Reconstruction of the TCK furnace successfully done
Praise the Lord! The reconstruction of the TCK heating system is done! We experienced two cold weeks in December during the work time, but we managed to complete the project without freezing ourselves. It was a big surprise for me when we found out that the chimney for the heating exhaust was not straight enough. This meant that we would need to either pull down some walls in the building or to build a new chimney alongside the building. Both choices looked pretty expensive as we felt the pressure from the urgency of the matter. In the end we chose to take the time to search for the problem area in the chimney. This meant we had to demolish some wall to get to the problem area. The original building plans helped a little bit as we looked for the problem. At last we found the problem and made the necessary repairs. We felt good about the decision especially because the hole in the wall was in the good place (not in a public space or in the kitchen) and it was not so huge. This was all fine, until the reconstruction firm found out that the chimney had another problem area further up the chimney! I started to think if it was really a good idea to replace the furnace (although I knew that it was necessary). The old system didn’t work properly and the gas consumption was extreme. So, we prayed a lot and God was faithful. The workers found the right place to make the second “incision” in the wall and were able to make the needed repair in it. In both cases, the damage was not so big. Neither the floors nor any permanent structures were damaged.
Our whole training staff and café team was also able to work in the building during the repairs. I was curious how these extra repairs would influence our contract agreement with the repair company. We have learned in the past that these kind of projects are more expensive that we plan. But in the end, the company manager decided support our ministry by not charging us extra for the extra work.
PHf