Projects
The Ridgecrest Alumni Association has made many improvements to the camp over the years. Currently we are working towards the construction of a new chapel.
Crazy 8 Campaign
The Ridgecrest Alumni association is raising $80,000 by 8/8/08 for 8 projects:
- Scholarships
- Bell "tower" at chapel
- Sound system
- Fireplace for new pavilion
- Portable risers for chapel
- Table for chapel
- Road and drainage improvements
- New gate with area improvements
Please download the donation form to join the Crazy 8 campaign and support these projects. You may also use the form to RSVP for the 80th Anniversary Celebration.
Chapel Project - Phase 1
Chapel construction has begun!
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Chapel Design is 100% complete and Phase One of the chapel construction has begun. This phase includes the following: clearing and grubbing of the site, essentially removing all the vegetation from the parcel of land on which the chapel will sit. Clearing and grubbing is complete. Our general contractor is currently digging the footers for the chapel, which means excavating around the edge of the building to a depth 1" below the frost line and backfilling that with Ready-mix concrete from the concrete plant just outside Black Mountain. The concrete footers will be 2 feet wide and 1 foot tall.
On this footer will sit our basement, constructed of 12 inch block, known as concrete masonry units (CMU). Typical block size is 8"x8"x16". The block size for the chapel will be 12"x8"x16", adding 4 inches more width to the block, and effectively making the block wall much stronger since it will be 1/3 wider than normal. Our basement floor will be a slab of concrete 4 inches thick, possibly making it the ultimate 2 square/ 4 square court since the balls could never reach the lake. Exit doors will be located at the rear of the basement, exiting below the deck that looks over Lake Ridgecrest.
Subfloor: the last item to be added in Phase One. Down the center of the basement in the ceiling will be a 24 inch (yes, a 2 foot tall beam!) Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) joist supported by steel columns. (Wait until you see the 3 foot tall beams in the roof system!) This is the backbone of the upstairs floor and thus the basement ceiling. Running across the upstairs floor/ basement ceiling will be pre-engineered I-joists designed to handle the load and span to commercial building standards. A series of steel posts will support the LVL down the center of the basement, essentially splitting the basement in half length-wise. The ceiling height will be roughly 8 feet tall. Future programming needs will dictate how the basement is finished out at a later date.
Concurrently with the completion of Phase One, we will be installing sewer and underground electrical lines running to the building site.
Recap: we have a building site, basement and subfloor as part of Phase One. The wall logs and roof system are brought in soon thereafter as part of Phase 2. Phase 3 will be the finish work (floors, bathrooms, electrical, stain, etc) and actually the largest portion of work on the building. Schedule dictates that Phase One will be complete prior to the winter board meeting on February 10th.
Feel free to drop Scott Luna an email with any questions you might have. Be sure to put "chapel question" or similar in the subject line.
