October has been a busy month for SMEPF volunteers. What started out as just replacing acoustic ceiling tiles morphed into a major renovation.
We started by covering the wood floor to protect it, then ripped down the drop ceiling, exposing two large beams running the length of the room. The coolest discovery was the curve in the ceiling above the stage.
Scaffolding was delivered, then a crew was hired to sheet rock the ceiling, followed by another crew to shorten the sprinkler pipes, and yet another crew to paint the entire room. (It’s a BIG room!) The walls are now a warm gray with the ceiling a shade darker.
Several more volunteers showed up Monday morning to clean, polish, and repair the old seats. They’ll be reinstalled as soon as we’re done with the scaffolding and have the floor all cleaned up.
Mike Richards and Dave also started work on the lighting Monday morning. The picture shows where we are at the end of day 3. It looks amazing. They have a few more sconces to install, four schoolhouse pendants, outlets for the stage lights, switches, and more outlets.
There’s still some trim to replace and some touchups here and there, but it’s very close to finished. Well, except for the stage, which of course now looks shabby in comparison. But, that’s November’s project.
I hope you’ll come by and see what we’ve been up to. With the new and modern lighting happening on the ceiling and the old seats back on the refinished wood floor, my hope is that it will all come together in keeping the character of the school in a space we can enjoy for many years to come.
~Angie