OUR SPACIOUS CLASSROOM

In May of 2016, the Gun Owners Legal Defense Network completed its spacious heated / air conditioned classroom. The classroom is well lighted, with recessed lighting along the walls and track lighting on the ceiling. The large flat screen monitor is ideal for viewing by the studets.

There are five large student tables with four chairs at each table, more than enough elbow room for the students in the classroom. The GOLD’N facilities have private restroom facilities for both men and women.

But the best feature is the atmosphere in the classroom. The walls contain posters on firearms nomenclature and gun safety. When you walk into the classroom, you can tell immediately that it is designed specifically for the gun enthusiast. There is a large mural on the back wall of a semi-automatic handgun. This classroom definitely says “firearms!”

A TOTAL TRANSFORMATION

Construction of a classroom, beginning to end.

When the Gun Owners Legal Defense Network acquired the office space at 30 Park Street in Berea, Ohio, it was a real effort transforming the office space into a gun advocate's paradise. There was a large room in the back of the property that consisted of many cubicles that were previously used by an architectural firm.

In order to transform this area into a spacious classroom, it was necessary to remove all of the walls separating the cubicles. The walls were heavy, and constructed of two by fours and drywall.

The demolition began, and we started tearing down the partition walls. It took our crew several days to disassemble the walls. It was time consuming unscrewing the drywall from the lumber but it was impossible to do it any other way because the frames were attached to the floor and walls.

The most difficult task was disposing of the large pieces of wood and paster. It took several months to finally get rid of the plaster and wood. Hauling the large pieces down the stairs and out to the dumpster took some strong individuals. Fortunately, our crew consisted of large police officers who had experience wrestling with large people.

Eventually, the cubicles were removed and the area started to look more like a conference room than multi-office spaces. One drawback was that the cubicles were built on top of the carpeting, which left indentations and wear and tear everywhere except where the walls stood.

It took an entire day to clean up the plaster and wood that was left behind after the walls were hauled out of the classroom. We used a lot of Lysol and several vacuum cleaners and Shop Vacs picking up the residue left over from the demolition.

Because the classroom was so long in length, it was decided to add another office to the GOLD’N facility. A frame was constructed at the back of the large room to separate it from the rest of the classroom.

Fortunately, some of our crew had experience in constructing walls. In short order, the wall was up and secured. Now it was ready for drywall, but there was another large task that had to be completed first.

All around the entire room was a continuous countertop. The counter was well constructed, and covered with a laminate material that was very attractive, but did not fit into our plans in a classroom setting. It was decided to remove the counters from the walls.

Our resident demolition expert, officer Tom Sensel from the Brook Park Police Department, was the person most qualified with a circular saw. Tom began cutting the counter into small pieces in order to make it easier to remove.

With the counter cut into pieces, the sections were easy to remove and dispose of. Again, we had a dumpster full of wood and laminate material. I’m sure the trash collectors were wondering what was going on in the GOLD’N office.

We had finally opened up the space we needed to make a classroom that was spacious and not crowded. We wanted a room that would be comfortable for twenty to twenty five students who could attend classes without rubbing elbows.

Next, we place the drywall on the office wall at the end of the classroom. Here one of our gn instructors, Dave Fadil, screws the drywall onto the wood frame.

One of our staff had experience with mudding drywall, and he did a great job of covering up those drywall seams and the indentations made by the drywall screws.

Next, we began painting the entire classroom, from floor to ceiling. It took numerous gallons of paint and a week of work, but eventually the classroom was a two-tone gray in color.

A decal of a semi-automatic handgun was place on the wall at the rear room of the classroom. The room is finally starting to look like a firearms area.

Work began on the office at the back end of the classroom. Nancy began disassembling the continuous countertops that had surrounded the entire area.

Nancy began painting the office walls gray after she removed the countertops. At this point we were unsure of whose office this was going to be, but we assumed it would be Nancy’s with the amount of effort she was giving it.

It became apparent this would be Nancy’s office (our national coordinator) when she added a woman’s touch of two-toned walls.

One of our carpenter experts added a door frame to the office, and it was completed and ready to use. With a desk and several chairs, it began to look official.

We purchased tables and chairs for the classroom, and for the first time, we were getting an idea of how much room we would have for each student. It was starting to look much more like a classroom.

We then began running the electrical on the ceiling in order to accommodate track lighting above the tables. We ran conduit and Romex after attaching the tracks to the ceiling beams.

We ran the lines from the front of the class to the rear of the class, with connections to each track along the way. We originally planned on four lights per track, and then discovered that two lights per track were more than enough to provide the light needed.

Along the left hand side of the classroom we attached posters that address firearms subjects, from firearm nomenclature to how to safely handle firearms.

From the front of the classroom, the instructor has a perfect view of his students, and a great view of the entire area.

The Gun Owners Legal Defense Network classroom is complete. Equipped with a large flat screen television, all that is needed is the instructor’s computer. This is one of the warmest, more comfortable firearms classrooms in the area.