|
| pictures
Volunteer
Dedication 18 December
December 11
trim painting, finishing bathrooms, electrical, light fixtures installed, etc.
Again, it was a rainy day, but there were plenty of volunteers
December 4
The walls and floors are finished. Activities for the day were: install
attic stairs, install baseboards, door trim, closet shelves, and kitchen
cabinets. Paint shed and install fence posts.
November 20
November 13
Watch out for the loose sand in the parking lot.
November 6
Paint, Paint, and Paint. Prep for sheet rock. Front siding.
October 30
Work was begun in the rain, and we loved it. Cindy Stewart, Ed Garcia, a
from Tivoli, and a number of volunteers from UT pitched in to tar paper
the front side, hang doors, fix a roof leak, and do a lot of little things
in preparation for the framing inspection next week. Providing it passes,
the sheet rock should be hung, taped and floated by next Saturday. Next
week, the bird block and the front face siding should be installed plus a bunch more.
Cindy provide a great mid morning breakfast. Will you work for
food?
October 23
It was another great day at 900 Montopollis. The weather and people couldn't
have been better. Inside, there was electrical work and outside the trim
around the windows and corners was added. Roof Penetrations were begun
and the soffit vents were started. Come on out before it's finished.
It's a great place to spend a Saturday. Even half days are beneficial.
October 16
Bob Payne had a excellent turnout for his SAS organization. There were plenty
of people and plenty of work was accomplished. Outside, the Hardy Boy sheeting
was nailed, primed, and painted. The water and sewer lines covered and some
of the grounds leveled and raked. For one, I really appreciate a level place
to walk. Inside, several teams installed attic reflective material, electrical
wiring and outlets, and ductwork. A great time was had by all.
October 9
The metal roof, windows and tar paper were installed. October 2
Well, when you subtract off the Habitat staff and two professions, there
were just me and 8 University of Texas co-eds at the Habitat house Saturday.
What ever happened to all the facility people? The crew did
good work. The object was to prepare the building for next weeks metal roof
installation and the mission was accomplished. All the roof edge work was built and painted.
Hurricane
hangers were installed, and the deck for the HVAC was completed. It's really amazing how many hands it takes to build a
house. I've used to think it would be neat to build my own house with my
own hands and a few sub-contractors. Now, I would use more sub's.
September 25
The weather was great, and we had outstanding support from a group from
State Farm. Habitat had a professional working the snow cone truck. She had to be at least eight years old.
A little planning was done before walking the rafters up to the top. It took about 40 minutes less to
erect them this time according to one of the resident builders.
The purlins were installed across the top, and the bird stop was
hammered in place in time for quitting time. Looks like we
are about one Saturday behind. Next week, we get to put the roof
on.
September 18
More interior walls were built. They were reinforced with
2x6's between studs, and cap plates installed.
The exterior walls were further braced in preparation for the rafters.
September 11
At 8am, our three people from IFMA were supplemented with numerous other
volunteers. The three leaders opened the work session with
introductions and a safety briefing. Quality, working safe
and drinking plenty of water were emphasized. They set up
teams to begin building and erecting interior walls.
One of the toughest jobs was bracing the exterior walls.
They have to 'stand' the stress when the rafters are lifted in place.
Again everyone had a good time and it felt good to stand back and look
at your work. The weather was better than the previous work
session, but the snow cone lady only came around once in the afternoon.
It looks like we are slightly behind schedule.
August 21
Habit for Humanity does good things for Austin.
Down on Montopollis, there's a loop with houses from a slab to
occupied. The slab is ours. On August 21,
the volunteers used chalk marks to outline the walls, laid out the
headers and footers, and raised one wall. On August
28, we raised the rest of the exterior walls, laid out some interior
walls, and painted many of the exterior trim pieces.
Building a house is one of the most satisfying endeavors that you can
participate in. Most everyone on the project wouldn't do
this for pay. They do it for love, for a deserving family,
for self-satisfaction.
Nothing beats the feeling of accomplishment . I built that.
At the beginning of the day, one of the volunteer leaders identifies
the players and gives a briefing on the day's activities.
Besides working safely, the one thing that everyone must do is stay
hydrated. It's very difficult to take on too much
water. Besides a jug of water and a jug of Gatorade,
the snow cone lady hawked her wares. Never has a snow cone
tasted so good. The Catholics are building a house nearby,
and their hearts are always big. They invited us over for
barbecue beef sandwiches, bananas, oranges, brownies, and veggies.
It really tasted great.
Although no one else needed it, the house next door had a couple of roof
sections complete which allowed a short siesta.
Tom Cagley and Ed Garcia appeared to be in better shape.
I learned three things. I didn't drink enough water,
the sun block from Mary Kay worked completely, and my straw hat looked
funny, but worked great.
Next week is a worker's holiday, so the hot times should be past.
The work's not hard, and it is very satisfying.
I invite all to come out, even if it's only for half a day.
J. R. Howard
|
|