In April 2008, construction began on a significant addition to the Cundy’s Harbor Library building. Pictures of the the sequence of work that produced our addition can be found below. Click on any image to see a larger version of it.
Now complete, the new wing has doubled the size of our building. New facilities provided in the addition include an expanded children’s reading room, a public meeting room, and a lavatory. Construction was funded by generous contributions from library patrons, and by grants from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, the Bailey Family Foundation, and the William and Mary Greeve Foundation.
The new wing was completed and opened to the public in October, 2008. Exterior painting and landscaping changes were done the following spring and summer of 2009. Spring 2010 saw the completion of renovations with installation of new energy efficient windows in the original portion of the library building. Please come and visit us to see our expanded facility for yourself!
For those of you who missed the excitement of the construction phase, the following pictorial diary (presentd in reverse chronological order) describes the whole process from ground breaking to dedication. Enjoy the read!
The new rooms are essentially complete, and we've moved in. While there's still exterior trim work to be done and the outside needs painting (which must wait until Spring), from a library operating point of view the addition is complete. From now on the work will be moving the collections around to use the new space and make the books, audio books, and videos easier to find and use. Come by and see for yourself how nice the addition has made Cundy's Harbor Library!
The new Children's Area on the upper floor of the addition has been furnished, courtesy of the Pejepscot Area Chapter of Altrusa International, and temporary rugs lent by Board member Harriette Griffin (if you would like to donate a permanent rug please contact the Librarian!). Board member Ann Greene and librarian Sam Schwartz have moved the childrens' book and video collections into the new space, shown here on a sunny afternoon:
We are down to the wire now, with the final details falling into place. Now that the floor is in upstairs, the plumber has come back to install the restroom fixtures and kitchenette sink. The carpenters continue working on final trim upstairs, using the downstairs meeting room as a workshop. Final trim also includes the all-important bookshelves. Once upstairs is done, the downstairs can be carpeted and finished.
10/23: Bob Elliott, library patron and famed radio performer, cuts the ribbon to inaugurate the new Cundy's Harbor Library restroom ("I've opened shopping centers and supermarkets but this is a first," he said), then performs the all–important "First Flush". Afterward, Library board members share a joke with Bob before convening the first monthly board meeting in the new addition (around table from left: Denise Deshaies, Harriette Griffin, Sue Hawkes, Jane Applin, Pam Bichrest, Harry Rich, Jody Watson, Ann Greene, Anne Perry; behind camera: librarian Sam Schwartz).
10/9: Rob Miller, Bill Beazley, and Dave Skaling put finishing touches on the bookcases and other trim in the upstairs.
10/8: Dan Burke, the plumber, has installed the upstairs fixtures for the restroom and kitchenette. Here you see him making the final water connections in the cellar, followed by the "drip test" to check for leaks. That's the first-ever inside running water in the Cundy's Harbor Library -- a historic occasion. There's also an outside faucet now so we can water the new shrubs in the garden.
10/2: While we wait for the plumber, Rob Miller, Dave Skaling, Bill Beazley, and Rob's son Farley Miller build and install bookshelves and the restroom sink cabinet.
10/2: Jerrod Lozier adds lighting and networking in the lower level meeting room, so that Rob Miller's crew can use it as a workroom while finishing upstairs.
Now that the drywall is up and the plaster has dried, completion of the details that will make the new wing usable moves quickly. Members of the Library Board of Directors pitch in to get the new rooms painted so that lighting and networking can be installed, the finished floors can be laid, and final trim (including bookshelves) can be completed.
While noise and dust rule inside, Tom York plants new shrubs outside.
9/29: With the walls done upstairs, the final floor can go in. Steve, Kevin, and Steve from Floor Systems install oak flooring in the Children's Room, and ceramic tile in the restroom. Ann Greene attends to library business, oblivious to the noise and dust.
9/23: Electrician Guy McDorr and his assistant Jerrod Lozier install lighting and finish network and telephone connections.
9/18: Painted walls allow Todd Barbour to install window trim and cabinets in the new Children's Room and restroom. Here, Ann Greene and Sam Schwartz remark on progress.
9/8 – 9/13: Denise and Jerry Deshaies, Ann Greene, Jody Watson, Harriette Griffin, Jane Applin, Sue Hawkes, and Sam Schwartz put primer and finish coats on the upstairs walls. The same crew plus Anne Perry and Berrie Wallace painted the downstairs as well, but we were too busy painting to take pictures!.
Now that all the stuff that goes inside the walls is in place, Chris Goucher takes over to close up the walls by hanging, taping, and compounding the drywall on the upper level of the new wing. Todd Barbour does the same thing on the lower level, and adds a new front door as well.
Todd Barbour completed the outside of the new building with siding and trim, a rainshed for the new side door into the lower-level meeting room, and a new handicap-accessible entrance ramp for the front door. Then, he moved indoors to install insulation to get the walls ready for buttoning up with drywall.
With the exterior framing done and the building enclosed, the focus shifted to interior roughing in. Rough plumbing, wiring, and interior framing begin to show what the new wing will look like as a usable space.
Once the foundation was in, the addition rapidly took shape as Todd Barbour framed, roofed, and sheathed the new wing, then added windows and entrance door. At the same time, Mike Webber and his crew were installing the septic system, regrading the ground around the building, and restoring basic landscaping with topsoil, a replanted lawn, and mulched planting beds. First phase of the new front entrance deck allowed the library to re-open in early June, while work continued on finishing the roughed-in addition.
Mike Webber and his crew (Robert Carter, Brandon Elwell, John Lyons, Scott Webber) began digging on April 7. They cleared away brush, installed a perimeter drain around the existing building to solve wet basement problems, then hammered off granite ledge in the back to make room for the new wing. While the drain trench was open, Scott Temple installed the water line from the well to the basement. Footings, foundation, and basement floor quickly followed with help from Shaedler Forms.
