Habitat for Humanity East Bay

Week 2

We had an amazing Friday and Saturday (7/24-25/09) on Bonifacio Street in Concord! Site Supervisor Mike welcomed 18 volunteers on Friday morning…nine from the Women’s Crew, including two first-time WC volunteers (Patti P and Bobbie W), as well as two other first-timers (Jasmine R, and Peggy G) and seven long-time volunteers from the old Mt. Diablo Habitat days (Jack N, John D, Chuck M, Terry G, Mike H, Mike B, and Lowell C). All of us are glad to be working in Contra Costa County again, and we TORE through the day’s to-do list!

Three of us bagged up loose insulation in the attic for disposal, exposing the original 1941 wiring for evaluation and possible replacement. About a third of the attic was done before it got too hot to work up there, so we left the rest for another day. We even found some old (1950-ish) correspondence under the insulation, and had a little excitement when I accidentally punched a hole in the ceiling of one bedroom with my knee! Add drywall repair to the to-do list!

Everyone else concentrated on the heavy outdoor work and had some excitement of their own. Early in the week the rusty back yard shed had been sprayed for bees, but in taking it down Friday, the crew was surprised to find a 2’x 3’ bee hive under the wooden floor, with several rows of honeycomb exposed and many surviving angry bees! After spraying again, they left the floor alone and went on to remove a dead hedge, dig out cement footings from an old fence, dig an old washtub/planter out of the ground, remove 4x4 wire mesh and chicken wire, move cement pavers, trim and thin out 10-foot-high oleanders in the front yard, and begin to pull out the ivy next to the driveway. By the end of Friday, our dumpster was filled to the top again, and arrangements made for a new one on Saturday!

Sue Howell, Women’s Crew member and Donor Development Officer for HEB, brought donor Barbara Frick to the site that morning so she could see first hand the work we are doing. Her husband, Bob Frick, rode his bike across the entire United States last fall at age 71, raising more than his $71,000 goal for HEB! Barbara accompanied him on that trip, and was impressed Friday with our great work here.

On Saturday, 14 volunteers, all Women’s Crew members, including two first-timers (Tia B and Lisa T), jumped right in! We pulled more insulation out of the attic, washed walls and ceilings, spackled holes, scraped layers off the bathroom floor, broke up two cement walkways, dug up more cement footings from the old fence, removed the rest of the ivy, cut up and removed the floor of the shed (with honeycomb and dead bees still in place!), and hauled all the above debris into the empty dumpster. You should have seen Monica, Patti, Tia, Lisa G, and others swinging that sledge hammer, and all the strong backs and legs carrying/carting the cement chunks away! Monica also mowed the front lawn, and because Mike's been watering it each work day, it actually seems to be greening up! Oh, the kitchen ceiling will need some drywall repair, too… Julie’s foot popped through from the attic this time! (No injuries for either of us, thankfully!)

Saturday we also found more old correspondence in the attic, and read it aloud at lunchtime. One was a 1940 letter talking about the war (WWII) in France and Belgium. Another was an old undated hand-written Christmas note from Ruth Galindo, the last direct descendant of one of the Concord’s founders. How fun to discover little pieces of history in the attic!

Mike says we’ve gotten so much done in these first three work days that we’re about 2 ½ weeks ahead of schedule! (Apparently the schedule didn’t take into account the strong "We Can Do It" spirit of the Women’s Crew and the dedication of all the Contra Costa volunteers!) He treated us to Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches to celebrate! Thanks, Mike!

And thanks to Monica, too, who’s been taking photos each work day! She's tagged the faces (run the curser over the faces to see them), and added captions to some photos on her online scrapbook for the project. Click here to see all of her Bonifacio photos to date.

Next week:

Bids for the lead abatement are to be opened this Monday, and we hope the work will be done soon after (replacing all windows and front door, removing kitchen tile counter and related cabinets; removing paneled walls in garage). Once that’s complete, we can do the last of the tear-out in the garage. Our work next Friday and Saturday (July 31/Aug 1) will include power washing the deck and the exterior of the house, removing the last bit of attic insulation, washing more walls and ceilings in the bedrooms and closets, finishing scraping the bathroom floor, and perhaps doing some of those drywall repairs. We’ll see what else Mike and Hans can put on the list!

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Cel Rutledge
Posts: 1

Re:
Reply #1 on : Tue July 28, 2009, 17:10:55

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Even though I am working at the site I am enjoying your blog. I appreciate how much time you spend doing it and just wanted you to know that at least one person has read it and looks forward to your next one.
By the way, your leg is very photogenic.
Cel