Kent Union Chapel represents an important aspect of Iowa's social history. Constructed in 1909, the building was the social center for families living within a six mile radius.
Now that the project has officially begun- updates on this website will be made more frequently - STAY TUNED TO WATCH THE PROGRESS!
WE NEED YOUR HELP!! WATCH YOUR MAILBOXES - Area residents will be receiving information shortly on the history of the chapel, its anticipated use, donor options on how to help us "FINISH THIS RACE".
To those who have already given to this project, You once again have our extreme gratitude.
6/24/2010 Bats in the Belfry
It has been an interesting week to say the least! The feature spider is not the only one roaming around the place looking for a meal, one of her family members was spotted hanging out in places we least expected. It is a huge female Wolf spider and the males are larger yet. They are not aggressive.
The crews have been hearing bats squeaking since we started and we have now eliminated some of their hangouts without harming the bats. The little devils eat tons of bugs and are now lurking in the adjacent woods hoping we don’t seal the belfry and steeple up too tight. I am sure they would like to call those areas home again. When we are done with the renovation work it would be a long cold night hanging from the now open ceiling of the steeple.
Work continues in our shop on the window repair. The pews are refinished and stored for future installation. We also milled new siding pieces to the same profile as the existing. These will be used for repair in areas where the siding is past salvage.
The roof truss repair work is about complete. The repair involved adding additional framing lumber as specified by our engineer and adding 1,800 lag bolts, metal truss plates and over 20 lbs. of nails for the truss plates. The trusses are also now fastened to the wall framing with hurricane clips so the roof stays in place during normal wind events. We have removed the shingles, sheeted the roof and covered it until we are ready for the new shingles. The roof edge looks a little funky at the moment since we just had our crew hang the plywood over the edge 6 inches extra for now. We will recut it when we fix the soffits and fascia.
We also opened up the steeple area so we can see what repairs are needed there and to give folks driving by something new to look at. Thanks for all the support!
Wayne
Brooklyn Community Foundation/Kent Chapel
P.O. Box 66
Brooklyn, IA 52211
jan@kentchapel.com
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