Catholic Community of Pleasanton California

Pope John Paul II Activity Center
Project Status

Rick Hankins has very generously offered to be our Project Manager for this building project. We are so grateful to him and his wife Rosemary. This is an update on the Project Status.

If you have been following our progress reports, you know that significant work has been completed to date. All of the split-faced concrete block walls have been erected around the storage room at the south end of the main gymnasium floor and on the north and south ends of the rest rooms. The split-faced block matches the one used in the Saint Elizabeth Seton Church and office buildings. Carpenters have framed the restroom walls and defined inner rooms within the storage area.

The first delivery of steel beams and columns was unloaded on April 16th and staged for placement by the crane. The steel erection began on Tuesday, April 22nd. The steel frame for the gymnasium building will take about three weeks to complete. If you are interested, come out to the site this week to watch how this very delicate work is accomplished with such heavy equipment.

Before the steel is lifted into place, carpenters attach wooded plates on the side where wooden framed walls will be connected. The teams placed a rubber-tired crane onto the concrete floor, then deployed heavy wooden blocks onto the floor for the hydraulic outriggers to steady the crane. When readied, the crane picks up the heavy structural steel from the ground and swings the I-beams into place. As a column line is completed – two vertical columns bridged by a beam to form the roof structure – the crane is moved north a column line and begins work on the next set.

After the steel frame is in place, wall panels will be fabricated of steel channel (“C” shaped steel) and shaped wood studs covered by plywood. Each panel will be welded between the columns. Eventually, the outer surface will be covered by a ribbed-steel skin to match the church roof. After electrical conduit, fire sprinkler pipe, and fiberglass insulation are installed. The inside surface will be covered with sheet rock.

All of this work requires a coordinated schedule to ensure each contractor knows when and how to accomplish the work efficiently (read “quality at lowest cost”). Our general contractor, TBI from San Jose, and architect, John Miller Architects, deserve credit for keeping this project on schedule and on budget. We continue to expect that this project will be completed on time in November.

For all who continue to contribute prayers and treasure to this project, we are committed to making the best use of the resources you share. The last collection for the Pope John Paul II Activity Center amounted to $39,000. The Catholic Community of Pleasanton is blessed indeed.