From Pulpit to a Stage

Part of what we wanted to use the chapel for is so Macae can have her children's drama performances in it.  With the pulpit / stand in the corner it made for an awkward stage area.   One thought was to remove the stand completely, another was to make one big stage all the way across.  Finally we decided to keep the levels that were already on the stand on the right of the chapel, mirror them on the left and then fill the levels in in the center.

First we had to take the pulpit and panels off and remove all of that beautiful orange carpet.  You will notice that the panels on the window have been removed also.  When the outside wall was being repaired they did a back fill of cement to keep the new cinder block and old adobe together.  In the process the cement seeped in behind the panels so the had to betaken down so they could be reset.

With the panels and podium gone you can better see the different levels we wanted to carry across to the other side.

When we took the old treads off of the step we noticed that it had been remodeled at least once before.

 With most of the framing done it gives you a better idea of the shape of things.  If you refer back to the images of the support beams that were used to hold up the ceiling when the wall was being repaired you will see where we got almost all of the lumber to frame the stage in with.  I was a little upset when the workmen cut the beams in half when they took them down but we were still able to salvage most of it.

Here is the final result after the new floor was put in and drapery were hung to hide the old organ loft or grid.