24 June 2008

I was away for most of the week-end, so this report comes from Bill and Rich, and a site visit yesterday. There was a group of regulars working #4 on Friday and the gang from New Jerusalem Lutheran Church led by the Noorgards on Saturday made super progress on the Thrivent house. The shingling of both the shed and the ....hip roof is done, the rear deck started and Hardie Plank siding has begun. I understand the chow provided by New Jerusalem on Saturday was outstanding, fried chicken, potato salads etc., etc. - wouldn't you know just when I'm out of town. Friday the team from NeuStar papered and shingled the roof on their house; they also installed windows and drywall nailers. The women build crew on Saturday, while smaller than normal, worked the roof and started the shed, and did a heck of a job. The mechanical installers are finishing up on #4 this week and will move to #5 next. Plumbers will start on #4 next week and #5 the following. We're rocking and rollin' and while I was gone I understand Bill Maykrantz filled in with a whoa, whoa ,whoa moment in my stead; what's not to like.

Let's show up as normal Friday and Saturday. We will continue siding on #4, finish the rear deck and build the crawl space access entrance. We will have a group from Holy Trinity - Amy Miller and her gang, on Saturday to work their house. NeuStar folks will work their house on Friday; they will finish the shingling, move the shed and finish it and work on the rear deck. The Women Build team on Saturday will do most of the same except for shingling which should be done by Saturday morning. On Saturday we will be fed by a group from Sterling United Methodist, set up by our women build gang. Both houses are very close in their respective stages of progress. We are ecstatic to complete the roofing, especially in this heat; that is a tough job for a bunch of relative rookies.

The poll of the construction committee indicates that there will not be sufficient crew leads to work next week-end so we will not work next Friday or Saturday, the Fourth of July holiday. Also, my 50th high school reunion was a real blast, had great fun, don't know where they came from, but there were a bunch of old f..ts there. Take good care. I'll see you all this week-end.

17 June 2008

I think it was Chris Paulus that asked,"Why is it that Bud always schedules roofing for the hottest days of the year, year in and year out?" Beats the hell out of me but he has a point as I did it again this year. Friday and Saturday were brutal days on the roofs of our homes. We are, however making good progress and I believe I can see the light at the end etc etc etc on the**** hip roof of #4. It has most of the shingles on, and will be finished this Friday. Framing/sheathing of the #5 roof was completed on Saturday in the heat. We also worked on blue board and porch work on #5. The HVAC installers should be working on #4 this week and once we dry in #5 will switch over to that home.

Looks like we'll get a bit of a break in the weather this weekend, so let's hope the weather guessers are right this time. Check-in at the same time this week, and be ready to work at 8:30 am. We'll complete the shingling on #4 and also over the weekend we'll finish sheathing/roofing the shed. We'll also start plastic trim and siding with Hardie Plank on #4. That should go on for a week or so. The NeuStar folks will be back on Friday to work on their house as will the women build crew on Saturday. We will paper and begin shingling the #5 roof; if the weather stays good we should get most of that done. For the folks that will be on the roofs of either homes this weekend please bring sneakers instead of boots to avoid beating up the shingles. We'll also install windows in #5 and do some interior blocking.

We have lots of tasks to do, so come on down. I won't be there on Saturday as I've got my 50th high school reunion, ouch.

10 June 2008

Last Friday was a super productive day especially on the NeuStar house. The gang from the IT section at NeuStar finished the interior walls, top plates and the porch framing in time for the truss crane which arrived around 1pm. We set the trusses; by the time we quit at 4pm everyone was out of gas but the trusses were all set. On the Thrivent house we had a good group from Dominion Title that framed the shed.

Saturday was another story. I can't remember working a day that hot and humid. We worked the roofs on both houses and about did in a number of folks. It was brutal. Got a lot more done than we should have given the conditions, my hat is off to the folks who worked both roofs. We knocked off at noon due to the heat - just in time for a great lunch thanks to the Wessell family and Our Saviors Way Lutheran Church. It arrived at the perfect time. On Saturday on #5 the women installed blue board and porch decking. A few hardy souls worked the roof in the heat with Rich - great effort. We had a hardy group on #4 led by Jim Cash and Rich Galloway. Got the Ice Dam and paper laid down. Hopefully the weather will be a lot less intense this weekend as we have a ton more roofing to do.

This week on Friday let's show up at the normal time; if anything shade it a bit early. Saturday is the same unless you hear otherwise. On Friday there will not be a contingent from NeuStar, so the only folks on the job will be our regulars and a small contingent from Long and Foster. Our primary focus will be to dry in #4 house and start shingling it. We will finish sheathing the #5 house. We can get a shingle drop on the roof Friday afternoon. We also will get windows for #5 so at some point we'll set those. The women build will continue on Saturday on #5 with roof, porch and windows. Should be a blast. It will be great to get past this roofing especially on the **** hip roof on #4.

I can't tell you all how good it feels to have a bunch of volunteers working as hard as everyone did in the lousy conditions last weekend; it was really super. Thanks. It is wonderful to see such great effort.

3 June 2008

This past Friday we had our first day with the team from NeuStar on their house - #5, and what a great day it was. Two things happened Friday. First, Jeff Gagna, their CEO, presented me with a check for $100,000 to sponsor the construction of the 5th home - not a bad way to start the day. On top of that their Executive team put up all 4 exterior walls before the end of the day, that is a big deal.

Saturday was a continuation of the Women Build on #5 and they did a great job until we all had to quit due to the deluge. They got most of the interior walls built and erected along with working the framing on the front porch; would have finished it all were it not for the rain. The Women Build is going a whole lot better than any of us expected. Rich Feickert, the house leader, who is tough to please, is very happy with the performance of the Women Build crew. They are doing good.

Friday on #4, the Thrivent sponsored house, a smallish but talented crew worked on sheathing the ..... hip roof, along with drip edge etc. This effort was continued on Saturday along with caulking and window installation prep, by a strong team from New Jerusalem Lutheran Church in Lovettsville, along with their Pastor Joel. We were fed extremely well by the New Jerusalem folks on Saturday and we did not whack Kim on the head this week. That is good news, as she's one of our favorite builders. This week let's show up like normal at 8 for the crew leads and 8:30ish for everyone else. We will paper house #4 and hopefully shingle it before the end of the week-end. For those that will work on the roof, please wear long pants and sneakers instead of boots, as boots beat the hell out of the shingles and shingles beat the hell out of bare knees. We will also install the windows in #4, so hopefully at the end of the week-end it will be dried in. The back porch will also be framed -in. Friday am on the NeuStar house, top plates on all the walls will be installed and the front porch framing along with some deck board installation done prior to setting the trusses. I expect the truss crane somewhere around noon, so by early afternoon we'll have the trusses set and ready to close it in. Truss crane once again is provided free by Trebor Enterprises of Purcellville, a great contributor to Loudoun Habitat. Saturday on #5 we'll hang blue board, frame the rear porch and do nailers on the interior walls. It should be a very busy week-end on both homes. At some point if we have too many folks on site, we'll start the sheds for #4 & 5 and finish painting the sheds on 1, 2 & 3. See you all this week-end, let's have a ball.

27 May 2008

Friday, with a smallish crew of 10, we set the trusses for the hip roof on #4 house and that was just the beginning of what seemed to be interminable roof work .We were still working on them Saturday afternoon; they even tried the patience of our best carpenter Wes. They're a bit more complicated than gable roofs. We had hoped to sheath and paper #4 by the end of Saturday but that will have to wait 'til this weekend. We only worked on #4 on Friday; Saturday we worked both homes. The ladies, some 40 strong, led by Rich Feickert, outdid themselves on #5 on Satruday - me thinks there is a bit of a competition brewing between houses. They laid the subfloor, cut window/door jacks & cripples etc, rim joist insulation, and were done by noon - ran out of stuff to do. They did a great job on the subfloor. Saturday we were very well fed by the women from Sterling Methodist Church.

This week show up both days at 8:30, crew leads at 8. Friday is the first day for NeuStar construction on #5 - the home they are sponsoring, and their executive team will be building with us. We will have a wall raising, or two, or more, no real ceremony like on #4 but when the walls are built we will raise them. I think that last year they got all four exterior walls up in a day. Saturday the women will continue work on #5 exterior walls if need be and then the interior walls. Friday we'll finish the carpentry on the #4 roof and complete the sheathing and papering, probably also frame out the rear porch. I'll get shingles dropped on the roof for next week-end.

Rich Feickert, our premier scrounger, got great donations of tools from both Milwaukee and Makita, some 18v batteries, chargers, and battery powered drills and saws. A ton of great stuff. So if any of you are looking to purchase tools, we heartily suggest you buy either Milwaukee or Makita tools, besides which they're great tools.

A few of you folks have asked about carpooling, what with gas closing in on $4/gallon. If you are interested in carpooling from your location, drop Jen an email at the office (jen@loudounhabitat.org [mailto:jen@loudounhabitat.org]) and let her know where and when. She'll try to match up any like individuals so we can be green while we are building green.

Also, this is very important, we, Loudoun Habitat for Humanity, are registered as recipients in both the United Way and the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) campaigns, our numbers are 8571 and 31978 respectively. If you or anyone you know gives to these campaigns, please give consideration to designating Loudoun Habitat thru the above numbers. Our need for cash is great if we're to continue doing all the good work y'all know we're doing. We need more land and we need to build more affordable homes, these campaigns will help big time. I believe both campaigns start this fall. Keep Loudoun Habitat in mind.

See all of the photos from this year's Construction Diary