Day Eignteen -- All's Quiet

There's a break in the action. Forms are sitting atop the exterior walls awaiting the pouring of concrete for the tie beams. An engineering change in the structural steel was necessary to insure adequate ceiling height in the studio. The change had to be submitted to Charlotte County officials before they would return to the site for necessary inspections before the project could continue. The changes were hand-carried to Charlotte County yesterday, so progress may resume soon.

We'll keep you posted.

Day Fourteen -- The Pace Slows

The hectic pace of construction has slowed considerably since Tuesday morning. There were just a few workers here yesterday. After another inspection, they filled the cavities of the exterior block walls with concrete for strength and insulation. Today, they are making forms atop the walls. These, when filled with concrete, will provide the support for the roof trusses.

Once this is complete, we are still anticipating a delay in the arrival of the structural steel. As a result, the process may grind to a halt for a period of time. We'll resume our commentary when the action picks up again, and provide pictures when there is something new to see.

We've already begun to make preparations for our local telethon which will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, April 22nd, 23rd, and 24th. We have some exciting guests lined up, and during those telecasts we will present the vision for the future of Christian television for Southwest Florida and for Vision Video Institute International, our intensive training program designed to prepare visual communicators for the 21st century.

These are exciting times for the WRXY family, and we'd like you to be a part. Keep reading this blog, checking our our websites (www.wrxytv.com and www.thevisionwrxy.com), and watching WRXY on your TV or on your computer through live streaming. There's lots more to come!

Day Twelve -- The Walls ARE Up

The block layers were busy at work when I arrived this morning. By noon, they were finished and cleaned up. The exterior walls are essentially complete, and now we are awaiting the structural steel.

There will be three support posts and a cross beam to support the steel roof trusses which will extend from that beam to the east and west block walls which will support the ends of these trusses. After that, the roof decking and roofing material will close in the building. We've been told to expect a delay of up to a week and a half in the delivery of the steel. This delay is the result of the tremendous progress that has been made in just over two weeks. As a result, the building is almost two weeks ahead of schedule.

The base coat of pavement for our new parking lot is being applied today. There will be a lot of heavy equipment on site before the project is complete, so the final coat and striping will wait until the very end.

Day Eleven -- The Walls Go Up

This morning marks the beginning of day eleven -- just two weeks from starting with nothing. The exterior walls are more than halfway to the top and continuing to rise rapidly.

The current construction slump in southwest Florida has enabled the contractor to find workers available immediately. We'll be discussing some minor changes in roof structure with the project manager later today. So far the construction has caused only minor inconveniences to our staff, and, other than the satellite dish incident during week one, no technical problems.

Sod has already been placed around the edge of our new expanded parking area.

Our workers are taking it up to the next level.

Day Ten -- Concrete Block

Yesterday's wet cement has become today's concrete floor. This morning, it's crowded with workers laying the concrete block for the outside walls.



God has blessed us with a crew of friendly and highly skilled workers to build this studio.

As the walls go up, work continues on a new parking lot adjacent to the building.

Great weather, God's blessings, and an aggressive superintendent have placed our progress well ahead of the original timeline. We're hoping to originate our local telethon from the new studio on April 22nd, 23rd, and 24th, even if the building is not completely finished. Of course it will take some time and additional funding to actually purchase and install the final, high-definition equipment, but it will be provide a big boost to be able to broadcast from the new space, even with our existing equipment. We'll tell you more in the near future.

Day Nine - Liquid Rock

This morning, only nine days into actual construction, the floor for our studio addition is being poured. I shot some video of the process with our new high-definition camcorder.

The concrete from the trucks was pumped into through pipes in a tall boom device to be placed exactly where it was needed.

The finishing of the concrete floor is especially critical in the area which will become the studio. It must be as level and smooth as possible to facilitate movement of the cameras.

Day Seven - The floor is next

Here we are, only seven working days into the studio construction project, and we find the footers and foundation already prepared. Following a county inspection, the floor slab will be poured. That is currently scheduled for Thursday, but it could be delayed if some rain which is predicted for the next few days materializes. So far, everything has gone much more rapidly than I had expected. Perhaps the building will finished by the first of June as the superintendent predicted. Today we signed our approval on some mundane things like doors and door hardware, windows, and the mail drop that will be used for programmers to drop off their videotapes after hours.

On another note, we got our first high-definition camera today. One of our venerable, ten-year-old Canon XL-1 cameras recently decided that it didn't want to record to tape anymore. We replaced it with a JVC GY-HD200 Camcorder. We're planning to use three of its big brothers (Model 250) in our studio when it is completed.

Day Six - Swarms of Workers

Last Friday I didn't even get to the station because of an all-day shoot of the Power 08 Conference at Pelican Preserve, and a lot happened on that day. Concrete trucks poured footers for the foundation and for support beams. When I arrived this morning, the site was swarming with activity.

Foundation blocks were being laid in preparation for the pouring of the slab for the floor. This is scheduled to happen on Wednesday or Thursday, weather permitting. Until then, getting in and out of the building is an exercise in gymnastics.

Our main door is blocked because of the fact that directly outside is a large hole with a footer for a main support beam. We must enter and exit through the transmitter room, but not without either walking the plank or stepping through a depressed area onto the foundation footer. We're promised that most of these problems will be behind us once the slab is poured.

We're very concerned about the quality of the pour and finish of the concrete slab which will provide the floor for the studio. At about 35x50 feet, it will require expansion joints. These can create major problems when dollying cameras over them. We're trying to get them located toward the edges where there won't be much camera movement. The construction foreman says the joints (or saw cuts) can be filled with epoxy to smooth them out. Of course the final finish on the floor must be very smooth and level, again to facilitate smooth camera movement. Once that is finished to our satisfaction, the rest of the building won't be quite as critical.

There shoud be more to report later today or tomorrow.