House 11

November 22, 2024 – We just lack a few pieces of drywall, some screws, tape and mud to have the crawlspace fireproofed! Not only did we do the drywall fireproofing, but we also worked on cabinets and tile backer board.

Novemberr 15, 2024 – We have now finished the upstairs drywall hang! Now, all sheetrock hanging that is left is the basement for fireproofing.

November 8, 2024 – Almost done with the sheetrock hanging…maybe 2 more days?

November 1, 2024 – Sheetrocking continues! We’re nearly finished with the ceiling and already have started on the walls.

October 25, 2024 – Siding complete! We unloaded about 160 sheets of drywall (8000 pounds or so, but who’s counting). It was a day! But now the drywall is inside, the lift is at the house, and we are ready!

October 18, 2024 – Back at House 11…almost have the siding on the right side finished! On to the front…

October 11, 2024 – We continue to help Habitat volunteers as they deal with the aftermath of flooding by the hurricane.

October 4, 2024 – We have temporarily halted work on the house to provide help to one of our long-time volunteers whose home was damaged by the hurricane.

Setpembe 27, 2024 – Hurricane Helene. While we got a lot done on the right side Wednesday before the storm hit Thursday night and into Friday.

September 20, 2024 – Wesdnesday, we had a visit from the County Commissioners, county staff and the head of DSS. It was great having them visit, and we look forward to what will come of it! We are half way up the right side of the house, and the rough in inspections (plumbing and electrical) both passed!

September 13, 2024 – We’re now over halfway complete on the siding! Rough in inspection time is near, and that means we can start hanging drywall in a week or two. Get pumped! Wednesday, we finished the left side’s siding, cleaned our way down, moved scaffolding to the right side and did some siding over there. The entryway roof was shingled thanks to our partner family and the site was cleaned up for next week.

September 6, 2024 – The electrical rough in is complete! That’s the “shocking” news, pun intended. We’re also making great progress on the siding.

August 30, 2024 – The electrical rough in is going great, and the left side of the the house is getting up there thanks to our legendary volunteers. Lots of “Home runs” completed and the siding looks great.

August 23, 2024 – We finished the back wall, are super close to done with the electrical rough-in, set up scaffolding on the left side and got the left side prepped for siding.

August 16, 2024 – We ran wires, put up siding (and put ourselves way up there to install it), installed a window and prepped the left side for this Saturday.

August 9, 2024 – The crew focused on the electrical rough-in and vinyl siding install on the corners and the back wall. We’re 15 rows high!

August 2, 2024 – The baffles are in, along with doors, more electrical rough-in and the siding is prepped!

July 26, 2024 – We installed facia on the back, soffit on the front, worked on the electrical rough in and the back windows are in.

July 19, 2024 – Interior framing is now complete! The passive radon run is done, and soffit is now underway. We also got several windows installed and the front and side banks seeded.

July 12, 2024 – We had an awesome day framing last Wednesday and Drake McKiddy and family put the roof on Wednesday and Saturday.

July 5, 2024 – It was a good workday on Saturday staging materials, laying out the walls and putting some together. Interior framing next!

June 28, 2024 – The siding is on-site, the trusses are up and sheathed, and stucco is mostly done. This Saturday: interior wall framing!

June 21, 2024 – All 5,000+ pounds of trusses moved my hand and ready for install.

June 14, 2024 – We got the foundation drain in all except for the backside and hope to finish the back side for truss install next.

June 7, 2024 – Both pours took place after all on Tuesday. We were able to get the final wall pour complete, and the rain poured in the last hour so hard that we got wet in places we don’t wanna talk about. But nonetheless, the wall pour happened, the J bolts are installed, and the top plates as well.

May 31, 2024 – We got the ICFs complete, vertical reinforcement cut and installed, the tops of the walls cut at level and other steel reinforcement in place. Before the pour Monday, we still need to install additional bracing, install plywood scabs at construction joints and on the exterior of windows and doors, install conduit for penetrations in the wall, and more.

May 17-18, 2024 – Sub-floor complete, door and window frames built/installed and on to the next layer of ICF!

May 10, 2024 – We finished the joists, hangers, and made great progress on the sheathing until…the rain came in the early afternoon.

May 3, 2024 – We were able to get the LVL (laminated veneer lumber, i.e. big plywood beam) installed on Saturday. Now, it’s time to take off all the bracing from the walls and start the joists.

April 26, 2024 – The basement walls have now been poured! The LVL beams have been delivered on site so next we will be installing those to prepare for joist installs.

April 12, 2024 – Walls continue to rise! Scaffolds are now up and ready to continue.

April 5, 2024 – First wall pour complete! We were ready for the concrete pumper’s by the time they got there and no major issues. The basement walls are now poured 8 feet high.

March 29, 2024 – Our first basement wall pour is scheduled for Tuesday. We will finish a few items, and then we will be there to straighten and plumb the walls as they pour. We are praying for a much more boring poor than the last one we had!

March 22, 2024 – Walls are going up! The back wall is now 8′ tall.

March 15, 2024 – Got the prep work done for the basement ICF walls. Onward and upward!

March 8, 2024 – We are now ready to start on the walls!

March 1, 2024 – Footers poured! We have such hard working, dedicated volunteers! Through the rain, unexpected challenges and hard work our volunteers stuck it out all day to get this milestone accomplished.

February 23, 2024 – We figured out together that yes, it is possible to build better boards 15 feet in the air so that we can end up with square, straight and centered foundation walls. I’m not sure if the pictures do it justice but if you’ve been on site, those batter boards are up there! I’ve talked to several general contractors, and it’s the right way to do it if you want to save money, but few people are so bold!

February 16, 2024 – The ICFs have been received and are in a nearby basement thanks to the help of several volunteers! Straight from Canada in 3 days. We are a little behind on footers but should have enough to get started on bending rebar and compacting the footer.

February 8, 2024 – We took down a few extra trees, and George Ford came and loaded some of the big logs that we plan to mill as a small fundraiser onto his trailer. We still have some more to load up to sell but that’s all for this week.

February 1, 2024 – It is starting to look like a lot for a house! We dropped some trees, limbed them for milling, and burned the brush. It was a mix of hard work and good fellowship. Thanks for coming out and having a great time while we’re at it everyone! Same time Saturday. See you at 9am! We’ll keep on with the lot clearing and will probably lay out the four corners of the house again since we lost a few in the tree felling.

January 24, 2024 – House 11 has officially been started. Our first steps into this new House were hard-won, damp, and slippery but we made them. Thanks to all our Mountain Goats! We got a start on clearing the lot, which included lots of tree cutting. Hard work!