Debbie and Joe's Travel Adventures

So far this week, we have been blessed with sunny and fairly cool weather.   Although it was a double sweatshirt morning, it warmed up to the low 80’s by the afternoon.   After another wonderful devotional and prayer, Bob handed out our assignments for the day.

We were on the west end vinyl siding team.    Before anyone started on siding, Bob gave us all some guidance on the proper fastening procedure, so everyone would be consistent.   We even got instructional handouts today :-0.

We used a circular saw to cut the vinyl pieces.   A few years ago, Bob constructed a ‘jig’ with a long base to support the siding and predefined channels for the saw.   The ‘jig’ has places for both straight cuts and roof angled cuts.

Once the pieces were cut, they were snapped into place and nailed.   We frequently checked to assure it was level.   The color is called Aspen, which is a greenish gray color.

We were able to install the first 5 foot or so from the ground level.

Then we had to assemble some scaffolding to finish up the wall.  

The scaffolding was really stable, so it was easy to get the siding nailed properly.

As we reached the roof line, it got tricky to cut the siding at the right angle.   The jig made it a bit easier to cut the right angle.   We started a few strips of the angled pieces before we called it a day.     A touch of color looks great.  We will get right back on it tomorrow :-).

At our 10AM break today, one of the local Habitat volunteers told us that our team was featured on the front page of their local newspaper.   It’s a picture from when we attended a lunch at the local elementary school.   I guess we made it to the big time … lol.

After we got back to Faith Resort (that’s the name we give our ‘campground’ behind the church), we relaxed on the gazebo with the team.   Rather than cooking dinner tonight, we enjoyed some amazing pulled pork, coleslaw, baked beans and brownies that were left over from a lunch provided by a local BBQ restaurant.   God is Good!

 

 

 

 

 

It was another brisk (…i.e. double sweatshirt for me…) sunny morning.    The local pastor that came to bless us with a devotional could not believe the progress since he was there last week.    The house did not have a roof last week – amazing!

Bob talked about the crazy day yesterday.   We all agreed that it was very congested, and difficult for the electricians and plumbers to get their work done.   Today, he was very focused on limiting the amount of time our team would be inside the house, so that the contractors could be more productive.   Here’s our list for today:

Our first job was to mount ceiling boxes for smoke detectors, CO detectors and bedroom lights.   It was important to get these installed so that the electricians had a ‘target’ for their wiring.

Our next job was to run the siding starter strip.   As you can guess, it’s critical that this starter strip is level, and positioned correctly.   Bob worked with us to get them perfectly installed all around the house  :-).

While we were busy with those tasks, a team began running the soffit and corner posts for the siding.

Another team was working on securing the bathtubs and adding a protective cover to protect the tub during construction.

While our team was busy with our tasks, the electricians were making great progress on running wires throughout the house.

 I haven’t mentioned our lunches everyday.   They are sponsored by either a local business or a local church.   Since we are building in a town called Lovington (which is about 20 minutes from Sullivan), the food is delivered to a church hall that is right down the street.   Today we had delicious sloppy joes, homemade coleslaw, lots of sides and a whole list of desserts (from brownies to donuts…).   Often, the extra food from lunch is sent back with us to store in a refrigerator at our  ‘campground’.   For dinner tonight, we had yesterday’s lunch left overs (…and of course left over desserts) that were provided by a local BBQ restaurant.   Even though I bring a ton of food on the build, most of it comes right back home with us 😉

It was another amazing day!   God is Good!

It’s the first night we had the heat on all night…brrr.   It got down into the low 50’s here, so we were able to mostly use our heat pump and electric fireplace to keep us warm.   We were treated to a really beautiful sunrise at breakfast :-).   

It was definitely a sweatshirt morning, but it was very nice to be inside for our devotional and prayer.   When Bob handed us our whole page list, we knew it would be a really busy day.    He warned us that we would have to work around some contractors that were coming today.    On top of that, there were many teams working on the same areas in the house, so it was a fun kind of craziness :-).

Our first task was to move the temporary post on the porch to allow concrete forming and pour.   As we were finishing up our team meeting, the concrete contractor showed up so we quickly got to work to make sure he could get the porch concrete pad completed.

He also poured the back landing, which made it a bit tricky to get in and out of the house.   We had to ‘walk the plank’ across the concrete to get in via the back door.

We then went back to installing drywall nailers to the trusses.   We were able to install a few, and then it just got way to busy in the back of the house to continue, so we picked it up again later in the afternoon.   We’ve got around 4 more to finish up tomorrow.

We moved to the kitchen area to install kitchen cabinet blocking, which provides supports for the cabinets and kitchen counter when they are installed.

While we were busy on our list, there were a ton of other things getting done.   The plumber installed the vent stacks through the ceiling.   The electrician and some folks from our team were roughing in the electric.  

Another team painted the cabinet layout on the floor and were working on setting the bath tubs.

As expected, most of the teams will get back to their lists tomorrow to finish them up.   Amazing how many things can get done in one day!   God is Good :-).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today was the first day that we had our team meeting inside…whoo hoo!

Before the sheet rock goes up, it’s tradition to have everyone sign their names on a beam to wish the family blessings in their new home.   We noticed that the new homeowners family had been there overnight and left their signatures :-).

   

After our devotional and prayer, Bob handed out our punch list for the day.   The overall goal was to get the house dried in – which means that it’s water tight with all the windows and doors installed.

We were on the interior framing crew.  Our first job was to complete the house wrap on the front porch.   There was only about a 2 foot section left, but the challenge was that the existing brace that is temporarily holding up the porch needed to be taken down and then reattached.   We created a new temporary vertical brace to hold up the porch while we wrapped the house, and then reattached the old brace.   It was fun to design and build it….and… the porch didn’t fall …lol.

We were able to finish that first project just as the team was taking a 10AM break.   One of the local Habitat volunteers lives across the street from the house we are working on.   He graciously set up a table and some chairs under a tree so we could go across the street to take breaks.   Many days we are treated to home made snacks provided by different local volunteers.    Today, we enjoyed the porch swing :-).

Our next job was to install drywall nailers to the exterior North-South walls (to provide a nailing surface for the ceiling drywall).

After that was completed, we helped to install additional supports so that the new stud claws would work effectively.   The stud claws are brackets that allow the space between the roof truss and the top of the wall to slide vertically while still being firmly attached.   Theoretically, this should eliminate ceiling cracking due to changes in temperature.    This is the first year that we are trying out this new bracket, so we’re all learning together.   In addition to the bracket installation, it requires a significant number of stud extenders to allow attachment of the dry wall at least 8 inches from the wall.    There were a team of 4 of us installing these stud extenders in the ceiling, and we’re still not finished with them.   This new bracket certainly seems like a lot more work.

While our interior framing crew was keeping busy, the window crew installed the remaining windows, the door crew installed the front and back doors and the wall sealing crew completed sealing where needed.   Milestone accomplished – the house is dried in!

After work, the Habitat affiliate treated us to a dinner at a barn at a local farm.   We were there last year, and were amazed at the huge tools used to work on tractors.   The meal was delicious – fried chicken, ribs, beans, mac and cheese and for dessert they had blackberry or peach cobbler with freshly made ice cream.   

To end this amazing day, we were blessed to see a gorgeous harvest moon.   God is Good!

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a bit chilly this morning (in the upper 50’s), but warmed up to the mid 80s by the end of the day.  Everyone must have been eager to get started, since we all arrived a few minutes early and even started working ahead of schedule… lol.   As usual we were blessed with a daily devotional and prayer, followed by a debrief about our goals for the day.

We had three teams working on different areas of the house.   Joe and I were on the interior framing team.  Our first job was to build an insulation dam at the front porch.   It’s basically a barrier that covers the open space above the front wall at the porch to prevent the insulation from going outside when it’s blown in the attic.   We had to first find some scrap wood, and cut it to size.

Then attach cleats to the gable ends and inside of the trusses to secure the cut OSB plywood in place.

While we were working on that project, the rest of our interior framing team installed wind braces on the East and West gable, built an access attic insulation dam, cut out the door thresholds and removed all of the wall braces.

The roof crew continued their decking on the back side of the roof.

The wall sealing and anchoring team were busy sealing both the subfloor to the bottom plates and wall sheeting joints.   They then moved to installing hurricane clips, which provide additional strength to prevent the roof from blowing off in a hurricane.

The wall crew completed the front wall house wrap, and then started installing the windows.  Seeing the first window being installed is exciting :-).

By the end of the day, the interior framing list was completed, the entire roof was decked, and 3 windows were installed.   We’re getting very close to having a dried in house!   Here’s a view of the house at the end of the day.

Another productive wonderful day.   God is Good!

 

One of the benefits of getting up early is that you get to see some beautiful sunrises.   This morning the sun was a beautiful ball of red (the camera certainly didn’t do it justice, but you get the idea).    

Craig, a local pastor, gave us a beautiful devotional and prayer to start our day.   We are truly blessed that Craig stays to work with us 2-3 mornings a week.   Every extra hand helps!   As usual, Bob handed our our punch list for the day.  

We jumped in to help with the prep work before starting the truss installation.  We staged three rows of 2x4x12’s in the attic for the Rat Runs.  It’s much easier to get a 12 foot piece of lumber up there when only half of the roof is installed.    Last year, I asked why they were called Rat Runs … and yes, it’s just what you think.   They not only provide a way to lock in all of the trusses together, but it provides a super highway for rats and mice … lol.

After the prep work, we were ready to get back to the truss placement.   We continued our job from yesterday as the truss riggers, and very securely attached the straps from the truss to the lift.   We then helped to walk the truss around to prevent swaying.

The added challenge for the forklift operator was that it was a totally blind lift.   Yesterday, we had someone in the back window directing the lift … but, there is no window on this side.   Joe got the fun job of climbing up a tall ladder so he could see the proper location of the trusses.   He then gave hand signals to the forklift operator.  

He did an amazing job!   The remaining trusses went up like clockwork.

After the end gable was installed, we were off to help install the house wrap.   Once we got into the swing, we were able to finish three sides of the house 🙂 .

While we were wrapping the house, another crew got started on decking the roof.    Here’s a look at the house at the end of the day.

Another successful day!  We’re well on our way to having the house ‘dried-in’ by the end of this week. 

We had to get our window view picture before they get installed tomorrow.

After work, the team decided to go to the local VFW for dinner.   Along with appetizers of fried pork rinds, fried pickles and fried mushrooms, we split a loaded order of nachos.   Whew, what a healthy dinner … lol.    As we were finishing dinner, former Habitat board members (A husband and wife) came in for dinner with their family.   They were very eager to hear about our progress on the house, and actually picked up the dinner bill for our entire team.   It’s an amazing town!

God is Good!

It was another brisk morning here in Sullivan, IL – in the upper 60s when we arrived at the job site.   We were again blessed to have a devotional and prayer from a local pastor to start our day.   Then Bob handed out our task list.  He emphasized was only 1/2 a sheet today, but we were quick to point out that he seemed to use every last line on the sheet :-).

The entire team focused first on getting the final truss setting prerequisites completed.   Joe and I got right to work on using nail guns to assure that all the walls were secured to each other, and to the floor.   Once that was completed, Joe jumped in to help finish up the top plates.   The additional row of lumber is placed over all the walls to assure everything is locked together.

I got pulled into helping to install the vertical east gable strong backs to guide the gable end setting.   They are basically three vertical pillars that extend 2 feet above the top plate and are securely attached to the side of the house.     A few folks were setting up the scaffolding on the side of the house. 

We finished up the list of prerequisites around 10AM break time.   Bob took that opportunity to brief everyone on their roles for assisting with truss placement.   Joe and I were the truss riggers at the truss pile.   Our task was to attach straps to each the truss and connect them to the end of the fork lift.   Joe also walked the trusses past some obstacles (like the telephone pole) on it’s way to being lifted on the roof.

 

Here’s the first truss being lifted into place (take a look at those beautiful strong backs…lol).

The truss was steadied into position and secured by the two truss ‘tail’ nailers  from the side scaffolding.    Two people on the inside of the house leveled the trusses and connected them together for strength.

This process was repeated for the remaining trusses, ending with the positioning of the end gable.   The end gable was the truss that Joe and I had worked on, and is extremely heavy with all of the additional lumber installed on the ground.

By 2:45 quitting time, we had completed about half of the trusses. 

We had to get a photo in a window before they get installed tomorrow 🙂 .

 

Another day of amazing teamwork :-).   God is Good!

 

 

 

 

Before getting into our very busy day today, I wanted to share a team picture from our Friday lunch at the local Elementary school.  Jennifer, the future owner and a teacher at the school, has a black Knights shirt on the left of the picture.

Once again we are blessed to start our day with a devotional and prayer from a local pastor.   Then, it was a full sheet-er for our punch list …so you know that there were a ton of things to get done.  Our goal was to get the house ready for roof trusses tomorrow.

Joe and I worked with Gene on finishing up the last few parts of the East Gable end, and then repeated the entire process on the West Gable end.   So, it was the same as yesterday…but a bit different 🙂

Covering with OSB, wrapping, and assembling the Gable ends:

 Then, flipping it over and installing the wind brace framing and bottom cord doubling:

While we were busy on the Gables, the other teams were making amazing progress.

The front porch crew installed the porch beam with temporary bracing so it does not interfere with the concrete pour.

 

The wall sheeting crew ran the bottom course of OSB and cut openings for the windows and doors.

The interior wall placement crew placed all the interior walls, adjusted walls as needed to fit for the bathtubs and assured everything was squared. 

When Joe and I were done with the gables, we jumped in to generously nail the walls to the subfloor.

There was another team that started the double plating on top of the walls.   This needs to be finished up tomorrow morning before we’re ready to start installing the trusses.

It’s amazing that we got most of the items on the list completed.  God is Good!

 

 

It was another beautiful day in Sullivan, with cloud cover keeping the temperatures down a little.  After our morning devotional and prayer from a local pastor, we got right to work.   Bob handed out our punch lists and said (as he says many times):  “Today is the same as yesterday, just a little different.”   Our overall goal for the day was to get all of the exterior walls installed with all of the interior walls and bathtubs staged inside. 

 Our first task was to complete the exterior front porch wall sheeting and place in position.   We did not have much work left from yesterday, so we were able to get the wall ready in about an hour.  We then lifted and placed the wall in position.

With our front porch wall up, there was more floor space to complete the remaining two exterior walls.   Once those were completed, we team lifted the exterior side wall and placed it in position.   Before we stood up the front wall, we needed to stage all of the interior walls and bathtubs inside the house (once all the exterior walls are up, there is no way to get them into the house).   The interior walls that were previously assembled were brought over, and everyone helped to get them staged.

Once everything was inside, the last wall was put in place and locked in… it’s lookin’ like a house!

After we had finished up our exterior wall, we spent most of the day assembling the Gable Ends.   The goal is to assemble all of the pieces needed for the end exterior trusses on the ground rather than after they’ve been installed on the roof.   The first step was to measure, cut and fasten OSB sheets to the top half of the truss.

We then assembled the Gable End Assembly at the end of the truss.

The first one is done!   The challenge is that the other end truss is underneath, so we had to lift this one out of the way.   We used a tractor with some straps to do the job.  Once moved out of the way, we are clear to complete this same process on the other end truss on Monday.

For lunch today, we went to the local elementary school to have lunch with the 4th and 5th graders.   The teachers told the children about Habitat, and some folks on our team talked about the importance of volunteering.   It was especially meaningful since the future owner of this home is a teacher at that school.   God is Good!

Today was another beautiful sunny day in Sullivan, with temperatures in the mid 60s in the morning and getting up to mid 80s in the afternoon.   Even for us Floridians, the afternoon sun gets really hot, but we try to stay hydrated.  I had the task of making sure there was plenty of water available.

One of our first priorities was to get a team picture on the ‘dance floor’…what a good lookin’ group 🙂 .

After our wonderful morning devotional and prayer, Bob handed out our Day 4 punch list.  Our goal today was to get some exterior walls up.   The next big milestone is to have all the walls up and ready for roof truss installation by Tuesday of next week….whew, I’m tired just thinking about it :-).

Our job was to complete the exterior front porch wall.   The first step was to create both the top plate to the same dimension, as indicated on the plans.   We then secured them both together so when we marked the placement of the studs, the stud locations would absolutely line up.   Here is a look at our wall plan:

After we had the right total length, we carefully measured and marked the locations for the studs (every 24 inches), and the windows.   The windows are framed using 3 studs – 1 ‘King’ (which spans the entire height of the wall) and 2 ‘Jacks’ which are cut shorter to support the window header.  Here’s what our layout looked like:

We then positioned the marked top and bottom plates, and matched the studs at the appropriate marks.   Below is a view of the wall layout.   As you can see in the background, the other teams were working in parallel to get other walls assembled.

As you can imagine, there was a lot of cutting that was needed.   We had a dedicated cutter team that would keep everyone going.

When they were busy, I filled in…

We used a nail gun to secure the studs, assuring that they were level and square.   It was then time to cut and install the header, along with the supporting ‘Jack’ studs.

The last step of the wall assembly is to install the top half of OSB plywood to the wall.  This gives it stability, and it is certainly easier than trying to install it after the wall is up.   We started this step, but will finish it up tomorrow.

As you can see in the background, we lifted two of the exterior walls in place…whoo hoo.   The whole team lines up and lifts the walls.  It’s definitely true that many hands make light work!

Amazing!

After getting back to the coach and showering, we were off to a team dinner at the local Ambucs.    Ambucs is a really great organization of ‘good ‘ol boys’ who build handicap ramps and purchase mobility bikes for children.   They certainly know how to cook for a crowd.  We were treated to grilled pork chops, baked potatoes, Cowboy baked beans, salad and dessert…a crazy amount of food!

When we got back to the coach, I noticed a beautiful sunset.   What an amazing way to end an exhausting, exciting and satisfying day.   God is Good!