Habitat for Humanity East Bay

Week 18

We’re so close to finishing this house, we can taste it!  The changes from the first day to this point are amazing, as are the folks who have put in so much time, effort, and heart! 

We had a break from the rainy weather on Friday, with mild temperatures and sunshine by mid-morning, starting our 2-day work week off nicely!  Mike C welcomed ten volunteers (Deb J, Monica, Chris M, Kathy S, Flor, Bobbie, Mike B, Terry G, Jack N, and John G), as well as two Habitat staff, Hans and Rene.

Chris volunteered for the messiest and heaviest work of the day… backfilling the French drain trench with dirt, which was actually heavy mud from all the recent rains.  She put on her boots and pick-axed, shoveled, and raked until the trench was full.  When that was done, she moved on to painting the stucco patches on the outside of the house around various receptacles. 

Monica spent the some of the day in the garage, painting and mounting a backboard for the multi-media cabinet, then terminating the TV coaxial cables in the garage. Then she and Deb cut redwood 2 x 6’s to frame and build a cover for the exterior crawl space opening.  Monica got it framed and partially covered before she ran out of wood… it’ll be completed another day.  Bobbie and Hans worked in the garage all day, “landing” the wiring into the breaker box, setting up the breakers, and hooking up the boxes… quick and easy to say, not so quick and easy to do!

Jack and John installed the longer fill hose and the seat on the toilet, then caulked the new sink.  Terry reset the front door locks so the door closes better, then put the re-brassed original hinges back on the interior doors, and, with the help of Flor and Deb, re-hung and balanced them.  Flor also glued the marmoleum flooring to the floor of the linen closet in the hallway.  Several folks gathered construction debris and cleaned up the area in anticipation of the professional hardwood floor refinishing on Monday, and Mike C. made a run to the dump with some of it. 

Rene brought the pre-made sections of the Formica countertops for the kitchen, and he set up the sawhorses outside for the inevitable sanding to make the perfectly square backsplashes fit snugly against the uneven walls.  He trained interested volunteers (Flor, Deb, and Kathy) on how to install the countertops, asking the three of us and Mike B to get the lower cabinets ready by taking off the all the doors and removing the drawers.   Then he demonstrated on one of the smaller counters how to fit, mark, and sand it for a tight fit.  The three of us took turns with the sander until we got a good fit (six trips to the kitchen to check it!).  Next he showed us how to screw the counter onto the corner braces of the cabinets.  As Flor and Deb finished the first counter, Rene and Mike B worked on the larger sections that had to be joined, and Kathy took notes and photos of the process for a later training document for the Women’s Crew.  Unfortunately, one section of cabinets had been mismeasured, so the countertop was 1 ½ inches too short.  Two options were considered (moving lower cabinets closer together to allow it to fit, but leaving the lower cabinets misaligned with the upper cabinets, or ordering a new countertop section of the correct length).  In the end it was decided to order a new section, delaying the completion of the countertops in favor of a better quality installation.  

Saturday’s crew was smaller, but just as productive, and had the responsibility of being sure the house was ready for the floor refinishers on Monday!  Mike C and Hans were joined by volunteers Bobbie, Dolores C, Non C, Chris M, Rae, Shirley M.

Dolores and Non helped Mike clear the back yard of the black bags of weeds pulled a few weeks ago, working in mud and muck up to their ankles.  During the time the bags had been in the yard, the weeds had begun to turn into compost, but without circulating air, so it was quite a smelly job to move them!  Mike loaded the bags into the pickup truck, and made a few dump runs.  Dolores and Non were able to hose off their shoes and feet, but when Mike returned from the last run and had compost smell all over his clothes and shoes, the consensus was that he should go home for a shower… which he did!  Hans agreed to lock up at the end of the day. 

Bobbie worked on the electrical with Hans, balanced the fan in the bedroom, helped Non and Dolores learn how to install the dining room fan, rewired the bathroom fan so the wiring is inside the bathroom fixture and not up in the attic.  She was also the day’s photographer and note taker about what was accomplished!  (Thanks, Bobbie!)

Chris patched and painted walls, picked up the mirror for the medicine cabinet door from the glass company and installed both, and dry set the kitchen appliances to get them out of the living room, having to retrofit the opening for the dishwasher.

Rae and Shirley removed all the interior doors hung yesterday (it was planned this way!) and stacked them in the bathroom to make the Monday floor refinishing easier.  Luckily the doors are labeled and already balanced, so putting them back up should be a snap after the floors dry.  They also cleared everything else off the hardwood floors and installed a plastic barrier over the linen closet to reduce sanding dust from the process.  By about 3 pm the day’s work was done, and everyone headed for home, looking forward to seeing the refurbished hardwood floors when they return!

Photos of the work since the Sept/Oct lead abatement, including this week, are available at this link.  Remember to scroll to the bottom of the site for the most recent photos.  For “before” photos and photos of work done before the lead abatement, see this link.

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