PORT TOWNSEND — Construction of the new sanctuary at Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship reached new heights this week as three pairs of pillars and connecting roof trusses were lifted into place.
Each pillar/truss unit, called a bent, was calculated at 9,000 pounds.
But architect Richard Berg wasn’t worried.
“I’ve been through it a few times,” Berg said on Wednesday. “This is a bigger frame than I’ve worked with before.”
Berg designed the building, which general contractor Wallyworks Construction is building with the help of volunteer labor from the fellowship and the community.
The Unitarians broke ground four months ago on the $1.4 million project, which expands the building at San Juan Avenue and 24th Street by 5,700 square feet.
It is expected to be completed in January or February and will seat 185 people, twice as many as the current sanctuary.
The pillars and trusses were built by Hamill Creek Timber Frame in British Columbia and trucked to the site last week, where the units were assembled.
Installation
On Wednesday, timber framer Brian Wilkinson of 3B¬² of Bainbridge Island briefed the crew on safety before the installation.
With Andy Millican of Millican Crane, Poulsbo, operating the crane, the first bent was in place by 10:30 a.m. After it was tied to the wall with rafters, the second was lifted into place before lunchtime, with the third erected by 2:30 p.m.
“We had some really fantastic people on hand,” said Malcolm Dorn, head of Wallyworks.
Before the first one was raised, Dorn climbed to the 35-foot peak of the roof gable and attached a cedar bough, a Nordic custom to appease the spirit of the trees sacrificed to make the beams and pillars.
“There was some discussion about doing it after the bents were in place, but I wanted to do it first, as insurance,” Dorn said.
The six pillars, each a Douglas fir, were set into concrete footings 4 feet below the level of the floor, Dorn said.
Gathering place
The sanctuary will be used for concerts, lectures and meetings as well as services.
“The idea is to have something the whole town can use and enjoy,” Berg said.
“That’s what’s been fun for me, to be involved in creating something like that.”
The new sanctuary and entry hall will connect to the original building, which was erected with volunteer labor 10 years ago, with Dorn also the contractor.
Since that time, fellowship membership has increased from 60 to 300, and members had long since outgrown the space.
“This has been at least 3¬½ years in the making,” said Irv Mortensen, the church’s building project coordinator.
Mortensen, Al Thompson, Lynn and Jenifer Taylor and other volunteers from the fellowship and the community have been supplementing the Wallyworks Construction workers, helping to keep costs down, Mortensen said.
And the erratic weather didn’t slow the schedule down.
“The icy deck was the worst part when people started work in the morning,” Mortensen said.
Among the people watching the raising Wednesday was Amy Dahlberg, who works for Berg and helped design the bents with Kevin Mattson of Bear Design.
Mattson also helped with the installation, as did Mortensen, who carved a motif in one end of the pillars that matches a motif in the rafters of the original building.
Fellowship volunteers provided lunch for the work crew on Fridays and formed a “sweeps brigade” that cleaned up the site weekly.
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Port Townsend/Jefferson County reporter-columnist Jennifer Jackson can be reached at jjackson@olypen.com.
