Ridgefield Friends of the Library met last week to start planning for the opening of our new library. Yes folks, it’s actually going to happen – one of these days – hopefully by the end of June. COVID has slowed down some of the suppliers, so it’s taking longer than anticipated.

Here’s the planning committee meeting outdoors, in the cold, fully masked and socially distanced. These are some of the people who have worked so hard to raise money for the library, and we owe them a big ‘thanks’.

Would you like to donate to my ‘10% for 85’ campaign to raise money for a hearing loop for the library?  Go to www.folridgefieldwa.com and click on the donation button. When you fill out the form please note either ‘hearing loop’ or ‘10% for 85’ so the money will be credited correctly.

If you prefer writing a check, please make it out to Friends of the Ridgefield Library and send it to 10% for 85, c/o Kathy Winters, PO Box 381, Ridgefield, WA 98642. Thanks so much!

You’ll notice some big changes to the exterior of our library this month. The new exterior siding is already up on the back of the building and will be installed on the north-facing side this week. The thin brick façade for the NW corner and along the west side of the library (facing the post office) will be installed later this month. Once all the exterior surfaces are up, the canopies will be installed.

Nearly all of the exterior windows are now in. The main entrance has two special “store front” windows that have yet to be installed. They are now in transit and should be installed by the end of the month.

Just as the outside of the library is undergoing a remarkable transformation, the inside the building is looking more and more finished. The painting is complete. Lights are being installed. Cabinets will be installed later this month. The tile work in the bathrooms is nearly complete. After the tile work, vinyl flooring will be installed. The main floor carpeting will be one of the last items to be installed.

Throughout this project, Union Corner Construction has kept the work site safe, uncluttered, tidy. The floors are clean, raw materials are neatly stacked, and remnant materials are removed to the adjacent storage area. Anyone who has experience with construction projects knows how rare and wonderful a neat work site is. It’s a real pleasure for people coming in to inspect (or report on) the progress. Thanks guys!

~by Tevis Laspa

Would you like to donate to my ‘10% for 85’ campaign to raise money for a hearing loop for the library?  Go to www.folridgefieldwa.com and click on the donation button. When you fill out the form please note either ‘hearing loop’ or ‘10% for 85’ so the money will be credited correctly.

If you prefer writing a check, please make it out to Friends of the Ridgefield Library and send it to 10% for 85, c/o Kathy Winters, PO Box 381, Ridgefield, WA 98642.

This logo shows a hearing loop is installed in an area

I’m happy to report the 10% for 85 fund raising campaign to raise money to buy a hearing loop for the library is rolling along nicely. It’s the second week of the program and we already have over $1000 donated! I look forward to going to the Post Office every day to see if there are more checks waiting for me.

Don’t know what a hearing loop is? See my post on January 17 that explains it.

Thank you Ridgefield and also my friends from Seattle who generously donated even though they probably won’t ever use the library. As my one friend said, “It’s a good cause.”

To make it easy you can now donate online. Go to www.folridgefieldwa.com and click on the donation button. When you fill out the form please note either ‘hearing loop’ or ‘10% for 85’ so the money will be credited correctly.

If you prefer writing a check, please make it out to Friends of the Ridgefield Library and send it to 10% for 85, c/o Kathy Winters, PO Box 381, Ridgefield, WA 98642. Keep those checks coming!

Happy New Year! With mid-May as the estimated completion date for our new, bigger, better library, how can this year be anything but happy for all of us who have helped to make this dream a reality?

There is still a great deal of work left to do both inside and out before the library will be open for business. For example, the interior walls must be finished, final doors and windows must be installed, and the exterior façade must be addressed.

Crews have been busily installing 5/8”-thick sheet rock on the interior of the building. This product, which provides an increased level of fire protection, is thicker than the residential standard of half an inch. A normal “orange peel” texture will be applied to the wall surfaces later this month. Painting of the sheet rock is scheduled for the end of the month. In the large adult area, the natural wood (fir) has received two coats of a clear satin sealer. The fir will naturally age and turn a golden color in about 20 years.

Several hollow-metal doors will be installed next week. The aluminum storefront window assemblies will be installed at the end of the month. If you’re wondering how workers are staying warm on these raw days with just plastic covering large openings where these windows and doors will go, worry not! Although the HVAC system is in and operational, a portable heater is being used until the building is completed to keep construction dust, paint, and other particulates out of the air system.

On the outside of the building, you may have noticed that the dark brown roof is almost completed. Finishing the flashing and installing the gutters will complete that job. The crews are starting the exterior siding and brick work. Concrete backer board for the thin brick has already been mounted.

Before you know it, spring will have sprung and our new library will be done! In the meantime, I’ll be sure to let you know what’s happening.