(one has been repaired). Rig ropes to open them. Repair:
80hr$250
- Tower louvers need replacing/repairing. 60hr$400.
- Window shades on clerestory windows need adjusting, oiling.
3hr$0
- Broken windows:
a. Basement on Del Mar side. 3hr$10
b. Stage high at NE corner. 3hr$15
- *Stained glass "Jesus" window: Replace fallen-off glazing
putty. Put wood guards on ladder to prevent it from damaging glass.
But our tall ladder, needed for this project, has been stolen.
12hr$20.
- Straighten (or replace) warped kitchen casement window frame E.
Side (north-most). 10hr$40
- Window in Upper Tower Room needs repair/replacing. Repair:
4hr$40.
1. Put Throop Hall Bulletin Boards on "hinges" or the like.
2. Exhaust fans for restrooms.
3. Paint roof white or silver for energy conservation.
4. Slope flower beds away from building (Del Mar).
5. Permanent fix for flooding under Throop Hall.
6. Skylights: restore.
7. Bells, chimes, or loudspeakers for tower.
8. Electric outlet on N wall of tower room.
9. Window screens: restore.
10. Downspout piping clogged.
11. Drip flashing above windows high above patio.
12. Restore patio garden lights
13. Spotlight for Montessori School sign
14. Repair and restore green Carrier air washer in basement.
15. Redesign heating system for energy efficiency.
16. Sound-blocking drapes for Fireside Room
17. Earphone jacks in Sanctuary for hearing impaired
18. Sodium lamps for parking lot
19. Repair posts on W. side of Henry House
There is no point in obtaining exact totals since the individual
estimates themselves are very rough and it's not clear how much it
will cost for labor time. All of the work can be done by a good
handyman and/or some church members. At $15/hr. the labor cost is
$19,830 or about $20,000. With a material cost of about $7,000, the
total cost is about $26,000. Hiring contractors could be a few
times more costly and could total almost $100,000.
labor time
time @$15/hr materials total
Capital Improvements 335 hrs. $5,025 $3,500 $8,525
Non-Capital Improvements 937 hrs. $14,055 $3,771 $17,826
Total: 1272 hrs. $19,080 $7,271 $26,351