Thursday, July 12, 2007

Lawrence Build Parts I and II

We are currently staying at the St. John's School in Lawrence, KS doing a three day build stint with the Lawrence chapter of Habitat for Humanity. The Habitat Chapter here is very active, with 2 houses under construction, and a big tract of land planned for 16 homes by the end of 2009. 7 of the homes are already finished and another 3 are scheduled to be finished by February.

When we arrived at the site yesterday morning the walls were framed, but lacked plywood to truly make a home. By the end of the day not only were they covered in plywood, but also wrapped in a tyvek like material, and siding was hung. Yesterday was very comfortable and cool, which was refreshing and good for working. This morning was drizzly when we got up, but by the time we arrived at the build site the weather began to clear and it turned into a mostly sunny day which was very warm. Today's schedule was supposed to include putting up all the trusses for the roof, but things were running a little behind schedule, and the trusses didn't arrive till just after lunch, which meant we spent the morning painting, moving tile (lots and lots of tile), and doing odds and ends on the neighboring home which is just about finished. Unfortunately once the trusses arrived we had a nasty surprise A) the trusses weren't all correct and B) there weren't enough of them. We took this in stride and put up the ones that were correct and then called it a day.

Tomorrow we hope to finish mounting all of the trusses and begin work on the roof before remounting our bikes on Saturday to ride to Wamego, KS.

Below is a photo time line of what we've accomplished so far here in Lawrence.








On a host note our accommodations and meals in Lawrence have been wonderful. The town is very compact and we are staying near downtown which is great as it allows us to get out and actually experience the town a little. Madeline who led last year's P2SF and helped planned the route has also been gracious enough to host us for two dinners in her parent's home as she is a Lawrence resident. This included getting to watch a stage finish of the Tour which was excellent for the few cycling fanatics in our group.

Another shout out to Julius Kusuma for the awesome pair of shorts he sent me and to all of you who send mail and care packages to the riders. Mail drop days are always a highlight for us.

I'll try to have pictures of the final progress after tomorrow.

4 comments:

Danielle said...

is lawrence, KS much like your first habitat for humanity project in lawrence, MA?

work on that guitar-playing :)

d

Anonymous said...

Nathan,
Great pics of the wonderful work the group is doing in Lawrence! I hope you reach the goal of getting the roof on before you are back in the saddle.
Love,
Mom

Anonymous said...

NATHAN:
Your group is something else. Not only can they ride a bike but they can work on houses.Keep up the good work.
Love ya, MeMe

MojoMan said...

Your house in Lawrence really makes me think about affordable housing. Around here (eastern Massachusetts), new homes look nothing like it. Virtually every new home here is a McMansion with 3-car garage, granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, 4 or 5 bedrooms, whirlpool spa, 3 or 4 bathrooms, etc. No one builds 'affordable houses.' If a common wage-earner wants to own a home, they face one-hour plus commutes to the exurbs. As buildable land gets scarcer, and energy prices rise, we face some hard choices about how we define 'home' in America.

Thanks for another great post and photos.

Al Mollitor