Acacia Lodge No. 16 A.F. & A.M. Clifton Virginia
This page has updates older then 30 days, see Daily Update for the most recent updates.
07-13-06 Talked with Delegate Timothy D. Hugo
07-18-06 Talked with Congressman Tom Davis Office, we have talked a few times
07-19-06 Talked with Senator Jay O'Brien Office
07-26-06 Attended meeting at Fairfax County Government Center
07-26-06 met at Acacia with Debra Mills Virginia Department of Emergency Management
07-26-06 Building Committee Meeting, people from Clifton attended.
07-31-06 Talked with reporter Amber Healy
08-01-06 Met in Fredericksburg with Delegate William Howell Speaker of the House of Delegates
08-01-06 Talked with reporter Layla Wilder
08-01-06 Attended Clifton Town Council Meeting
08-02-06 met at Acacia Harry Moore Virginia Department of Emergency Management
08-02-06 met at Acacia with Clifton architectural review board member
08-08-06 applied for SBA loan
08-10-06 In both Times Community Newspapers and Fairfax Station-Clifton Connection Newspapers again, see In The News above
Subsurface Exploration and Geotechnical Engineering Analysis for $2,814. This test drilled holes 15 feet deep so we know how deep solid ground is for foundation design.
08-10-06 Report was made that there has been no progress made in many weeks to design the foundation by the two different Architect & Structural Engineer's working pro-bono, so we have contracted with Dominion Geotechnical Services, Inc. for a fee of up to $2,000 to do it, should be ready soon.
We have a contract on the table with Ayers House Movers, LLC to pickup and move the Lodge, place it in the back field owned by the CBA and after the new foundation is ready move it back, cost $24,000. it needs to be moved out of the way to pour foundation. This will end up costing less then trying to pour foundation while the Lodge is still over it.
While Lodge is in the back field we will fix and replace main support beams $$
08-12-06 met Mike Seguin with SBA Small Business Administration at the Acacia, he evaluates damage and costs and reports back to the SBA loan division.
08-15-06 met with Chase Construction at Acacia
08-15-06 email Charter, by-laws and public use letters to VDEM and everyone else.
08-16-06 Bro. Luis met with Architect Pedro Juanpere at Acacia, he has drawn basic plans.
08-16-06 Plans and drawings for the new foundation are ready, will be delivered Saturday the 19th and reviewed and voted on Tuesday 29th Clifton Planning Commission 7:30pm and Thursday 31st Clifton Architectural Review Board 7:30pm
08-16-06 Attended CBA meeting, Lodge asked for permission to place and store the Lodge on their property while the new foundation was being built. There was a unanimous vote of YES! We also asked them to consider giving us the land behind the Lodge in exchange for giving the CBA access to our bathrooms. They have a committee and are considering giving us the land behind the lodge.
08-17-06 VDEM Hazard Mitigation meeting at the Government Center 1-3pm. I applied for VDEM Hazard Mitigation using a pre-application form. There is also a 406 Mitigation process we need to apply for.
08-17-06 I spend the afternoon yesterday at the Jack Herrity Building walking between the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors gathering information
08-17-06 Attended Andrew Jackson Lodge and gave a presentation
08-18-06 at 9:42am Kenny McCain of the SBA called me. Kenny has recommended that our SBA Loan Application #3027747 be declined. We CANNOT get a SBA Loan.
08-18-09 at 1:38pm received more VDEM forms to fill out from Mona Ellington
08-18-09 Talked with and updated the Grand Master in person, also later that night emailed forms to the Grand Secretary.
08-19-09 Bro. Doug and I hand delivered the foundation plans and drawings to Clifton Planning Commission and Architectural Review Board
08-19-06 Contacted Delegate Timothy Hugo to take him up on his offer of help with filling out FEMA / VDEM forms.
08-20-06 I took the day off from all of this.
08-21-06 Drove to Alexandria to a SBA assistance center that was, it turns out for individual assistance, a wasted tip. Received an email from Acquired Home Service.
08-22-06 Got a D&B number. CRR number. and made a lot of phone calls. Filled-out grant application for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, this grant requires we have the General Assembly add it to the budget.
08-23-06 Filled-out a form for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Called and sent info to the APVA - Preservation Virginia. Talked with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Called FEMA and Fairfax County about flood maps. Attended Clifton History Commission meeting.
08-24-06 Sent letter about VDEM concerns to Governor Tim Kaine, Delegate Timothy D. Hugo, Senator Jay O'Brien Congressman Tom Davis, Delegate William Howell, Times Community Newspaper and Connection Newspapers, etc. Attended AW22 and gave an update.
08-25-06 Julie Dime from Delegate Timothy D. Hugo office called, we need to request from him as well as Senator Jay O'Brien two different types budget amendments with the general assembly coming up January 2007. We also need to request from both of them a grant request from the Department of Historic Resources that would be a 50/50 matching funds. Congressman Tom Davis office also called and reported they are contacting people on the Hill about a budget amendment for us. Bro. Luis Pages has a set of Pro Bono plans in-hand for the non-foundation work, Bathroom addition, Kitchen layout, elevator, Furnace location, handicap access, etc.
08-29-06 Taft Construction emailed and could not make the 2pm appointment, they asked to reschedule. Back from vacation now, I talked with John Taylor with Acquired Home Service to get the $1,500 contract to get job costing, he was busy and said he would call back. The Clifton Town Council held a special meeting and the vote was approved to have the Town of Clifton apply for funds through VDEM for the 404 Mitigation Grant on the behalf of Acacia, the pre=application deadline is 08-31-06. Brothers Doug and William meet with the Clifton Planning Commission to review the plans for the foundation, the CPC as referred the plans to a consultant Joe McClellan with William H Gordon Associates for review. Note: for the most part the CPC will not have any answers to my questions about the flood plain, foundation design, etc. It will take many months to get the plans reviewed and/or approved. Here is how it seems to work. Apply to CPC, they hire a consultant Acacia needs to pay for, back to the CPC, if approved then to the Town Council for approval, then to the County of Fairfax for approval, etc. meetings are CPC last Tuesdays, Town Council, first Tuesdays, so we will be going back and forth for months. We received our first unsolicited donation of $25 through the mail slot added to the front door of Acacia.
08-30-06 Bro's Doug and William met in Fredericksburg with the three contractors involved with the foundation. Building Committee meeting 7:30pm at Acacia
08-31-06 the Town of Clifton filed for 404 Hazard Mitigation through the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. Fairfax County Health Department called and the well water test it is save to drink. William met with the Architectural Review Board to review foundation plans, they were not approved, back to the Trestle Board we go.
09-02-06 he had to reschedule, met with John Taylor with Acquired Home Service at Acacia for the. Setup automated phone tree. Attended Manassas Lodge. Applied for a grant from http://1772foundation.org
09-04-06 Held Labor Day fundraiser all day at the Clifton Car Show. it was a great day and a lot of people turned-out
Congressman Tom Davis pictured second from the left stopped by the Acacia. Other visitors included Senator Jay O'Brien and Layla Wilder from the Times Community Newspaper.
09-06-06 Bro. Ralph met with Ricardo Berrios Jr. from NOVEC who said there
would be no cost to disconnect and reconnect power lines.
09-07-06 meet with Acquired Home Service, Est. will be ready Monday. Spent the afternoon in Clifton visiting with other in town, like contractors working on other jobs. Attended Quarry Lodge and let about 130 Brethren know about Acacia.
09-08-06 Acacia Lodge has been declined by FEMA for disaster assistance. Read details here
09-26-06 send an appeal letter to VDEM and others. Bro. Doug and I attended the Clifton Planning Commission meeting again, there are too many unknowns to get approval at this time, we must hire an Architect and then get plans approved by Fairfax County first. emailed list of questions to the county. Contacted an Architect.
09-28-06 placed more calls to the county and for Architects. I went to the ARB meeting to ask some questions. They might not approve our needed 6 feet of elevation.
09-29-06 Some repairs done
Special trip made to Springfield to buy waterproof insulation called Blue-board.
this will be installed in the bathrooms so the plumbing will not freeze
I apologize for the poor job on the new door, I never want to hang a door frame again, I have never done that type of work before and made a bit of a mess of it. That fact the doorway was not square and floor was not level did not help much either. So there is not need to point out I did not do a perfect job, I did my best.
I ran a temporary flue from the Furnace out the wall so we now have a working heating system
Where the flue exits through the wall a special piece is use to so that no heat gets to the wood. Outside I painted the shinny chrome looking pipe white so it would not standout.
09-30-06 The spaghetti dinner fundraiser was a big success! Many thanks to Worshipful Don McAndrews, Bill Edwards and others at Manasseh Lodge No. 182 who sponsored this.
10-01-06 The old utility pole with the TV antenna was removed
The bricks from the fire place have been stacked in the trailer.
10-03-06 Met with an Architect who is going to give us a cost on drawings.
Attended the Town Council meeting. The request made to have the Town of Clifton waive their fees for plan reviews, etc. was declined by unanimous vote, sighting a State of VA law that says they cannot.
The Town of Clifton's filed a 404 Mitigation application with VDEM / FEMA on behalf of Acacia and its has been declined by FEMA.
Wor. Scott Call received a phone call from the Grand Master, and then I received a call from Wor. Scott Call.
10-04-06 Trailer was moved temporarily for Clifton Day, it will be brought back later.
10-06-06 A sink we are getting.
10-08-06 Held fundraiser on Clifton Day. Congressman Tom Davis stopped by the Lodge again. See pictures here
10-11-06 Took old telephone pole to the trash dump. Christian from Congressman Tom Davis office called, he wanted an updated on our FEMA application, he also said to keep him up to date, they want to do something for us and help. Installed kitchen sink, well, almost, the drain still needs to be connected. Purchased siding for bathroom addition, started to install but did not finish, I will need help.
10-12-06 Had building committee meeting. it was agreed to elevate the Lodge 3 feet. agreed to investigate Acacia being used as a Clifton Museum.
10-13-06 Replaced kitchen sink faucet and repaired other faucet, and other stuff.
10-18-06 Qayyum Khan with Fairfax County called and he has setup a meeting for us on Friday 20th at 11am at the Jack Herrity Building 5th floor with. Qayyum Khan, head of Site and Land development, Mike Sakka, Chief engineer Springfield-Clifton District, and Audrey Clark in charge of building permits. It has taken me many, many phone calls over the past two + months to get this meeting to take place. We are to show them the plans we have for the new foundation and go over all the details of what requirements we need to met, i.e. handicap access, elevation level, type of foundation, Flood Plain, RPA and Chesapeake Water Shed requirements/restrictions, cost of permits, etc.
I talked with Nealia Dabney with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, she is going to send our appeal on up to FEMA.
10-19-06 Met with another Architect who is going to give us a cost on drawings
10-20-08 Went to Fairfax and met with Fairfax County officials at 11am to get some answers to questions.
10-23-06 had building committee meeting. Only two members showed up, there are no more meetings to be scheduled at this time.
10-24-06 Met with another Architect who is going to give us a cost on drawings. hung insulation in bathrooms, we need to buy more.
10-26-06 Sent letter to Town Mayor, Acacia Lodge No. 16 would like to get together with the Town of Clifton and have talks to investigate and consider the possibly of using Acacia Lodge No. 16 as the Town of Clifton Museum that would be open to the public. Also anther letter requesting membership to the Clifton Historic Preservation Committee. Send letter to Fairfax County requesting a code modification from 1999 ASME A18.1 to 2005 ASME A18.1. in reference to 12 or 14 foot being allowed for a lift.
10-28-06 Composed a letter asking for donations from members. not sent yet.
11-02-2006 I was to meet anther Architect 4pm at Acacia, he never showed up. Since the Stated was at 7:30pm I stayed there and hung the rest of the insulation we had on hand in the bathroom. Lodge votes and approves the expenditures of money to hire an Architecture and Structural Engineer. Letter from Fairfax County letting us know they are still reviewing to see if the County can be held reasonable for the flooding, they will get back to us later.
11-03-2006 Fairfax County approves the request from Acacia to modify code for elevator lift limits from 12 to 14 feet. here Also posted Appeal letter sent from VDEM to FEMA here Also, the roofing company called and said the leaks in the roof could not be temporally repaired and a new roof is required, they will call back the first of the week with costs. I called anther roofer for second opinion.
11-10-2006, Attended Grand Lodge in Richmond this weekend.
11-13-2006 Called the IRS to have a specialist call me back to answer some questions I have. Also a person wants to make an up to $5,000.00 donation to Acacia Lodge No. 16. BUT here are the conditions. Per his request to me, he will be and remain anonymous. It will be a one to one fund match to any donations made specifically towards the expense of an Architect and Design Engineer that are made from today Monday 13th 2006 forward. Meaning donations we already have received do NOT count. If you wish to also make an anonymous donation towards this you can mail a check to me at William Baumbach 9975 Pennsylvania Ave. Manassas Virginia. 20110
11-15-2006 Thanks to Longs Corp the kitchen sink drain is now connected. The bad news is, the existing drain pipe that is there does not connect to the main sewer line. The plumber ran a snake down it only about 15 feet and could not go any further, when the snaked was pulled back it had mud/dirt on the end of it. So the drain water from the sink just goes to a hole in the ground. The hole in the ground can only handle the amount of drain water needed to wash your hands, or rinse off a few dishes. What needs to be done is a ditch dug outside and a 3 inch drain pipe run about 40 feet from the end of the lodge where the sink is all the way over to the end of the lodge were the bathrooms are, where the main sewer pipe is. The telephone was also replaced again. Attended Clifton Historic Preservation Committee, Acacia is now a member of this committee in an advisory capacity with no voting rights, the current Lodge representatives are Wor. Don McAndrews and Bro. William Baumbach.
11-16-2006 The building committee meeting took place, they will recommend to the Lodge at the next Stated meeting that a new drain for the sink be installed for $500, also a new roof be installed for $3,500. Bro. Doug reports there is a $1,500 cost difference between a block or solid concrete foundation, it is advised to go with the solid concrete. Mrs. Buckley Chairperson of the Clifton Historic Preservation Committee stopped by and talked about Museum ideas. A new Museum Committee was formed.
11-17-06 Architect reports, I spoke with our engineer about certifying your building stability and he won't do it. There are too many variables that can not be verified and he feels the risk is too high. You'll have to keep looking. I see his point really.
11-18-06 The paneling on the outside of the bathroom walls is now all hung, it just needs to be painted white now. And the insolating of the inside of the bathroom area is finished. Added a third heater in the bathroom area.
11-21-2006 Bro. Troy Thorson hooked-us-up with some kitchen cabinets and countertops. Also anther person gave us a 25 foot aluminum flag pole.
11-25-2006 This Sunday the 26th at Noon time if you can please come help move all the very important pictures and documents being stored in the tractor trailer back to Acacia for safe storage. I just looked in the trailer this afternoon and there is an unbelievable amount of condensation taking place that has caused everything to be very wet, this is damaging all the past master pictures, paintings, lodge minutes, etc.
The new flag pole has been installed, the brass plate was moved over from the old pole.
Kitchen cabinets have been set in place, all they need now is some paneling put on the backside of them.
Painted the outside walls on the addition white, the one wall was not done yet, and the two that you see could stand to have a second coat of paint. The paint cans and brushes have been left outside around back in anyone can find the time to add anther coat of paint.
11-26-2006 The trailer was pulled to the lodge by Bro. Mark P. and about 7 Brethren showed up to lend a hand unloading. The condensation and mold growing in the trailer was very bad, there was water dripping from the inside walls and ceiling of the trailer. After a couple of hours of being left in the Sun to dry off, all the imported pictures, and lodge records are now back in the lodge. Although the moisture and mold did not do them any good, they are in good condition all things considered, they would have been a lot worse if they hand been left in the trailer any longer. All the kitchen supplies were also put back, I ran electrical outlets over to the new countertop so we are now fully operational with coffeemaker and all. Hung a cabinet on the wall, etc. see picture. The floors were swept, the sink was cleaned, the flag was flown, the coat rack and several other items have been hung back on the walls. All the expired food in the two refrigerators has been put in trash bags. There is a pickup truck load of trash by the front door that needs to go.
11-30-2006 There at 3pm to meet a roofer who did not show because it seems he stopped by earlier that day.
12-05-2006 Met experts on historical building preservation and structures and a person with an Engineering, Architecture, and Construction Management company who both gave their opinions on the historical structure.
12-07-2006 We are going to apply for funds from the State through Delegate Tim Hugo
12-??-06 Talked with the Fairfax Station Museum to let them know we could use their experience and help with our plans for a Museum.
01-04-07 Our first Stated meeting of the New Year. The lights at the Alter have been converted to candles, Acacia was the first building in the town to have electricity, and it very well may be the first time since then that candles have been used at the Alter. :-)
01-12-07 emailed Nealia and asked for an update on our appeal to FEMA. Also emailed Tom Davis, Tim Hugo, Jay O'Brien, William Howell and asked how to follow through with their support.
01-16-07 This was our first building committee meeting of the New Year. We established and set the goals of the Building, Finance, and Museum Committees. We are proceeding with establishing a Town of Clifton and Masonic Museum. Over the next few months we will be taking an inventory of all the historical items we have.
01-17-07 Attended the Clifton historical committee meeting. Informed them we are proceeding with establishing a Town of Clifton and Masonic Museum.
01-18-07 Bro. Doug will met with a Structural Engineer. I left a message for the one that worked across the street at the Church.
01-20-07 noon, met with structural engineer Jason Dauch with Dominion Geotechnical Services, cost will be about $2k.
01-22-07 emailed Jeff Love about adding an extension on the backside of the second floor.
01-23-07 Nealia Dabney with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management called me back and said FEMA had denied our appeal back on 12-19-2006. She will be faxing me the letter from FEMA and from today 01-23-07 we would have 90 days to file our second and last appeal. The first time FEMA declined us they stated 3 reasons, but thanks to Bro. Brant and his excellent appeal they only listed one reason this time, and that was lack of documentation that Acacia is used for educational purposes. Nealia said a second and finial appeal could be submitted if something significant could be sent to her indicating this and that we do not just re-submit the same documents.
02-09-07 Been talking with and emailing Audrey C. Clark, Director Building Plan Review Division, Fairfax County about our plans and permits.
02-22-07 Near 20 tons of gravel donated by Wor. Donald J. Kerr of
Hay Market Lodge No. 313 who works for
Chantilly
Crushed Stone
Click on this picture to see it full size, that is several big piles of gravel!
Also note the puddles of muddy water
We are going to need a few large shovels for this one! :-)
Now lets see what a Ford Bronco with a snow plow can do!
I also dug-up and pulled-up those very heavy concrete parking stops and reset them. They had sunken below ground level.
No more puddles of muddy water!
03-01-07 The Architect, Jeff Love says the plans are finished. I will be picking them up today. Then we need to get the engineer drawings and we will be ready to submit them to the County of Fairfax for approval, then to the Town of Clifton.
04-06-07 Bad news, two of the new water cut-off vales did not make it through the cold winter and had frozen and busted. Good News, they have been replaced with two new valves with drain-vents on them so this should not happen again.
Complements of four plumbers from Long's Corp Plumbing www.LongsCorp.com There is a 4 inch cast-iron steel drain pipe from the kitchen sink that was run over to the main sewer by the bathroom end of the building.
The kitchen sink is now 100% in service, you can even use the garbage disposal!
The main sewer line is only about two feet deep. There is now a clean-out just outside about 3 feet off the men's room wall. So that cars would not run over it and damage it, and so we can park there I had the clean-out cut off below ground level instead of sticking up out of the ground.
The drain is not very deep and runs over top of the Well Pump water line.
The 4 inch cast-iron pipe runs up under the Lodge into the crawlspace about two feet and then is tide into the kitchen sink drain with a 1-1/2" PVC pipe with a trap. We will be changing that to a 2 or 3 inch PVC pipe and trap soon.
05-16-07 it has taken several months but Acacia now has a finished set plans from the Architect for our much needed building foundation, In the next week or so I will make an appointment with the County of Fairfax plan review department so we can get them signed off on so we can apply for a building permit.
05-22-07 The final set of full Architect drawings are available on the Document page here
06-26-07 The Clifton Planning Commission has approved the Architect drawings pending that the third party consultant Joe M. finds nothing wrong. since he had not had time to review them and make his recommendations in time for this meeting, If he finds nothing wrong then they go for a vote and finial approval by the Town Council on 07-03-07. This is what was not reviewed at this time and needs to be resubmitted later, the handicap ramp and emergency fire exit they are pending because of set back requirements. Later review and approval depends on if we obtain the property behind and beside the Lodge. What was approved was the new foundation elevating the Lodge about three feet, rotating footprint counter clockwise, counter leaver addition, and adding a second story to the current bathroom addition.
06-28-07 The Clifton Architectural Review Board has approved the concert foundation painted for now and later to be covered with stucco elevating the Lodge three feet plus or minus 4 inches, and rotating footprint counter clockwise, and the new front entrance design. They did not approve at this time and will be pending later review, adding a second story and two exterior doors to the current bathroom addition, counter leaver addition, handicap ramp, fire exit, windows need to be shown on the drawing as two-over-two.
Notes: The major issues still standing by both the PC and ARB are the handicap ramp access, and emergency fire exit. The PC had no issues with adding a second story to the existing bathroom addition with doors but the ARB did because of possible zoning issues. The counter leaver addition and bathroom would be approved by the ARB pending final PC and Town Council approval.
07-03-07 Acacia was taken off the Town Council addenda because of setback and zoning issues raised by Royce Jarrendt from the ARB earlier that day. Bro. Doug and I stopped by Bro. Brant's house and did some barin storming, we will be submitting a revised set of plans in two weeks. (THE BIG DAY, The Clifton Town Council will be voting on the recommendations of the Planning Commission and Architectural Board's, If we get approval of the Clifton Town Council we plan to proceed to the County of Fairfax for approval of the foundation design only. But will need to temporally remove the handicap ramp access, and emergency fire exit from the drawings. and maybe the two story bathroom addition, counter leaver addition, pending setback and zoning issues.)
The revised plans should entail...
- Delete the exterior doors on the rest rooms and the exterior walkway that is necessary to service those doors
- Create a 4’ or narrower berm on the left and rear of the lodge, on which a concrete sidewalk with exterior railings can be built in compliance with setback limitations; this would not be attached to the building and would have no roof over it
- Delete the cantilevered addition on the second floor, which would further encroach on the setbacks
- Design the emergency stairs to not sit on but to be raised above the walkway and to lower onto the walkway when accessed from the second floor; install a beam near the roof that extends 4’ or less to attach the hanging portion of the stairs
07-12-06 replaced 27?? of the old pink non-stackable chairs in the dinning hall with nice stackable cloth covered office chairs ADD PICTURES HERE
07-18-07 Fairfax County Water replaced the water meter so we will now get billed for sewer based on our actual usage instead of a fixed rate, there is a remote sensor mounted outside so the meter reading can be taken from outside, saving us over $350 per year. Also there is now a realtors lock-box on the door handle of the Lodge.
07-26-07 About 25 new stackable office chairs for the dining hall. Complements of Cochran Lodge No. 271. The old plastic pink chairs have been trashed
07-26-07 will be next ARB meeting, has been rescheduled
07-31-07 The PC meeting took place and our plans were unanimously approved pending ARB approval.
08-07-07 Clifton Town Council unanimously approves our plans, next will be the ARB and then to the County of Fairfax.
08-23-07 the ARB met without us and approved our plans!!! we are now 100% ready to submit to the County.
09-06-07 Submitted the plans for review and applied for a permit with the County of Fairfax. Plans will be reviewed next week.
09-14-07 Failed Fairfax County plan review on 15 items, list is here
11-02-07 Both the Architect and Structural Engineer have revised the drawings to stratify the 15 issues the County had. We are working on getting the other information and plan to re-submit plans to the County within two weeks.
12-06-07 The Acacia Foundation, Inc. gets 501(c)(3) tax exempt approval from the IRS
12-12-07 in the news again, White House Chef to hold fundraiser here and museum plans here
12-16-07 We are still working on getting plumbing, electrical and mechanical drawings required by the County of Fairfax.
05-06-08 We are looking for a $100,000.00 (one hundred thousand) low interest loan.
06-05-08 Here is part of the
Building Committee Report on the two-year anniversary of the June 2006 flooding,
and the state of the Lodge Building..... The plans
approved by the Town of Clifton back in August 2007 were only good for six
months, and have expired four months ago; we now need to request an extension
with the Town of Clifton. The plans have been at the County since September
2007; for nine months now and would have also expired; if a permit had been
issued! The building committee could have been ready to resubmit corrected plans
to the county for approval and permitting, but has been delaying this because of
the six month expiration period and lack of funding.
06-11-08 Request for donation letter mailed to all 314 Lodges in Virginia on 06-11-08 here Also published in the Virginia Masonic Herald and mailed to 36,000 subscribers the same week, pages 1 and 21 here
06-23-08 replaced key type deadbolt lock with electronic combination deadbolt lock
07-12-08 in preparation of lifting the Lodge, all the contents of the Lodge as been moved to storage.
here are some updated, better pictures of the support beams
the floor joist running front to back all seem to be in rather good condition
the above pictures show how the main support beam in the front of the Lodge as totally rotted away. no wonder the building is sinking more and more every day.
This is the beam on the backside of the Lodge, it is in much better condition then the front, you can see how all outer support beans are support by flag stone stacked up.
07-13-08 pictures of the empty Lodge.
07-14-08 I meet with the house mover and foundation people today at noon. We are asking why structural engineer has a large steel beam under the floor at 44' and one ton, costs over $2,200 that we do not need. The building can also be lifted without repairing the sill beam in the front.
I also put a sign of the door about our new meeting day and location
I am not sure why the Town of Clifton has put metal tags on all the tress around the Lodge and across the creek with numbers on them, why would you number all the trees??
08-01-08, update, over the past several weeks, we have been getting quotes form contractors..
rotten beams on the south end, and about 12 feet of rotten beam on the East end, under the entrance to the bathrooms.
hole in floor
08-13-08 All items stored in the Haymarket house are covered.
08-14-08 Lodge approves to continue will with demolition and repairs.
08-17-08 Bathroom and front overhand are demolished. Storage shed is moved, and all wires are cut out of the main electric panel.
08-18-08 Longs Corp capped off the well pump water line and sewer line for us.
08-27-08 Despite the fact he is scared of heights, Bro. Brant hangs banner.
08-29-08 Tractor Trailer has been moved.
Acacia Lodge No. 16 has contracted with a contractor to begin repairs of the support beams under the building. The schedule start date is this Tuesday September 2, 2008. Estimated time to repair the beams is five days. Then some time the week of September 8th, the house mover will be scheduled to lift the building in the air and move it back of its foundation so we can dig a very deep trench for new footers, then a new concrete foundation will be built, and then move the Lodge building back.
What a historic event this will be, it is not everyday a Masonic Lodge building gets picked up and moved, get your camcorders and cameras ready for the second or third week of September.
These repairs have been two-years and two-months in the planning, we are finally there!!!
09-06-08 Acacia Lodge No. 16 was flooded again, just over two years after the June 2006 flood. Water got to be about 2-3 inches deep inside the Lodge this time, in 2006 it was about 6 inches. There was no real damage this time, since the Lodge was already empty in preparation for the repairs.
first three pictures my Bro. John Sarles
09-06-08 next 20 pictures by Wor. David Hill
we almost lost that porta potty and 255 Gal empty oil tank.
we have stuff in that storage shed.
09-07-08 my pictures are below. After the flood damage. and the repairs to the main support beams currently taking place and of the rotten studs that still need to be repaired. Looking at just how rotten the main support beams and wall studs are, I am surprised the building did not fall-down and or apart years ago.. It must be the Stucco that is the only thing holding the building together..
the new support beams and jacking now have the door more square then ever...
see the waterline along the front of the storage shed, it was about half under water. the A/C unit was submerged, open gasoline containers, lawnmower, line trimmer, etc..
09-09-08 picture I took of the ongoing construction.. 60 pictures...
This main beam on the right front is rotten several feet up...more so than the others..
we now know for sure that 13 feet 2 inches was add onto the original building, the side that is closest to the creek. The beams and studs are much smaller then the ones used in the original section.
100% of all the main support still beams are being replace. and about 80% of all wall studs.
To help support the building for lifting, i lot of cribbing has been placed inside on the first floor to support the second floor, and to prevent twist.
The contractor said, there must have been a sale on concrete the time that the slab was installed for the bathrooms, it is extra thick...
09-11-08 The building is now ready to be lifted tomorrow Friday the 12th. The most of the steel beams and jacks are in place..
Minor separation and cracking
09-13-08 The building was lifted by noon on Friday, 09-12-08. It is scheduled to be moved Tuesday the 16th. It is about 4 feet in the air. 14 pictures. It has held up very well so far, no windows have broken, no cracked Stucco, no cracks in the walls. Only very minor stuff. Three of us have used metal detectors under and around the building, but have found nothing of importants yet.
09-16-08 The Lodge has been moved to its temporary location. 22 pictures and a 10 minute video.
The 10 minute video of Acacia Lodge being moved by the house mover is here
The Lodge weights 48 tons. The house mover knows this because of the readings on the hydraulic pressure gauges.
Ivory soap is not only the "soap that floats" but is used to lubricate steel beams.
The guys from the Clifton fire department came out to see the show.
09-23-08 GREAT NEWS!!! the county has approved our plans for the new foundation. this is foundation plans ONLY, so we can now build the foundation... the architect drawings which has the other stuff on them will be submitted at a later date.
10-01-08 picture of progress being made on the new foundation. 25 pictures
Power company is making a muddy mess installing two new power poles and moving the power lines over to them.
The structural engineer drawing are being kept in the PVC pipe attached to the pole.
10-03-08 Temporary power pole has been installed, ready for inspection by the county and then power company connection. The gravel base is finished. Monday they should be ready to poor the concrete footers and then foundation walls. Bottles and other items have been found at a depth of 4 and 7 feet below grade, There is no telling how this stuff got so deep.
Temporary power pole, it took me two-days running around and
collecting parts and putting it together. The breaker box was provided free by a
friend of mines job site. The power pole was cut and provided free of charge
after I found that the person I was dealing with at the power company was a
Brother :-) Hole drilled and pole set in place free of charge by the sub working
for the electrical company who was already on the job site. A 9' foot long, 1'
deep trench for the grounding wire was dug free of charge by the helpers working
with the foundation contractor..
The power lines have been moved over to the new poles, the
tops of the old poles have been cut.
10-07-08 Installed a 100amp disconnect on the temporary power pole
10-08-08 Footer foundation framing
10-09-08 the footers are done, the foundation wall gets pored tomorrow.
These are test cylinders of concrete, later after it dries, the inspector will do compression tests to make sure the concrete meets specifications.
10-10-08 The concrete foundation walls have been pored, we are now waiting about 14 days for it to dry, then we move the building back. The move should take place the last week of October, 27-31.
10-16-08 The forms have been removed, you can now see the concrete foundation walls. 13 pictures
10-21-08 The concrete foundation needed to be at 70% strength before we moved
the Lodge building back. As of 10-17-08 is was at 79% PLUS strength. We are NOW
READY to have the house mover put the building back on the new foundation. I
have left a message for Ayers House Movers, LLC (Jason Ayers) that he can move
it back right away and does not need to wait until next week.
10-27-08 Ayers House Movers prepares Lodge to be moved back onto its new foundation. 4 pictures.
10-29-08 The Lodge is now down on the new foundation. You can see how off-center
the front porch stoop is from the door. It was lifted up on 09-12-08 and moved
back off the old foundation on 09-16-08, so it took seven weeks.
One of the center supports if off place.
An expected gap in the right front corner.
10-30-08 Reinstalled oil tank and connected heating system, we are now ready to have heat. 5 pictures.
10-31-08 Failed Fairfax County plan review again on 6 items this time. The first time it was 15 items. The new list is here
11-14-08 Fairfax County approved the revised structural drawings, so on Monday the 17th construction of the access ramp and the foundation for the bathroom addition will start. they should be complete by Friday the 21st. I also picked up the architect, plumbing, HVAC, and electrical drawings which have all failed review by the County. It will take some time, but we are having to correct a lot of issues before we can start building the two-story bathroom addition. The oil tank as had 150 gallons of oil put in it, I have fired up the furnace, we now have heat.
11-21-08 The concrete footer for the access ramp and addition were pored today. The walls will not be poured until about 12-02-08. 27 pictures and one 1.5 minute video.
12-13-08 I took some pictures at night of the bathroom addition foundation wall, and the access ramp. We are now ready to building the two-story bathroom addition, but we do not have the money to do so. I put up some Christmas lights that were left over from last year, which you can see at http://www.acacia16.org/christmas_lights.htm
I replaced the air filter for the furnace.
We are still waiting for the structural engineer to provide us with the updated drawings that need to be approved by the county, for the access ramp and addition foundation, I hope they get approved, as the work has already been done. They also include the second floor supports and some other things.
Luke is still working on the architect drawings, which include the two-story bathroom addition, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, etc. Last week Bro. Brant and I met with Luke and went over some major design changes to the lay-out of the back doors and the door entrances to the addition on both the first and second floors, the fire exit, and elevator shaft, we can go over these changes at our next meeting. I am sure everyone will like the changes we have made.
Again, we are out of money and can do no further major repairs. Without anymore money, the Lodge will be sitting empty for a long time. We need bathrooms!!
12-02-08 we are bout ready to poor the last of the concrete
12-22-08 The second floor beam has been reinforced, an extra support column as been added, steal plates have been nailed to them, and added supports underneath to support the bottoms of them.
This is the foundation drain exit point, with a eight inch check valve, the addition has a four inch drain, the main foundation has a six inch drain which both tie in together underground.
01-07-09 even though the Lodge is still under construction, we did for the first time since it was moved back on to its new foundation use it for a degree practice this day. We had heat, and ran an extension cord upstairs and plugged in a shop work light.
01-13-09 added pictures of the completed concrete access ramp and front steps, they were done a couple of weeks ago. We hope to be able to start of the two-story bathroom addition in about two-weeks.
01-31-2009 The paneling has been removed from the walls in the Lodge room
02-09-09 Old insulation being removed from the attic, and other repairs.
02-21-09 pictures of repairs progress. The plumbing has been roughed in. The pile of dirt has been spread, converting the back field to a parking lot for us.
03-21-09 Painting the Lodge room with primmer. We now have lights in the actic.
03-26-09 it was raining this day, the drain pit is bone dry in the crawlspace. This is the French drain system.
04-09 attic ladder as been installed
04-07-09 We have called Fairfax County for a "Routine" Inspection of the foundation and foundation and framing supports.
04-08-09 Fairfax County inspector approved the foundation.
05-19-09 rocks for creek
06-15-09 removed furnace and ductwork.
06-16-09 Put rock on the bank of the creek, run conduit from well
06-20-09 - 06-21-09 work done over the weekend. other work was done on the inside, scraping and repairing holes in the walls.
07-18-09 Yard and other work that was done this day.
