GO NOLA--Day 3

We arrived on our Habitat Site EARLY Tuesday morning (7:30am) ready to work.  I did have a little wave of anxiety as we were asked to sign waivers before any work could begin.  Not having much construction experience, OK none, the waiver through me for a loop.  Our construction site was located on Pauger Rd--the street signs colorfully marked the streets.  The first day we worked on the home, Mark joined us.  He was in the beginning process of applying for a Habitat home and is required to complete some sweat equity hours prior to being approved for his purchase.  He was a hard worker and it was inspiring to work beside him.  We later discovered from Ben, that our home would not have homeowners working beside us, as we were constructing a property with government grant funds.  Typically, a Habitat home can take up to 6 months to complete.  Government properties are on a strict budget and time constraint--3 months.  Volunteers work on the foundation, interior and exterior framing,"walls" and the roof.  All interior aspects of the house: drywall, electric, plumbing, floors and trim are contracted out in order to meet the deadline.   

Ben, our Habitat lead, constantly had the architectural plans at hand for review.

When we arrived on our site, this is what we saw.  The foundation was complete, but the sub-floor was yet to be secured.  We quickly learned that New Orleans properties are taxed on road frontage.  As a result, lots are long and narrow.  We spent the entire morning, those not working on the sub-floor, moving wood from the front of the lot to the back.  I still have war wounds from this first task!  While moving the wood, a truck delivered the roof tresses and well, we had to move those to the rear as well.  It was a great work out and I quickly learned that I'm much stronger than I thought! 

Looking at the picture now, it doesn't even begin to show the amount of wood that was transferred from the front yard to the back yard.  It was hot, but we were all eager to help.  Thank heavens I decided to purchase work gloves for the trip--I used them daily and know they saved my hands from many, many splinters!

While a group worked on the sub-floor, Michelle, David, Shannon and I became the "Components Team" creating Jack/King headers.  No clue what that means, but I know what it looks like!  Unfortunately, our construction experience was pathetic and Ben had to give us instruction on how to properly hammer a nail.  In our defense, the wood is NOT top quality and has many knots creating an intense hammering challenge.  In fact, the three girls were relieved when David and some of the other men, were unsuccessful with driving nails.  The three of us, with David's guidance, quickly learned how to remove bent nails.  By the end of the week, the three of us were pros at this task and were even instructing others.  But most rewarding of all, we were hammering with finesse and even receiving compliments on our new-found skills :)!

Looking up the street from our site, one of our buses is parked in front of another Habitat site. 

Diagonally across the street, were the remains of a former school.  The property has recently been purchased and is being converted into a Senior Center for residents in the area.

At the end of our first work day, the lady on the far left, came out with a bag overflowing with brightly colored Mardi Gras beads. She was beaming from ear to ear and thanking us for all our hard work as she invited all of us to select some beads.  She left Wednesday morning to visit her sister and wanted to make sure she extended her thanks prior to leaving.  We were all touched by her generosity.  A VERY wonderful 1st day at Habitat!