Woodland Gets First Look At New Building Interior

View of the stage area of the sanctuary

Tours of the new church facility interior were given last Sunday afternoon by Pastor Alan Davis and Virgil Keene. Virgil has been serving as the Building and Grounds Committee's on-site "watchdog", making sure that everything is being done according to our plans, and construction quality remains up to expected standards. Virgil's many years of experience in the construction industry enables him to make sure that our building is being built right.

Virgil Keene and Pastor Alan discuss the building tour schedule

Those who took the tour were no doubt impressed with the amount of thought that is going into the design and construction of the building. The building as a whole is impressive, but after we move in and start using the building, the thought that went into the details will be what amazes you most. Here are a few views of the inside of the building. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

The main hall, with church offices to the right

Entrance foyer, looking into the sanctuary

Looking down the hallway of the children's classroom wing

The spacious fellowship hall

View of the rear of the sanctuary. The "house-shaped" opening in the wall is the location for the sound crew.

Getting Stoned

Since I haven't been able to get inside the building for a couple of weeks now, all I can show is how the stone work on the front of the building is progressing. It's going to look real nice when it's all finished.


I've peeked in the widows and can see sheet rock going up, and air conditioning ducts above the ceiling. Hopefully, I'll be able to update some inside photos soon. Oh yeah, the completion date is estimated at mid-July now. That's not too far off!

Catching Up

I've been gone on a Spring break vacation with my family, so I've got some catching up to do on what's been going on at the new building site. The first thing I noticed was that our building has a steeple now!

Workers began putting up the stone that will cover the front of the building. It looks good already!

Outside lighting will help make our building safe at night.

One addition that I wasn't glad to see was a padlocked front door; no more interior shots for a while, I guess.

An Inside Job

I didn't take any photos of the outside of the building this week. It looked just like it did week ago. Most of the work is going on inside now as walls, plumbing, and wiring continue to go in. The most noticeable amount of work was in the front of the building in the platform area

This photo shows the aluminum floor joists and railing that have been installed in the last week or so.

This is a view across the platform from the right side.

I think this will be a changing room for baptisms. You're looking through the doorway that will lead to the baptistry.

Sign Of A Growing Church

Nathan Garrett's Ordination

Perhaps better than photos of a building under construction, the ordination of a young man being sent out to do ministry is evidence of a growing church. Pray for Nathan Garrett and his wife Nancy as they head to Montana to begin their new ministry there. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

It's Getting Dark Inside

I didn't get to visit the building site last week, so this week's visit showed a lot of progress. All of the roof is completed now, which makes it a little dark inside for photos. More inner wall frames are up, making it easier to see the actual layout of classrooms, offices, the sanctuary, and the fellowship hall. It's really starting to look impressive in there!

The back wall of the sanctuary, showing the main entrance and hallway leading to church offices and classrooms.

The fellowship hall is completely encolsed by its wall frames. It's really big!

Boxes of the stone that will soon cover the front of the building are lined up out front awaiting the installers. The front windows are covered by the Tyvek paper right now, but that will be cut away later.

Public Service Announcement From The Editor

Do you see that "Next Blog" button in the blue banner above the words "Woodland Builds"? It has come to my attention that one of our viewers clicked it thinking it would take her to an earlier Woodland Builds post, or another Woodland church blog. Instead, after a few clicks she ended up at a XXX blog. Oooops!!!

The "Next Blog" button is designed by Blogger, the host site, to randomly take the viewer to another blog in the Blogger system. There are tens of thousands of blogs out there of varying content, including a few I'm sure you don't want to see. There's no way to predict or control which blog will come up next, and as can happen whenever one randomly surfs the web, one can end up anywhere. I experimented by clicking "Next Blog" continuously for about 15 minutes, viewed about 60 blogs, and didn't come across anything objectionable. However, I guess it's possible to hit an objectionable blog on the first click, so be warned. It's not a design feature of the Woodland Builds blog, and it certainly wasn't my intent to link anyone to a porn site. So unless you're the adventurous sort, DON'T CLICK THE "NEXT BLOG" BUTTON.

If you want to view previous posts of Woodland Builds, use the "Blog Archive" section on the right side of the page. This will keep you within the Woodland Builds blog where all the content is rated G, and everyone will remain properly attired. The Woodland Baptist Church website can be reached by clicking its link in the "Links" section, also located on the right side of the page. Last time I checked, everyone was clothed there also. As always, children should be properly supervised whenever they're online.

John Roberts
Woodland Builds Editor

Closing In

Progress on the roof and outer walls continued this week, along with more work on interior wall frames. The steeple tower got its roof, and the roof on the right side of the building continues to inch toward the front. Soon, the building will be completely closed in.

Beginnings of the rear wall of the sanctuary, showing what will be the main entrance.

Steeple tower with new roof and siding.

The fellowship hall is almost completely closed in now.

Getting Wired

From the outside, it doesn't look like too much got done at the new building site this past week. A little more of the roof is up. Some more siding has been added to the back wall. Wall studs are being added to the steeple structure. Inside, however, some interesting things are going on. Electrical wiring is being run throughout the building. Outlets are appearing in each of the classrooms and offices. That will be a huge improvement over the education building we're in now: adequate outlets and power. It will be nice to be able to turn on a heater without shutting off the lights in the entire building!

The back wall of the building is almost complete, and the back wall of the sanctuary is starting to take shape.

Our building after the first week in March. Those skies give an indication of what March weather in the mountains can be like! Pray that construction can continue on schedule.

Fighting The Weather

View showing roof and back wall progress.

As can be expected this time of year, the ever-changing winter weather seemed to be impeding progress a little bit this week. Work continued on completing the roof, and closing in the back wall reached the half-way point. (Click on photos to enlarge.) Other than that, not much looked different from last week. Don't fear, however - the crocuses and daffodils are popping up, so Spring and better weather are on the way!

View of the back wall of the building.

Welcome To Woodland

As more wall frames went up to further define the office area of the new building, the entrance foyer also began to take shape. The counter frame for what I'm guessing will be a welcome area for visitors is in place. It willl be visible as soon as one enters the building. From there, one can proceed into the sanctuary, to the church offices, or down one of the halls to the classroom areas.

Future rest rooms. Can you tell which side is for the ladies?

Siding completed on the right side of the building.

Frames for sanctuary side walls are complete.

The steel skeleton on the front of the building shines in the morning sunlight.

Continued Progress

Despite the ever-changing mountain weather, work on the new building continues to progress at what seems like a rapid pace. I only get to visit the building site once a week, and I'm usually amazed at how much work has been done since my last visit. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

The roof on the left classroom wing was completed this week.

Wall sections were erected for the future church offices.

More walls for classrooms on the right side classroom wing. This view is looking toward the front of the building.

Looking across the back of the sanctuary with office area to the left of the photo.

Cover-up Revealed At New Building Site

That's right, part of that soon-to-be-a-landmark blue roof was put up this week. You can't hide something as distinctive as a blue roof for long. Soon the entire roof will be covered with that pretty blue sheet metal, making our new building a real eye-catcher on Crabtree Rd. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

By the way, we'll need more than one person to lock all those doors after services. Better get the sign-up sheet started early!

Looking out of the future main entrance to the building, showing the frame for the entrance way covering.

Also new this week are the metal studs for the interior classroom walls.

This view shows the front of the building with the wall studs and front window openings.

Filling In The Gaps

The steel frame is up, and now the construction crew is putting up walls. Metal wall studs are beginning to close in the sanctuary area, and the sheet metal on the left hall continues to grow. Wall studs appeared on the front of the building also. Despite the sometimes uncooperative mountain weather, our building continues to inch toward completion.

Insulated metal wall grows back to front on left side of building.

Metal studs for sanctuary walls.

Outside of metal wall on left side of building.

Work Continues Despite Winter Weather

We had typical western North Carolina January weather this week - a little bit of everything from milder temperatures to sleet and snow. Nevertheless, work continued as more ribs were added to the roof, and part of a wall was begun. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

A section of a metal wall with a door and two windows is up in the left rear corner of the building.

This photo shows one of the large sliding windows with tinted glass. Also visible is the fiberglass insulation, that along with the tinted glass, will help our new building be much more energy efficient.