Cloister Walkway and Loggia Gallery

September 2022 — Having a little fun with the newly-dug trenches in our yard

Careful you don’t fall in … or let Sr. Maria Faustina throw you in!!

You never saw a group of nuns so excited about holes in their yard!

Lining the trenches with gravel

September 21 — smoothing some newly-poured concrete for the loggia wall footer

Preparing a good foundation is painstaking work

Checking out the plans while concrete dries

All that detail — just to make sure the loggia wall is well-supported!

September 23 — Pouring concrete for the walkway footers

Pouring concrete for the pillar footers

The loggia floor is poured and smoothed!

September 26 — Those pipes you see marked with the orange “X” will be drains for our new flower planters

Those little wooden boxes are full of detailed metalwork — they will be filled with concrete and used as the bases of our walkway pillars

October 3 —Brick and soffit demolition

October 8 — Pillars all laid out and ready to raise …

Curious nuns watching as the steel beams are installed

Backhoes are useful for digging — and for lifting heavy beams!

It’s starting to look like a real walkway frame …

November 2022 — Joe Boarman’s masonry crew make fast work of the cinderblock walls for the loggia

A full-length view of the loggia under construction

A view of the end of the loggia — please God, the spot where Sister Photographer is standing will one day be part of the Holy Family Wing!

Our hardworking Amish framing crew got the walkway roof up in no time!

A group of nuns (along with Postulant Hannah and Aspirant Kristin Marie) checking out the progress on the walkways

It was amazing to see all the workmanship that went into this corner of the walkway roof!

A great view of the progress from the hill behind the monastery

A closer view of the progress

November 12 — The plywood decking was applied just in time for the first snow of the season!

November 22 — Kyle (with the Helming Bros roofing crew) offering a “roof tour” to Sisters Miriam Esther, Maria Faustina, and Cecilia Maria

Kyle shows the Sisters how he uses a crimping tool to shape the copper for the roof

Sr. Maria Faustina surveys the work yet to be done

That’s one shiny roof!

Mother John Mary and Sr. Maria Faustina inspect the completed section of copper roof

December 2022 — The brick pillars for the walkway are rising rapidly, thanks to the hard work of the Boarman Bros Masonry crew!

Another view of the crew at work on the pillars. Bricklaying requires an amazing amount of precision and patience!

Preparing the wooden form that will support the brick arch as it dries and hardens

Late December 2022 — The first arch is complete!

January 7, 2023 — Panorama view of the work so far

Looking down the walkway and into the loggia

A view from inside the “corner” of the walkway

Same corner, viewed from the outside

January 2023 — They’re almost finished with the arches and have started on the short “pony walls” beneath!

February 9, 2023 — All the arches are complete! Now the bricklayers are working on the flower planters. This picture shows the Sisters posing behind the largest of these planters. Now THAT will hold a lot of vincas and portulacas!!

Uh-oh … a Carolina Wren seems to think this hole in the wall is just perfect for a nest!!

Preparing to add brick to the bare cinderblock of the loggia

February 2023 — All the arches are complete, and the flower planters are well underway

A closer view of the small planters

March 2023 — Water valve for the newly-installed sprinkler system

One of the many sprinkler heads installed in the walkway ceiling

Hope springs eternal … these little flowers aren’t going to let construction stop them from blooming for God’s glory!

Loggia brickwork underway

Bricklaying is a real mess!

April 2023 - A group of Sisters at noon recreation, posing for a photo under one of our lovely arches

That window will soon be a door, connecting the current monastery with the loggia and the Holy Family Wing

Insulation in the loggia ceiling

Mid-April - The brick work for the loggia is complete!

Beautiful stone toppers add a finished look to the pony walls and flower planters

Installing the ceiling board for the walkway. (Don’t worry, it’s not going to stay that color!)

Applying drywall mud to the ceiling of the loggia

The walkway ceilings are all “mudded” and ready for paint!

The excavation crew pulled up more sidewalk alongside our cloister walkway

Early June 2023 - Inside, you can see a glimpse of the off-white textured ceiling paint used for the loggia and walkway; outside, the new maroon fascia and gutters are a nice finishing touch

A view of the fascia and ceiling paint on the end of the loggia

Enjoying some recreation outside while the workmen prepare the arches for painting!

June 20th, 2023 - the windows and doors for the loggia finally arrived, and Mother John Mary is sure excited to see them!

Installing doors and windows in the loggia

Installing glass panes in the loggia windows — inside you can see one of the new ceiling fans

A window frame waiting to be installed

A view into the loggia from the newly-installed door!

Workmen spent a whole day taping off the areas of the arches that will be painted

June 21 — Painting the arches an off-white color to match the window lintels around the monastery

Spraying a final coat of sealant over the painted arches

All that work taping and painting really paid off, didn’t it?

June 23 - They’ve cut a hole in our wall! What was once a window looking into the courtyard is now a doorway into the loggia.

Exploring the newly-enclosed loggia during noon recreation

Mother John Mary and Sr. Mary Agnes rejoice over the progress that’s been made in just a few days!

Christie and Sr. Mary Magdalen, enjoying the view

We look forward to the day when this door will lead into the Holy Family Wing!

Early July 2023 - It was raining cats and dogs, the courtyard was flooding … and the flooring contractors were still here installing the loggia tiles!!

The flooring crew hard at work

What a beautiful finished product!

Sr. Mary Andrea and Sr. Mary Therese enjoy the new loggia

Late August 2023 - Digging up the yard again, this time to install drainage pipes for the walkway gutters

More digging for pipes

Digging in our courtyard = chiseling through a lot of rock!

The pipes are laid, and they’re finally filling in the holes in our sidewalk with concrete!

Preparing to pour a new section of sidewalk

September 2023 - Spreading tar inside the flower planters to prevent water absorption by the bricks

September 24, 2023 - The planters are complete — and we already have mums ready to plant!