Habitat for Humanity

What a productive weekend!  Along with some of Nick’s coworkers, we volunteered at a Habitat for Humanity build on Saturday.  We were there from 8:30-3, and our group worked on building wall frames.  We almost got the entire first level of framing up because Nick and his coworkers do this stuff for a living/understand construction.  Nick has a degree in architectural engineering, and another one in construction management, and works for a general contractor.  His coworkers have similar educational backgrounds, so we had a power team!   Another girl and I had no construction knowledge what soever, but we caught onto our task quickly.  We were even trusted to measure and cut, with a powered circular saw, 2x4s all by ourselves! 

Receiving my first lesson in Power Tools 101

The future homeowner was actually at the build too so it was really exciting to meet her, get to know her, and work on her future home with her.  Her and her family won’t be moving until next year because the house will not be move-in ready until March. 

When we arrived at the site Saturday morning, there was only the house foundation.  By the end of the day this is what we had accomplished.  All of the 2X4s you see were put up by us.  

We built the frames in sections, sawing the boards and nailing them together ourselves.  There were power saws, but no nail guns.  Every single nail in the frame was put in by hand with someone wielding a hammer.  Next, a foam sealant layer had to be stapled along the bottom of the frame, and holes for the foundations bolts had to be drilled in their proper places.  Once that was finished, our team would lift the frame together, no cranes or pulleys in sight, all raw man-power, and would affix them to the foundation bolts.  

I still cannot believe how much the 6 of us, and the homeowner, and the HFH coordinator got accomplished.  I felt a sense of accomplishment and pride that my time, efforts, and even sweat, went into helping provide a home for a family in need.  It was a truly rewarding experience, and Nick and I will definitely volunteer with Habitat for Humanity again.  I cannot wait to see the progression of this build, and hopefully we can work on this site again since we got to know the homeowner.  

Sunday was productive too, but not nearly as rewarding.  I spent the entire day doing stuff around the house like mowing the lawn, washing all the bedding, washing all of the other laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming, mopping, cleaning the kitchen, etc.  I cleaned our house from top to bottom.  It felt go to get all those chores taken care of, but I felt much more accomplished after helping build someone's future home instead of cleaning my own home :)