Habitat for Humanity East Bay

Week 20

Because of the dry and mild weather, Friday was mostly an outdoor work day, and by the end of it, there was a noticeable improvement in curb appeal!  Our Bonifacio Habitat family, Miriam and Armando, brought sister Martha, friend Alex, and Alex’s brother, Juan Carlos, for a day of fresh air and landscaping in the front yard.  In addition, Monica, Bobbie, and Rae from the Women’s Crew, as well as two first-time volunteers, Ian Robertson and John Freuler, rounded out the day’s crew. 

Bobbie opened the house in the morning and Monica directed the crew in Mike’s absence until Hans arrived late morning, bringing geo cloth for the French drain, as well as landscaping plants on the front yard list from Home Depot.  Rae had brought with her that morning some plants generously donated by the Markham Arboretum in Concord to add to the landscape, but she wasn’t feeling well, so went home. 

Miriam, Martha, Armando, Alex, and Juan Carlos dug right in (pun intended!), using previously donated bags of soil amendments to enrich the soil, then laid out the plants according to the landscaping plan and started planting.   They spread bark around the new plants, and Hans went out later to pick up more.  It’s amazing how plants and bark can perk up a house!  I’ll bet the neighbors noticed!

John power washed the back deck, and headed the post-hole-digging team, with help from Ian, Alex and Juan Carlos to mix the concrete and set the posts for the front gate.  Ian and John also put the geo cloth over the rock in the French drain and filled the hole with dirt.  

Alex and Juan Carlos then moved inside to drill holes and install door knobs and hardware on the interior doors.  They finished most of them and will do the last two next weekend.  Armando and Miriam worked under the kitchen cabinets cutting out the wall under the sink in preparation for tying the dishwasher into the drain. 

At lunchtime, Monica drove to Benicia to pick up the last piece of Formica kitchen countertop, to be installed next Friday.  She also stopped to pick up the appropriate splitter for the TV cable and finished its installation in the multi-media box.

Hans and Bobbie continued to work on the electrical in the garage, preparing for the electrical inspection next week.  Saturday’s work day was cancelled. 

Photos of Friday’s and other recent workdays are at this link (remember to scroll down to the bottom to see the most recent ones).  Earlier photos of this project (including “before”) are at this link.

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