Kearsarge Presbyterian Church
North Branch Construction was the contractor that built the original Kearsarge Community Presbyterian Church in 1989 and also constructed an addition to the church facility in 1993. In June 2003, North Branch Construction was chosen as Construction Manager for two more additions. The project included the addition of an administrative wing and education wing, as well as modifications to the existing facility. The 2,695-square-foot, wood-framed educational wing addition consists of six classrooms, bathrooms, and kitchen. The 1,485-square-foot administrative wing addition includes three offices, storage, and a new workroom.The additions also required modifications of the existing heating, electrical, and mechanical systems to integrate with the new space as well as a fire sprinkler system. Because the facility’s water supply is provided by a well and not town water mains, a unique cistern system was designed and incorporated into the foundation structure of the building to accommodate the water demand of the fire sprinkler system. The floor, walls and ceiling deck are made of cast in place concrete and coated with thick layer of waterproof membrane to prevent leakage. The cistern contains about 18,000 gallons of water, enough to supply the sprinkler system in case of fire. When sprinklers are activated, a high capacity water pump automatically starts pumping water from the cistern into the sprinkler system for period of time long enough to suppress most fires, giving the Fire Department enough time to respond. Construction was completed 4 weeks ahead of schedule. Bruce Ronayne Hamilton Architects of New Ipswich, NH provided the design for the project.
