4/18/09

When we arrived, we noticed that someone had been in the house, not because anything was missing, but because the entire 1st floor had been built.

Our first task for the day was to remove what was left of the 2nd floor. It seemed like an easy task at first, but turned out to be a long job...

We kept at it, and finished up around lunch time.

Our next job was to start building the 1st floor walls to get ready for installation of the 2nd floor. A big job logistically, but we managed to get it put together.

And it even fit into place!

Great job all. A great work day, beautiful weather, and success. Next date, we plan to finish up the 1st floor wall and start putting in the beams for the second floor.

April 4th - Our first Day

Saturday was our first official volunteer day at the house. Fifteen people from Northrop Grumman plus Kurt and I were there to kick off the day which was very windy. We were also treated to several inches of rain water awaiting us inside the house from all the April showers and from the giant hole in the roof. The Sandtown Habitat folk had hired a professional crew to rebrick the back and side wall and also to clear out the basement and first floor. So the house looked a lot different than the last time we were there.

After pumping out the water, we removed the last remnants of the first floor by the front door. We then began the process of framing the basement. One of the first tasks was to hang a long joist across the side wall and level and secure it. This gave us a reference line to frame to. due to the basement not being completely level, each stud of the basement wall frame had to be cut to fit. It took a while but did manage to get the first frame built and stood up along the wall. A large crew also tackled the task of removing dead shrubbery and trees around the backyard.