We woke up to a crisp 56 degree morning. Yeah, we tested out the heat in Breezy, and it works great :-). It was a great cool morning for working. We had a short, but inspirational devotion and prayer to start our day. The team got right to work, since we had a lot to accomplish today.
As part of the roofing team, Joe’s job was to finish the roof decking and apply tar paper to the roof. The roofing team picked up an experienced local volunteer, so the decking went like clock work.
My job for most of the day was to complete a systematic walkdown verifying nailing of all the interior and exterior walls. We had to make sure that there were at least 3 nails in every exterior wall bay, 1 nail in every interior wall bay and at least 6 nails where there were intersecting walls. It’s an important step, because it’s the last opportunity to make sure everything is locked down before the drywall is installed. Ty and I must have put in a few hundred nails! I’ve heard stories that Habitat Houses have been the only houses standing in a neighborhood after a hurricane. They say it’s because of the all of the nails used in the house, along with the extra work done in locking down all the trusses and installing hurricane clips.
We got a surprise visit from Jennifer’s mom (Jennifer is the woman who was selected by Habitat to purchase the house and will be moving in along with her two daughters). She brought us warm homemade apple pie. Of course, we also had some left over brownies and cookies from the past few lunches. I’m really going to have to get back to healthy eating when we get back to Florida!
After the nailing was complete, we started to install duravents in the ceiling. They act as a barrier for the foam blow in insulation, allowing airflow into the attic.
After work today, we were treated to an amazing dinner at AMBUCS. They are an amazing organization that support a variety of projects including the distribution of tricycles to children with disabilities and building wheelchair ramps for those who need them.
AMBUCS has a reputation for providing the Care -A -Vanners with amazing dinners. Tonight’s menu was ham, potatoes, salad, cowboy baked beans and bread. We heard that they have been smoking 5 hams for three days! I ate so much today … but all the food is so delicious!
At the meeting, the AMBUCS gave a little disabled girl her custom tricycle. It was wonderful to see her so happy! It is an amazing organization. Organizations like this are what makes America such a great country!
It was a good day. We accomplished a lot. As we said at the groundbreaking ceremony: “O God, let us rise up (tomorrow) and build!” 🙂