Site Envisioning and Development Committee

Maintenance and Planning Committee

On this page you will find reports and other materials showing the work involved with maintaining, preserving, restoring and augmenting the Illinois Yearly Meetinghouse site near McNabb, Illinois.

Charette Workshop

On Saturday, April 19, 2008, between the hours of 10:00 am and 4:00 pm, members of the accessibility working party, the Environmental Concerns Committee, and the Site Envisioning and Development Committee will gather at McNabb with our architects, The Troyer Group. The purpose of our gathering is to season issues of accessibility and sustainability on the McNabb campus. All Friends of the Illinois Yearly Meeting are invited to come to learn and offer input on how we may make our buildings and grounds more accessible and environmentally sustainable. We will also be looking at issues of space, appearance, capacity, and amenities as they relate to the needs of Friends that have been expressed since the initial schematic design has been presented and circulated.

The Troyer Group is the architect we've hired to help us with the design and construction of our new buildings. They are experienced in accessibility and sustainability. This gathering will be done in a workshop format where we can ask questions and sort out which ideas are worth integrating into our new construction.

Our hope, after this day of work, is to conclude with a working list of improvements and modifications that will refine the design of the new buildings. The Troyer Group will then return to their offices and make those revisions. The intent is for Troyer to return to annual session and present the refined, seasoned design.

Please join us for this important event. We will break at midday for potluck. Please bring something to share.

Chip Rorem, clerk SE&D

Campground Improvements

Just in time for the 2006 summer yearly meeting sessions, six sleep cabins were built on the campground (made mostly of materials recycled from the Dormitory -- see below), and the former Junior Yearly Meetinghouse was moved across the street to become a high school bunkhouse at the edge of the campground.

The skirting is removed, the building is raised on jacks, and supported with timbers.

Wheeled units are rolled under the building, and the towing begins.

Across the street, electrical crews raise the lines so the building can be towed underneath.

The building is aligned next to its future footers, and guided over them.

The primary support trusses are removed, as well as the wheel units, jacks, and supporting timbers.

The soon-to-be-named "bunkhouse" sits in its new setting near the Fox Hole and the Penn House.

The new sleep cabins fan in a welcoming arc at the opposite corner of the campground.

The empty space where the Junior Yearly Meetinghouse once stood.

Removing the Dormitory

The dormitory on the Yearly Meeting site has served many families and a wide range of Friends since 1960. Designed to hold up to 120 people, this structure served as a living example of simplicity.

At the 2005 Annual Session of IYM, Friends decided to dismantle the IYM dormitory and reuse, recycle and donate all materials in the building. The wood will be reused to build summer cabins in the campground across the street.

Below are several photos of the deconstruction of the dormitory. Five members of the Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage of Rutledge, Missouri stayed in the Junior Yearly Meetinghouse March 13-22, 2006 and took the dormitory apart, board by board. They removed nails from the plywood and all boards that can be reused in construction.

The fir flooring and floor joists have been cut into sections 12 feet by 16 feet. The materials have been stacked and covered with tarps, waiting to be used in the construction of the cabins.

The Dancing Rabbit work crew

The electrical , heating and water lines were first removed.

Wednesday morning, inside the dorm. Restrooms gone, room dividing walls removed, structural walls still in place.

The third day of deconstruction. All aluminum siding has been prepared for recycling, the interior plywood has been denailed and stacked.

The shingle roofing has been disposed of and the 3/4 inch plywood sheets under the shingles and under the aluminum siding are being saved for future reuse.

As the wood is removed from the building, the nails are removed, and the wood and other materials are stacked.

Lifting the first section of floor and floor joist. This little machine made it possible for us to remove the floor in sections for use in the cabins.

Carrying the flooring and floor joist across the road to the campground.

The Dancing Rabbit Crew standing in the basement of the remnants of the dormitory. The concrete blocks are being collected by the local Township Road Commissioner for use along the local roads. The concrete floor slab is the final item to remove before filling in the hole.

View where the dormitory once stood.

Old foundation next to Junior Yearly Meetinghouse.

Wood for re-use in cabins.

Restoring the Meetinghouse

A few years ago Friends discovered that a gap had developed between the floor and wall at the northeast corner of the Meetinghouse. Investigation of this problem led to the discovery of active termites in the building and significant structural damage. (Click here to see the damage and additional termites that were later revealed!) After years of investigative work and research, the repair and restoration of the Meetinghouse is now underway! Please read the activity log below -- newest details are provided at the top of the log.

Donations for the Meetinghouse Restoration are warmly welcomed. Checks can be made out to Illinois Yearly Meeting. Please identify the contribution for the property improvement fund on the notes line, or in a note with the check, and send it to:

Dawn Amos
310 Union Grove Rd.
Carbondale, IL 62903-7685
618-457-8726

September 25, 2004: The first photo was taken from the west Meeting room, near the registration table, looking east into the northeast corner of the east Meeting room. The new sill plate, sommer beams and floor joists are in place. Next the floor will be put back down.

All the way around the Meetinghouse, the land has been graded to convince the rain water to run away from the building. A new sidewalk is being poured for the rear entrance.

In the third photo you'll see more grading of the land around the Meetinghouse. The steps shown here are temporary. A new sidewalk and steps will come next.

September 8, 2004: The restoration is continuing as planned. The new sill plate (8"x10" timbers sitting on top of the stone foundation) has been installed. The stone foundation repair was completed enough to gently drop the building back on the foundation last Friday, 9/3/04. The touch up stone foundation repair work is finishing Thursday 9/9/04. The sommer beams (the big beams holding up the floor joists and the flooring) have been installed. The termite shield is in place on our new construction. The dirt and stones were removed from the crawl space - THANKS Clear Creek!! This improves cross ventilation and aids in termite inspection quality for the future.

Photo is taken standing in the west Meeting room, looking northeast through the removed divider wall (red straps are stabilizing the area at this time). Notice the new sommer beams -- horizonal timbers where the floor will return soon. See the new sill plate on left at the base of the building. See the white termite shield on top of the stone foundation.	This photo is taken standing in the west Meeting room and looking northeast down into the dining hall (yellow wall is east wall of dining hall.) Notice the joint between the old timber and the new timber. Notice the slots in the new timbers, cut for the floor joist to be inserted next week.
Most of the Clear Creek work crew removing soil and stone from the east side crawl space. Mike Paton helped but missed the photo opportunity. This work will improve cross ventilation and aids in termite inspection quality for the future.	9/6/04. The Meetinghouse is back on its own foundation -- the restored and renovated stone foundation. See our new temporary steps on the front!! A work camp will be held next spring to build the replacement steps. Details to come later.

August 26, 2004: These photos show the next phase of the Meetinghouse Restoration. They were taken August 25th. The Meetinghouse has been lifted off its stone foundation across the entire north side. Parts of the adjoining east and west walls have been lifted in the process.

The company subcontracted to do the lifting of the Meetinghouse has been moving buildings for three generations. They proceeded with caution and confidence.

I-beams were set upon the stacked wooden timbers and were gently jacked up. Additional pieces of wood were slipped under the I-beams as the building was lifted by the jacks. As the building was lifted, the work crew used a laser level to verify how high the building was lifted and that it was lifted evenly across the entire front of the Meetinghouse. The building was lifted with the intent of bringing it back to level.

Once the building was lifted the Trillium Dell crew went into the attic and started tightening the turn buckles that pull the cables that move the attic trusses back into place.

All the photos show the stacked wooden timbers supporting the large I-beams holding up the north side of the Meetinghouse.

The front of the Meetinghouse.	The front of the Meetinghouse with I-beams on the stacked wooden timbers.	Standing at the divider wall inside the Meetinghouse, looking into the east room and out the front door.
Standing in the east front door, on the porch, and looking south into the Meeting for Worship room.	Standing in the east front door and looking west into the carpeted west room and down into the basement dining room.

August 6, 2004: Rick Collins of Trillium Dell and Old Blue Construction have been contracted to perform the work. He and his company are experts in the restoration of timber frame buildings. They have pulled up a 14-foot wide section of the floor, summer beams (large supporting beams under the floor), and floor joists across the entire northern side of the Meetinghouse. Live, active termites were found in the divider wall between the two meeting rooms. The damage is minimal but was discouraging to discover. We had previously not known that there was termite activity in this specific area. (Click images for a larger view. Scroll down for more details!)

First the carpet is pulled back, the staircase is pulled out and the telephone table is removed	The floor is lifted out in sections.	Enter the dining hall with caution!!
The floor is pulled up in sections in the east Meeting room as well.	All electrical wiring in the attic and down the walls has been replaced with steel conduit covered electrical cable because our friendly mice liked the taste of the casing of the Romex electrical wire.	These are trusses in the attic. We are pulling the trusses back together as best we can then securing our position with permanent cable.

IYM has had a contract with Orkin for 11 years to inspect and treat the Meetinghouse for termites. Recently Orkin has agreed, at no additional cost to IYM, to treat the entire Meetinghouse for termites. This termite treatment will continue in phases over the next several weeks in coordination with the construction contractor. The Committee of Five (a subgroup of the Maintenance & Planning Committee) is researching with Terminix, Orkin, the contractor and our architect additional options to ensure a termite free building.

In the attic widening gaps in the bottom of the roof trusses were discovered. The contractors are installing cabling with turnbuckles to act as tension rods to prevent any further spreading, and potentially pull back a portion of the section that has spread. This needs to be done to stabilize the structure before the sill plate and the stone foundation work can begin. It was also discovered recently that mice have chewed off the insulation covering from electrical wires in the attic. To prevent this in the future, wiring in the attic and walls will be replaced with metal shielded wire.

The general schedule of the Meetinghouse restoration and repair:

• Week One (8/2): Pull up the flooring system, identify which timbers will need to be replaced and start the rewiring of the electrical system of the Meetinghouse attic.
• Week Two (8/9): Complete the rewiring of the Meetinghouse electrical system in the attic and down the walls. Cable the trusses. Remove the yews in front of the Meetinghouse porch. The Committee of Five, our architect, and our contractor met and discussed progress, reviewed priorities in light of new discoveries and information and ironed out most pending issues. Termite treatment began.
• Week Three (8/16): The contractor is working at his shop cutting timbers for the sill plate, beams, and floor joists. He will write up a complete cost projection with our new priorities list. The Committee of Five will use this as a basis in readjusting what must happen this fall and what, due to financial constraints, can be put off until the next phase of the project next spring. At the Meetinghouse: site clean up, removing the concrete steps and sidewalk to facilitate the re-grading of the site later in the project. The front of the Meetinghouse will be secured and lifted by a house moving subcontractor.
• Week Four (8/23): The sill plate, beams, and floor joists will be replaced and the stone foundation work will begin.
• Week Five (8/30): Put everything back together and finish up. Re-grade the landscape around the Meetinghouse to get positive drainage. Finish termite treatment.

July 2003: Linked below is the Site Envisioning and Building Committee PowerPoint presentation describing the needs and possible future for the IYM Meetinghouse and the entire IYM property. Please note that it is somewhat large -- 1.5 megabytes. For a 56k dial-up connection, it would take approximately 8 minutes to download. Also note that your system must have PowerPoint installed in order to view it; we caution that this download has not been tested on either Windows or Macintosh. Click to download the PowerPoint presentation.