One of the priorities our Campsite Manager, Tom Bowerman-Jett, has named is to focus on deferred maintenance projects and to address them in as cost effective way possible. He is committed to the best possible good stewardship of the Regional Church's resources and your financial gifts.
In this (below) article Tom describes a significant repair project that has been needed for some time in which he not only did an excellent job repairing the damage, but did so with incredible cost savings!
You can see all of the photos and descriptions in an album on the Camp Christian Facebook Page.
Cabin Cluster 2 Repair
Project Description from Tom Bowerman-Jett
Camp Christian Campsite Manager
Long before I began working at Camp Christian, serious moisture damage was discovered at cabin clusters one and two during a painting project. The repair was deferred, as everyone believed it to be a “can of worms” and further assessment was needed. They were correct in this opinion.
My predecessor got a few quick quotes from contractors to do the repair, and these came out to be around $20,000-$25,000, and nothing was done due to the Covid shutdown. Squirrels began taking advantage of the wide-open wall cavities and making nice cozy nests in the fiberglass insulation.
Last spring, I determined that one corner of the wall needed to be shored-up, as it was a load-bearing wall. I made that repair in several days and then, with the help of a volunteer group from the First Christian Church in Wadsworth, we put plastic over the damaged areas and boarded-off the cavities to keep the squirrels out. This worked for getting us through the camp season, but more needed done.
I began work in December 2021 by building a frame over the deck to allow work on this area over winter without snow/ice getting in the way. Old lumber from the bridge rebuild was used for this frame and then plastic was fastened over this to make a cozy work area shielded from the elements. Scaffolding was erected and the teardown began, starting at the area below the attic vent where mushrooms were growing out of the siding. This revealed that the vent design was very poor: any water to hit the slats on the vent ended up between the housewrap and the siding rather than outside where it could drain away. The vent behind the siding is actually square, the round vent is only a lie! This design choice caused the moisture issue below the vent and into the top of the two center windows.
Teardown around the windows then began, revealing that the windows had no flashing and the housewrap was not installed correctly. The lack of flashing and improper wrap installation both caused any water that wept in around the windows to end up inside the wall, where mold and carpenter ants took advantage of the wonderfully damp conditions. To make matters worse, the steel Z-flashing on the trim boards above and below the windows was bent in a manner that forced water into the two corners abutting the overhead doors. These factors led to a complete reframe from the bottom of the windows all the way down to the slab, as well as all new trim and siding. The windows were re-installed with flashing and the steel Z-flashing on the trim was angled outwards to get rid of the “gutter effect” it had before.
The two abutting walls were also not without problems. The siding and sheathing both were extended below the level of the deck, allowing them to “wick” moisture and keep it there. The bottom framing was rotted so much that it was little more than a web of tree roots. This framing was replaced with pressure-treated lumber and the studs were sistered as needed, then new sheathing/wrap/siding was installed.
The total cost of the project ended up being around $3,000 in materials and was completed at the end of April. Next winter, I plan to do the same work on cluster one, as it shows the same symptoms as cluster two.
Here are a few photos from the project. For the complete photo album with descriptions, please got to the Camp Christian Facebook Page.
