Church Build

[y'sguy]

What is the purpose of the area you redid on the roof with the louvered sections. Was it a bell tower or something? You did a lot of work on it to retain it. I guess I am questioning that somewhat? Seems like an awful lot of work to retain something that doesn't do much for you anymore. Again not a judgement call. You've done a great job with the whole deal and I'm pretty envious you have it and I do not.

 

[Donedreamin]

This is awesome!

My wife and her family are long time farmers and residents of SK. They are also (not my wife) very Lutheran. Where is this? I want to drop by next time I am out there! I've often thought of doing something similar, you can practically buy whole towns that are abandoned in the Canadian prairies.

Keep us updated!

It's in a town called Spring Valley, south of Moose Jaw. You nailed it on the head. I feel it's just far enough out of the city to be inconvenient. Coming from Toronto, now living in Moose Jaw. I would say Moose Jaw is isolated enough, Regina is relatively close. Spring Valley would be tough to live in full time.

I have never been to a lutheran service, it's definitely on my list to do.

 

[Donedreamin]

What is the purpose of the area you redid on the roof with the louvered sections. Was it a bell tower or something? You did a lot of work on it to retain it. I guess I am questioning that somewhat? Seems like an awful lot of work to retain something that doesn't do much for you anymore. Again not a judgement call. You've done a great job with the whole deal and I'm pretty envious you have it and I do not.

I believe it's aesthetics, served zero purpose. Never housed a bell tower. There was alot of work and pride put into this building, especially in the steeple. It's a focal point of the building and I felt it deserved to be restored.

I appreciate your opinion, your not the first person to ask me that question. I put alot of thought into it.. the foundation was built and I felt it would have been easier and more cost effective to repair, as opposed to re-designing.

 

[wrigh003]

Very neat. I’ve never seen anyone refill a basement before, but I guess that’s needed to get a place for your eventual slab to go? What’s the waiting period/ process on compressing all that fill dirt look like before you can pour something over it? I guess with a 10’ block foundation under there you’ll never really need to worry much about frost heaves, even way up north.

Good job on keeping a neat looking building upright and functional. Man, the level of moisture/mold/critters before you gutted it was extreme – get that new roof on.

 

[onemanarmy]

How much land came with it for $1500?

Planning a more pleasing garage door? One that fits more with the aesthetic of the building?

Thanks for all the pics. What a transformation.

 

[Azmule71]

I So Would Like To See A Update On This Project

 

[bighammer]

What year Z Car is that? I wanted one so bad back in the early 70's

 

[RangerSVT]

Wow! You've got some serious ambition! Way to go on repurposing an old building!

 

[MacTexas]

I want to make sure I don't miss the next update.

 

[littlebean]

me too!!

 

[Nuclear Gist]

It's in a town called Spring Valley, south of Moose Jaw. You nailed it on the head. I feel it's just far enough out of the city to be inconvenient. Coming from Toronto, now living in Moose Jaw. I would say Moose Jaw is isolated enough, Regina is relatively close. Spring Valley would be tough to live in full time.

I have never been to a lutheran service, it's definitely on my list to do.

Wow! You are an ambitious young man! My son recently bought his first house and is rebuilding the old garage on the property. I told him about Garage Journal so he could pick up a few construction tips.

My son is a "Nissan/Datsun nut" so when he ran across this thread he had to tell me about it. I couldn't believe my eyes! I spend many days tromping around Spring Valley. My grandfather homesteaded just south of town and after his passing my grandmother moved into town just around the corner from your church. My family continued farming into the sixties then migrated west for better opportunities. I have a lot of fond memories of that little town! Good luck with your project, we'll be following along with your progress.

 

[M-technik-3]

Wow this is quite the project you have here.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

Wow that is an incredible project. I have never seen this thread before. I’ve heard of old church becoming a home, shop, a guy I know has all his old collectibles in one. When I was a kid a new Catholic Church was built in my home town. Main part of the church was moved and became a furniture/hardware store. The Sacristy ended up on our yard and became a chicken coop and then a hog barn. A garage/shop would been a way better use for the building.

 

[andyvh1959]

"Holy Freakin Holy Garage!"

The rooftop of the old steeple looks like a cool place to hang out, do some star gazing, beer drinking,......and whatever else comes up, up there. Need to see more progress.

 

[Donedreamin]

I'll have some downtime this week to respond to everyone comments and questions!

All packed up and ready to go!


Started by pressure washing the entire building, was a quicker alternative then scraping.











Went on to making patches and filling gaps





Started to mask off the trim, as well as caulk any joints. Went through 45 caulking tubes throughout the job.







Had the wife come down for the day to help





All prepped and ready for paint





The setup I used



Primer applied





Started on the top coat and took advantage of the view



Last day with the boom lift



Masking removal and more caulking!



Some small details to tidy up but extremely happy with the outcome and excited to share with you guys! (35 gallons of paint, total)

 

[Shiftless]

All I can say is...WOW

 

[matt_i]

Fantastic progress! Great step forward I think you've done a great job on the roofing and the paint really brings it all together.

So I gotta ask....What's Next? Are you going to work on the inside, do electrical, build more of a workshop or is it basically just for storage?

 

[JJC]

Great Job

 

[andyvh1959]

You have our blessings!! Great work!

So what do the neighbors think? Not that it really matters.

 

[Bighead38]

Good progress so far.

 

[rixtrix1]

Quite the transformation from an old worn down church to a nice looking garage/storage building!

 

[captain14]

Quite the transformation on the building since the beginning.

Can you guesstimate the time you worked on this portion of the painting project?

 

[Donedreamin]

Very neat. I’ve never seen anyone refill a basement before, but I guess that’s needed to get a place for your eventual slab to go? What’s the waiting period/ process on compressing all that fill dirt look like before you can pour something over it? I guess with a 10’ block foundation under there you’ll never really need to worry much about frost heaves, even way up north.

Good job on keeping a neat looking building upright and functional. Man, the level of moisture/mold/critters before you gutted it was extreme – get that new roof on.

Exactly, the goal is to pour a slab. Good questions, I finished the fill a few years ago. When the time comes i'll make sure I do a little more research. We definitely have harsh climate, keeping the roads in good order is a never ending battle!

And thank you, it's been a journey! Wouldn't want to do it again

How much land came with it for $1500?

Planning a more pleasing garage door? One that fits more with the aesthetic of the building?

Thanks for all the pics. What a transformation.

The church sits on 130x50 piece of land.

I can't say changing up the door is out of the question, but it was a cost effective solution at the time

And thank you!

I So Would Like To See A Update On This Project

What year Z Car is that? I wanted one so bad back in the early 70's

1977, they are a well built car

Wow! You've got some serious ambition! Way to go on repurposing an old building!

Thank you!

I want to make sure I don't miss the next update.

me too!!

Wow this is quite the project you have here.

Wow! You are an ambitious young man! My son recently bought his first house and is rebuilding the old garage on the property. I told him about Garage Journal so he could pick up a few construction tips.

My son is a "Nissan/Datsun nut" so when he ran across this thread he had to tell me about it. I couldn't believe my eyes! I spend many days tromping around Spring Valley. My grandfather homesteaded just south of town and after his passing my grandmother moved into town just around the corner from your church. My family continued farming into the sixties then migrated west for better opportunities. I have a lot of fond memories of that little town! Good luck with your project, we'll be following along with your progress.

Thats special, thanks for sharing. I've definitely heard all the stories of what the town was like in it's prime. Wishing there were more photos out there! The datsun community in SK is very small, perhaps we will cross paths one day!

Wow that is an incredible project. I have never seen this thread before. I’ve heard of old church becoming a home, shop, a guy I know has all his old collectibles in one. When I was a kid a new Catholic Church was built in my home town. Main part of the church was moved and became a furniture/hardware store. The Sacristy ended up on our yard and became a chicken coop and then a hog barn. A garage/shop would been a way better use for the building.

There are a few small town churches that have been purchased for personal use. I respect the amount of work it takes to bring them back to life and love hearing stories like this. Thanks for sharing!

"Holy Freakin Holy Garage!"

The rooftop of the old steeple looks like a cool place to hang out, do some star gazing, beer drinking,......and whatever else comes up, up there. Need to see more progress.

The view from up top is special, and there is a long-term goal to make it useable!

 

[Donedreamin]

Fantastic progress! Great step forward I think you've done a great job on the roofing and the paint really brings it all together.

So I gotta ask....What's Next? Are you going to work on the inside, do electrical, build more of a workshop or is it basically just for storage?

I'll definitely landscape and bring the exterior up to a standard. I do have a vision and dream of what the inside will look like. The costly part will be pouring the slab, and it's a balancing act between need and want. At some point in my life it will happen, it's just a matter of when. And when that time comes this will be the first place thats gets updated!

Great Job

Good progress so far.

You have our blessings!! Great work!

So what do the neighbors think? Not that it really matters.

It's a great little community and they are very supportive. Nothing but good things to say, they respect the work involved and its shown. A big part of my attachment to the church, has been the people.

Hopefully my taxes don't skyrocket!

 

[930dreamer]

It looks very nice.

 

[Donedreamin]

Quite the transformation from an old worn down church to a nice looking garage/storage building!

Thank you!

Quite the transformation on the building since the beginning.



Can you guesstimate the time you worked on this portion of the painting project?

It took me 9 days total, including setup and teardown. There were some long days. The big push was definitely the cost of that boom lift, had to take advantage of it and had a strict deadline.

 

[Jayman17]

Wow, great progress! That is some serious prep work right there. I had to laugh when you said 47 tubes of caulk. Did you convert that to miles of bead length? Did your index finger get rubbed raw smoothing out all that caulk or did you switch fingers?

Jay

 

[Millcreekmadman]

This is one of the coolest builds I've seen on this site. What's the inside looking like?

 

[82355]

Hope this gets more updates, this is VERY cool.

Martin

 

[nadogail]

Very Impressive

 

[captain14]

What’s your guess for the next time to paint it with your harsh weather?

How many coats did you apply after the primer was applied.

 

[M-technik-3]

Hoping OP is ok he has not been on site since July 2020.

 

[mrVanagon]

I wish you good luck. This is a very noble cause. If you need any help, please feel free to reach out. I will gladly help you with church repairs. I wonder what will happen to this church when you finish restoring it. Will it be open to parishioners? If so, that would be just fine, actually. I hope there will be another church for those who need it.
I visit one of the churches in portland every week. There are always many people in the church, which is very pleasing. It is especially good when people find shelter in the sight of the church, especially in such a difficult time.

I think the only thing finding shelter in this church are a number of old Datsuns.

 

[Donedreamin]

I'm back. Sorry for the lack of update, priorities in life have shifted, family has been on the forefront.
I needed more storage, time to build a mezzanine.

 

[Donedreamin]

All prepped, planning and ordering lumber and will tune back in soon. Glad to be back, it's been awhile!

 

[Donedreamin]

Fantastic progress! Great step forward I think you've done a great job on the roofing and the paint really brings it all together.

So I gotta ask....What's Next? Are you going to work on the inside, do electrical, build more of a workshop or is it basically just for storage?

I would love to build this into a wicked shop. I am apart of the RCAF, my future here is uncertain and it's tough to make the time/financial investment right now. I will say, I do not plan on selling and who knows what the long term future holds..

 

[Donedreamin]

What’s your guess for the next time to paint it with your harsh weather?

How many coats did you apply after the primer was applied.

The paint is rated for 15 - 20 years, time will tell..

If I recall correctly, the steeple took 3 coats and could have used more..

 

[Michael B.]

Is that a Toyota or a Datsun pick up?

 

[82355]

Glad to see you back. This is one of my favorite builds.

Martin

 

[captain14]

Glad for the update.

How’s the paint holding up? Which side gets the most weather?