September 23, 2026 – All dried in and more

God blessed us with another cool day in the 60’s – great for working.  The weather is so refreshing after the crazy heat last week.

We once again started our day with an inspirational devotional and prayer from a local pastor.  The team then holds hands in a circle and say “Habitat’s not a hand-out, but a hand-up”.  It’s one of my favorite parts of the day.

We were all given different tasks to do.  My first job was to sweep the inside of the house.  It was great to have electricians and plumbers there yesterday, but they certainly leave a trail of sawdust from the many penetrations they have to make.  Between the wood shavings and the dried mud from the other day, it took most of the morning to get it done.  

Joe was outside getting lessons from Bill about how to install the soffits.  He had to carefully measure each piece, and then Jo used their custom jig to cut the metal pieces. It didn’t take them long to get in a rhythm and finish the backside of the house.

Once the soffit is installed, the fascia gets installed across the front to give it a nice clean look.  I was able to jump in and help to nail some of the fascia.   

 

The top face of the fascia is wrapped in a clear plastic covering to protect it from scratching.   I took it off, and had some fun playing with it in the wind … it was like a kite.   Yeah, it doesn’t take much for me to be entertained :-).

During the day, there were plenty of other projects underway:

Dave used a 4 inch hole saw to cut penetrations for the dryer vent.  He definitely made it look easy (which it’s not …. )

Gene and Yvonne were working to install the front door, which fit like a glove the first shot.   Yeah, the framers did a good job!

The back door wasn’t as easy … it needed a bit of help to get it in position.  But, it looks great.

Richard and Mark were able to install the siding starter strips on three sides of the house.   This task the critical first step in assuring the siding is level.

Tom was busy filling in all the penetrations to reduce drafts.  He also added nail guards in front of wires to protect them from nailing after the drywall is installed.  

The plumber was back today working on finishing up the bathroom and kitchen.   Once the plumbing and electrical rough ins are complete, we can start the insulation.

The other big task today was done by roofing contractors.  They showed up about 10:20, and had the entire roof done in roughly 2.5 hours!  They had seven guys on the roof at the same time … it was like a well practiced ballet.   

Now that the roof is done, the doors are in, and the windows are installed, the house is officially dried in!   Another productive day.  God is good!