Battle against the Great British Weather

Words by: Nigel Dickson

Photos by: Julie Harris 

Despite the dismal weather of the summer things are very much still on track for us to be in before Christmas. According to site manager, David Leigh, the highly favourable weather conditions from October 2011 through to April 2012 meant that, after the initial delay in disconnecting the gas supply, work progressed very steadily, and once the main stretches of roof were in place it was a generally straightforward task to attend to the internal aspects of the building process.

That said, the roof is going on now and it’s proving to be a very complex job, with multiple contractors, challenges with the weather, and dependencies on other jobs like the rendering which you can start to see on the Washway Road side of the building.

However, despite the distinct lack of sunshine it’s far from doom and gloom!  A quick nose around the inside of the building, shows what an impressive place is taking shape.  The top floor is amply equipped with office spaces, a small kitchen and toilets for those who will be busy working there.  There’s even a shower room for anyone who works up a significant sweat during the day! 

The first floor is the main attraction with a good-sized auditorium which will have double the capacity of the Kings Centre; a broad (if not particularly deep) stage, including a back stage area with male and female changing rooms; seminar rooms; large kitchen and serving area; and the usual ladies and gents conveniences.  

There is an 'exterior ground floor' providing car-parking space, beneath the main auditorium. 

On the interior ground floor you'll find the café space, and it’s also where the community centre rooms are going to be situated.With plastering complete, it just needs the decorators in to put our colour schemes into place.  The predominant colour will be ‘skimming stone’, with a touch of ‘elephant’s breath’ here and there.  The mind boggles, doesn’t it?   In the past, these might have been termed respectively ‘grey’ or ‘magnolia’, but ssshhh – don’t tell anyone else that!  I mean, magnolia – how passé!   Do not worry, however, the décor will be far from bland with splash accents of blue, orange, green and yellow all to be given their place. Wait and see... it’s going to be great!

Close to completion then is the guttering.  Sanitary-ware is all delivered and awaits fitting. Electrics are in place, and - once the ceilings are hung - the light fittings can be fixed as well.  Virtually all the windows are done, and it should not be long at all before the scaffolding comes down.

So, provided there is nothing else to queer the pitch, we’ll soon be seeing the LifeCentre in its full glory.  When asked if he gained satisfaction from seeing a building such as this constructed, David Leigh said, “A building such as this? Yes. This is a great building – one that will certainly outlive me!”

Remember that the fundraising is still very much active with just over 100,000 to find before the end of the year (God has provided nearly 150,000 since January!!) and we're holding a fantastic Champagne and Fireworks Spectacular at Old Trafford on 3rd November. Book your tickets here.

To God be the glory.

Catching the Wind

Words by Chris Major

Photos by Julie Harris

When I saw David Leigh, site manager for Parkinson Building Contractors who are building the new LifeCentre, a few days ago, he had more good news to report.

The roof is now waterproof, which with the weather we've been having is - helpful - to say the least! Ducting is now in place for the air conditioning, and wind catchers that will allow fresh air into the auditorium (and very importantly - get stale air out!!) have been installed.

So the airconditioning will keep us cool in the summer, but what about coping with our lovely northern winters?! Well, underfloor heating is being laid throughout the building. What's more the inside of the building is really taking shape with all internal partition walls having now been erected.

All of the mechanical and electrical work is progressing well on schedule. The car park, which will be underneath the auditorium, has now been tarmacked. Window frames have all been prepared on the ground floor and first floor and it is planned to fit glass this week - so do keep a look out when you're walking past!

The brick work is now finished all the way round the building!! David said he still had to arrange a start date for rendering, so if you look around the exterior, any exposed blocks you see will be coated with a white render. David says he hopes to have the scaffolding around the building removed by the end of July - and that'll be the exteriors done!

Among the next jobs on the agenda is the plastering on walls and ceilings. Then there is the decorating, the internal joinery and the installation of the bathrooms, which are to be done around the middle of August. Carpets and vinyl floor coverings will be fitted towards the end of summer.

On balance, work is still running a little behind schedule. The heavy rain we have had has caused a delay in installing all the air conditioning ducts, wind catchers and windows. However, by contrast work on the inside of the building is now a little ahead of target with an average of 30 men now working on the site every day!! So we're still on for opening before Christmas!

Generally speaking, relations with our neighbours remain very good. There have been one or two complaints about parking, which was a bit inevitable since additional workers have been on the site recently. David says that new people are asked to park sensibly, but he still expects the occasional phone call from nearby residents.

The design team - made up of church Vision Partners - have been busy selecting colour schemes, fixtures and fittings which will bring the interior of the building to life (pardon the pun!) and we also recently began discussions with a sign manufacturer on commissioning something for the buildings fascia that will make a big bold statement to the community. Watch this space...

I Can feel It Coming in the Air…

Words by Nigel Dickson

Photos by Julie Harris

Bit of a tenuous link… but the more I look at and the more I talk about the progress of the new LifeChurch building, the more that mood of expectation (expressed in the Phil Collins’ song) is evoked.  The real tenuous link, however, is that it is coming in the air in the sense that the most recent work has been on the building’s ventilation system.  Not that that is what excites me most; it’s more that, when I peer through the scaffolding now, there is a proper sense of the building taking shape – the brickwork, the roofing and even some of the windows are now very much in place.

But it’s inside that the current progress is being made.  If the concrete frame was the skeleton, the bricks and mortar the flesh of the building, then it’s the internal organs – those invisible bits and pieces so crucial to a living body – that are currently being put into place: not just the ventilation system; but containment work which prepares the way for electricity cables to be installed; and partitioning which creates the working spaces inside the building.  

And all this work has gone on uninterrupted by the elements, including the relentless downpours of April, as the roof-lining, in place since early March, has meant that the inner parts are all fully-sheltered.

Next job is tarmacking the car park, which – if you are not already aware – will be below the building, the building itself being built on stilts in order to make this car-parking space available.

When asked about relationships with neighbours, site-manager, David Leigh, was very positive: “We actually had coffee with the neighbours earlier in the month,” he said, referring to a morning on May 4^th when church members and those living locally were invited to come along and hear about progress and ask questions of the building team.

David estimates that the whole project is about 5-6 weeks behind schedule, owing to some initial issues with disconnecting gas supply and some changes to the original specifications which have caused additional hold-ups.  However, the building should be ready to hand over in mid-to-late October.

So, whilst “I can feel it coming in the air”, I’m just going to have to “hold on…hold on…” just that little bit longer.

Halfway There

Words by Chris Major

Photos by David Rolles

The great news to come out of my recent meeting with David, our site manager, is that the new LifeCentre is now past being halfway complete!! Many of you, I’m sure, will have seen by now that the new building has a roof and that the inner wall is going up fast.

Ground floor

All the concrete floors have now been poured including the ground floor. Safety netting is in place under the roof and scaffolding has been erected right around the building. Under the concrete slabs, drainage and ducts for power cables and water pipes have been finished. The lift pit has been excavated and more than a quarter of the brick and block work that makes up the interior walls is now complete.

Main Hall from downstairs

Hanging baskets have been put in position to allow electricians to run cables and work has also begun to install the ventilation and the plumbing. A crane came on site two weeks ago to lift on a corrugated tin sheet for the part of the roof which will go over the auditorium. Glazing has now been ordered as part of an ongoing programme of procurement leading up to the completion of the work.

Moving to the exterior, the neighbouring car dealership - Robins and Day - have very kindly given the builders permission to take over a small section of their car park so that scaffolding can be erected. This was needed to for a steel staircase to be placed onto the south side of the building.

Whose lives may get transformed in these rooms?

At this point if you went up and pressed your nose against the glass of the small windows in the hoardings you'd see that work on the exterior brick wall is now well under way. It's a really exciting phase of the project as the walls take the form of how the building will look once it's finished. David informs me that the brick and block work will carry on right throughout the month of May, so do go and have a look if you're passing on Washway Road.

Upstairs looking out onto Washway Road

We had a months delay at the start of the project, however David hopes that by the height of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in early June, everything will be back to the original schedule. Multiple trades are now operating onsite including ground workers, roofers, bricklayers, scaffolders and electrical and mechanical specialists. Work is proceeding without difficulties so it is likely that time can continue to be clawed back meaning that the target for completion of the build is now early October.

Wow! Imagine what will happen here!!  

It's pleasing to know that the site's Health & Safety record is impressive. There have been no reportable accidents and no visits from the Health and Safety Executive. Parkinson’s own Health and Safety officer has twice given the site a 10 out of 10 score!

David reports that relations with our neighbours are still good. A newsletter is sent out to residents and businesses once a month and whatever complaints are received seem to be coming from a vocal minority. 

The offices will be upstairs towards the main road

Overall, David says that the job is going well and he is enjoying it. The team are taking pride in their work and are happy to be engaged on such a good job. And they have been pleased to see the interest taken by various people from LifeChurch popping in, as it makes a change from the men in suits he is accustomed to seeing! There is an upcoming Open Day on Friday 4th May. Click here for more info and to find out how to reserve a place. 

That's all for now. Do keep praying for favour and blessing for all those involved in the project. 

God bless. 

Full Speed Ahead!

Words by Nigel Dickson
Photos by Julie Harris

The builders carefully slot each piece into place

Work on our new church building is progressing very nicely. Anyone passing Raglan Road will, no doubt, have seen for themselves that the steel erection is complete. This process occurred with minimum fuss. 

I don’t know about you, but the closest I ever get to construction work is putting together a flat-pack from IKEA.  Putting the framework together is a massively scaled-up version of that.  The respective parts are all manufactured off-site, shipped-in and then assembled into what you can see now.  When I’m flat-packing, more often than not there is something that doesn’t quite fit (not first time anyway), or I’m a screw short, or I find I’ve got a few little pieces left-over: which always leaves me with an uneasy feeling that something must have been assembled not quite as it should be.  Such flaws are almost always down to my incompetence rather than down to a faulty flat-pack.  Well, you’ll be pleased to know that there was no such incompetence on the part of our constructors at Raglan Road.  Everything fitted perfectly.  And to quote construction manager, David Leigh: “There was not a single spare nut or bolt to be found anywhere when the job was finished.”  Think I’ll have him round to do my next flat-pack job!

Industrial sized "flat pack" assembly!!

Starting to get a sense for the scale of the inner space 

The next job at Raglan Road is to create a metal deck to all floors.  This will then allow for concrete flooring to be put in during the week commencing March 5th, creating easy access to each floor for the builders.  In the middle of that week a roof lining will be installed, which means that the construction will be effectively weather-proofed, allowing building-work to carry on uninterrupted, even in the event of a late snowfall!  The roof will eventually be all-tiled, apart from one flat section which will be corrugated tin.

Real floors!!

On the week commencing 12^th March, Clive May’s bricklayers will start their work, and what looks like a ‘proper’ building will begin to materialise.  Whilst there was initial delay as the gas and electricity people needed to do all the necessary disconnection work, since then “Everything has been going really well” says David, and there is no foreseeable reason why the construction process should not be completed to schedule – in October.

View from the back of the site... what an operation!

Relations with neighbours remain good too.  One neighbour, opposed to the building from the outset, actually said that, despite his objections, there could be absolutely no complaints about the way the constructors had worked.  Neighbours have been consulted and informed every step of the way, and a response on one Neighbourhood Questionnaire said of the site:  “The appearance is good – very clean and tidy.  Keep up the good work!”

The view residents on Raglan Rd have

I am sure that we would all concur with that particular encouragement.  And those of you at the church’s ‘Engage’ meeting would, no doubt, have been further encouraged by the observation that, in these lean times, the only construction work to be seen in the whole seven-mile stretch of Chester Road, from Bowdon to Deansgate, is our LifeChurch!  It is a magnificent achievement for us, as a church, to have given so generously and sacrificially to this project, and – more significantly – a terrific sign of God’s grace to us!

The testimony of a church being built is a statement to thousands of commuters everyday

Rising Up

Words by Chris Major

Photos by Julie Harris

On Monday 23 January, the first section of the steel frame forming the skeleton of the new LifeCentre was erected!

If you have been past the site on Washway Road over the last week or so, you can see impressive progress being made from what’s appearing above the fence. However, the builders have also been kind enough to insert windows into the fence so that passers-by could take a peek at what’s going on across the whole site, so anyone now going past can see the building actually taking shape from the ground up!

When I met up with David Leigh, site manager for Parkinson Building Contractors this week, he told me he is very happy with the overall progress of the work. Around 30% of the trenches needed between the concrete piles sunk at the start of the foundation work had been excavated before Christmas and the rest since January 10.

David says on Wednesday 18 January, he oversaw the pouring of some 180 cubic metres of concrete into the trenches. Thirty lorries were required to deliver it!! Bolts were also put in around the sheared tops of the concrete piles to prepare them to receive the 55 stanchions to which the rest of the framework will be attached.

Two concrete floor slabs have now been laid to form the base for two staircases which will be eventually be used for emergency exits, but in the meantime will be used by contractors working on the higher levels in the months ahead.

The team onsite expect to take around another 5 weeks to complete putting up all the steel framework. Corrugated metal decking will also be added to the floors to give them support. Next the roof will go on with an insulated liner sheet which will keep the area underneath about 95% watertight for the duration of the build. This will allow mechanical and electrical work to start with substantial protection from the elements.

Traditionally, buildings were completed one floor at a time, from the bottom up. However, this way of working is slow; David says the LifeCentre would take twice as long to complete if he and his team did things that way! As it is, they will use scaffolding, as well as the two staircases put in this week, to allow work to be carried out on all floors at the same time.

The mild winter weather has helped progress significantly... A real answer to prayer! When the walls are completed, the cement can be protected from any frost with hessian sacking so it won’t crumble.

David is still confident that the project is on track to complete in the Autumn. Despite the initial delay caused by the disconnecting of utilities and the fact that the groundwork has taken a bit more time than expected, once several trades can all work simultaneously, he believes, this time can be retrieved.

Relations with the neighbours remain high on David’s priority list. Although one or two concerns have been expressed when vibration was caused by the driving in of the piles, reactions have been favourable as to the way the builders are considering people in the vicinity.

Parkinson subscribe to the Considerate Constructors scheme which seeks to promote high environmental standards and good facilities in building work. David feels that he and his colleagues were harshly marked in a recent report, but was consoled by a sympathetic Health and Safety inspector who was pleased with the site and agreed with David that the Considerate Constructors man might have been more, well, a bit more considerate!


A side note is that the last Building Fund offering was held on 22nd January and church members gave and pledged £11,000. With a few more donations since then plus gift aid we're around £16,000 closer to the £260,000 target we need to hit by October. Thanks to everyone who has given so graciously thus far. Do keep praying that God will move hearts and provide His resources for His project!

Piles of Progress

Words by Nigel Dickson


Since the last report, there has literally been piles of progress made at Raglan Road, because that is the job that is now well and truly underway: pile-driving.

For all us lay-folk, that means: driving square concrete poles 12 metres into the ground by means of an enormous mechanical hammer. The space between those concrete piles will then be excavated and filled with more concrete – to provide the base for our new building.

Once that base is in, the concrete will be left for two weeks to set fully, which coincides neatly with the break that the constructors will be taking over the Christmas period, between December 21st and January 10th. So, if you happen to be passing by during that time, don’t be surprised if there is little activity on site. Naturally, we will want our Church to be built on firm foundations – both literally and metaphorically – and, as the concrete is setting, that solid base is settling into place.

Once January arrives, the metal frame for the building – currently being manufactured off-site –will begin to be constructed on top of that concrete base.

Pile-driving to secure our building’s firm foundation has actually put one or two of our neighbours’ foundations to the test! We received a couple of complaints about shock waves being felt through their floorboards and vibrations causing kitchen crockery to rattle and shake. Minds were put at rest by a few reassuring words from construction manager, David Leigh, however, and no permanent damage was done. When Mr Leigh asked the neighbour if he should come and witness the effect on the household’s crockery - he was told that “he didn’t need to go to that trouble.”

Sound progress has also been assisted by the unseasonably mild, dry weather we have been enjoying. Even the high winds of the last weekend in November had subsided by Monday morning, so construction could continue unhindered. God is good.

The Church's one foundation

is Jesus Christ her Lord;

she is his new creation,

by water and the word:

from heaven he came and sought her

to be his holy bride;

with his own blood he bought her,

and for her life he died.

Mid toil and tribulation,

and tumult of her war

she waits the consummation

of peace for evermore;

till with the vision glorious

her longing eyes are blessed,

and the great Church victorious

shall be the Church at rest.

From the hymn by Samuel John Stone, 1864.

Please continue to pray that circumstances remain favourable, and that the manufacturing of the frame is completed satisfactorily and to spec.