I bought a Church!

[Safety Guy]

Last month I bought a church. Okay, it WAS a church, but it's just been a storage building since the mid nineties. It's on the same partial acre that an older church had been built in the twenties, so there's quite a bit of history here, and I'll be looking for more info on that as time goes on.

So how'd I end up with a church?

About two months ago, as my friend Lee and I were on our way back from looking for land not too far from my home in Cowlumbus, we happened to stop by this place on a lark. I had seen it advertised but there was not enough land with it, so I hadn't intended to look at it, but I figured we could find it and we did.

Here is the first picture I took of it:



Soon after we saw it, I called on it and went to check it out better. Within a month, I had bought it! Another view:



The little room in back is the old furnace room. The furnace is long gone. There is electric (240V!) but no water. (There is an old collapsed outhouse out back.)

The walls are 12" thick cement block, about ten feet high. The roof is original and is metal. It leaks! A door had been left open out back and so some animals are present. The building is 30 X 45 feet in size, so it is rather large. If it were a garage (pause for reflection here...) it would be maybe a four car size, plus!

View from the back towards the street (note the old church sign, which I'll keep):



Some of the roof damage:



So what do I have planned for my church?

Next posting...

Karl

[Miah]

Church of Festology & you're accepting donations?

[Pu241]

Hybride tiny house Karl?

[Safety Guy]

The official name for my new building will be "The Festiva Support Center." I will be turning it into exactly what it says, and a bit more. It will be a place to work on my cars, but also to hang out, do some other things (ART!!) and just relax. It's out in the boonies, yet fairly close to civilization, and the location will remain a "need to know" kinda thing.

The unofficial name will be "The Church of the Festivas." Completely nondenominational, respectful of all religious and nonreligious beliefs and just plain laid baaaaack.

The windows used to have stained glass, but some got broken and the former owner sold them to other churches. I have found broken pieces of blue glass outside and I've collected them in order to make something artistic in the future. I'll be rehabbing the place in three steps:

1. General cleaning, repair and security (ie., simply locking it up, as it's been unlocked for ages).
2. Gutting about 98% of the interior, along with cleaning up gobs of bat, bird and coon do up in the ceiling rafters.
3. Building a rear storage loft for parts and a front loft for relaxing, art, office, etc.

After I pay it off, I'll think about a new roof. Maybe a gambrel roof, for more space upstairs.

Now for some inside pics:



Note the beams. The inspector (yes, I had an inspection) found that they are uncut and fully set into the block walls. They appear as though they were used in a barn or something before being used in this church.

There are four "rooms." The two small ones up front are for the electrical panel (new as of around 1995 or 2000) and an empty one (closet?). In the rear are two larger ones, exact purposes unknown. One has suffered from a bad roof leak and the raised wood floor is all rotted out. The other is dry and the nicest of the bunch, though the ceiling is suspect due to whatever poo and urine has been deposited upstairs.

Here is the good back room:



Note the conduit. Those are 240V outlets! The hole in the wall leads to the furnace room. I've already blocked it up except for a small pass-through for electric to go outside if I need it.

Another view, showing the blocked up side windows:



So far only Matt (zoomzoom) has seen it and been there. He's already helped me a bunch in fixing stuff up. We spent all today there and I just got back and am posting this.

So enough for tonight! I should have more pics in the next few days, showing some progress.

Karl

[FestYboy]

that's some sweetness for sure!!!!

[Pu241]

1 ft thick walls = improved radiation shielding!

You know you can make explosives with bat and bird poop!

[Safety Guy]

No donations necessary, Miah and my children!

Oh John, don't worry. We are not in competition with your doctrine, tiny houses or not! You will be most welcome to come and hold services, providing they don't piss off the locals.

Arty, Matt was suitably impressed with the built in sweetness, especially the beams to hang stuff from. Like hoists!

John, the poop will be scooped and I will have full Tyvek and suitable full face respirator protection. If you want some poop, you are welcome to it before it is double bagged for the dump.

Today Matt and I built the basic wheeled work bench from the pulpit top boards. It's nice!

Good night ya'll.

Karl

[Grey Vw]

Nice buy!

[Pu241]

Karl, how could you think that I might "piss off the locals"?

I'm sure the locals would joint in for a game of pin the lit safety flare on the manger!

[Safety Guy]

Yes, it was a nice buy. Wait till I tell you how much!! (Suspense should ensue until at least tomorrow.)

Good night again, for real!

Karl

[kumalaba]

nice find!

[neanderpaul]

Congrats Karl!

[getnpsi]

Congrats. I'm so thinking die hard 2 right now, but in real life it's probably better to keep american terrorists OUT, and zombies, and uh geo owners?

Do you need any religious and/or automotive puns for your church sign? I love those.

[jawbraeka]

as an member of the Australian chapter, i am impressed most high..

i hope to go over one day with my car and family and come visit this establishment.

[jawbraeka]

Last month I bought a church. Okay, it WAS a church, but it's just been a storage building since the mid nineties. It's on the same partial acre that an older church had been built in the twenties, so there's quite a bit of history here, and I'll be looking for more info on that as time goes on.

So how'd I end up with a church?

About two months ago, as my friend Lee and I were on our way back from looking for land not too far from my home in Cowlumbus, we happened to stop by this place on a lark. I had seen it advertised but there was not enough land with it, so I hadn't intended to look at it, but I figured we could find it and we did.

Here is the first picture I took of it:



Soon after we saw it, I called on it and went to check it out better. Within a month, I had bought it! Another view:



The little room in back is the old furnace room. The furnace is long gone. There is electric (240V!) but no water. (There is an old collapsed outhouse out back.)

The walls are 12" thick cement block, about ten feet high. The roof is original and is metal. It leaks! A door had been left open out back and so some animals are present. The building is 30 X 45 feet in size, so it is rather large. If it were a garage (pause for reflection here...) it would be maybe a four car size, plus!

View from the back towards the street (note the old church sign, which I'll keep):



Some of the roof damage:



So what do I have planned for my church?

Next posting...

Karl

12" thick walls and 240v .. perfect for all the "civic converts" and thick enough to keep there soundtrack down

http://youtu.be/aSnTw1mAVzg