Habitat for Humanity East Bay

Week 3

Mike C kept us hummin’ right along on Friday! We had 13 volunteers working at the site (5 Women’s Crew members, 3 long-term guy volunteers, and 4 first-time volunteers (Scott M, Dylan S, Jared M, and Martin D… the latter three teenagers), and 1 President/ Chief Executive Director of Habitat East Bay! Janice Jensen, the afore-mentioned chief honcho, climbed ladders and washed walls and ceilings right along with us!

Relocating the water heater up off the floor onto an 18" stand (per Code), replacing some pipe joints, and fixing leaks proved to be an all-day project for Lowell and Cel, with reconnection to come next week. Mike B. and Chuck filled the hollow tree trunk in the deck with concrete, built a beautiful round picnic table top, and bolted it on, making a perfect place for future family dinners on warm summer evenings. Cel and the teen volunteers enjoyed (literally!) some demolition on the front of the converted garage… they took the stucco off the wall, broke up a concrete pad just in front of the wall, and shoveled it all into the dumpster. Meanwhile the rest of us were busy inside taking the last of the insulation out of the attic, scraping more stubborn paper (from removed vinyl flooring) off the old tile floor, washing walls and ceilings, and repairing cracks in the walls with tape and mud.

Eliza, HEB Resource Development Manager, and Megan and Sonia, Americorps Volunteers working as Volunteer Coordinators with HEB, arrived at the perfect time, bringing pizzas for lunch! They joined us under the big shade tree in the back yard to enjoy them, along with Sue H and Hans, both Habitat staff members, then checked out the house and our progress. Conversations at lunch vary wildly, and always provide a fun and relaxing atmosphere to recharge our batteries for the afternoon!

Saturday was another warm day in Concord, and much of the work was inside, where it was hotter than outside (we’re not supposed to open the windows until they are replaced, due to the lead content)! Mike C had 13 volunteers (9 from the Women’s Crew, 1 second-timer volunteer (Scott M, a long-time Habitat supporter who worked hands-on for the first time Friday), and 3 first-timers interested in joining the Women’s Crew (Dolores C, Ana C, and Debi T). The big project of the day was painting, and the three first-timers made a great first impression as part of the WC team! All walls and ceilings in the living room, hallway, both bedrooms, and all closets were primed by lunchtime, and the first coat followed in the afternoon! (Diane was in heaven… she loves to paint!) In addition, the interior doors were all cleaned and primed, and the hinges and doorknobs cleaned of all grime and old paint! The baseboards and window and door trim were cleaned and are ready to paint with a contrasting semi-gloss paint after the windows are replaced during lead abatement. Scott taped and mudded the kitchen walls to repair and prepare them for paint and new cabinets. Although the WC members originally gave Mike a hard time about the neutral off-white wall color being boring, they all agreed the place looked great when they were done! Folks will notice a big difference when they come to volunteer the next time… fresher, brighter!

Speaking of lead abatement work, the contractor with the winning bid is expected to begin his work within two weeks, and it may take a week to finish. No volunteers will be allowed on the site during his work days, so if any Fri or Sat workdays need to be cancelled, those volunteers who signed up for those days will be notified.

Thanks to Diane A and Mike C for their "roving reporter" duties Saturday, when I wasn’t at the site... their information (and Diane’s photos) were critical to that section.

Next week’s To-Do list isn’t complete yet, but it will include filling the big crack in the garage floor with cement grout. Other than that, Mike will surprise us!

The online scrapbook of the progress on the site will be updated later this week with photos of this weekend's work. Please check back to see the newest photos! And check back here next week for another chapter in the Bonifacio Project Blog!

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Vivien Partridge
Posts: 2

Whole Project
Reply #2 on : Sun August 09, 2009, 01:21:47

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Your documentation site is awesome! Had a fun day today Sat 8th Aug working with regular women's crew members. What a great bunch of gals.

KO'
Posts: 2

Fri Aug 7
Reply #1 on : Sat August 08, 2009, 01:18:18

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I had a great time with co-WC workers Monica, Cel and Rae today. I also learned a new term "holidays", which I thought meant we would have days off, but really meant mistakes in painting where the painter took a "holiday". I will be an expert on painting once we're done here. I can't wait 'til we do outside yardwork.
That's more my niche. Especially digging in the ddirt and raking.