A good night's sleep and yesterday's tribulations are (mostly) forgotten. After our welcome from Craig and Bob's safety briefing, we decamped in 19-degree sunshine to inspect our Kuhn Street project. Craig described it as a "gut job," and he wasn't kidding.
At first glance, it didn't look too bad. But we learned that the home had had to be elevated to meet flood zone requirements, and unscrupulous contractors had totally botched the job, leaving the homeowner holding the bag.
Concrete supporting blocks had shifted and cracked....
The chimney had fallen through the roof when the house was lifted, leaving a gaping hole...
Mold had invaded most of the rooms...the wiring had been improperly installed...
....and there was a menagerie of bats, salamanders and cockroaches (mostly dead).
The objectives: Shore up the foundation to stabilize the structure, remove improperly installed Hardiboard siding and salvage as much as possible, remove drywall and plumbing, take the shingles off the roof in preparation for installing a new one.
Needless to say, the homeowner, shown with Jo below, is delighted and relieved to see the remediation begin.
Despite the unpleasant surprises, our first-timers plunged in with gusto and good humor...
And as usual, Forbes provided strong leadership of the cleanup crew.
Meanwhile, back at BBM, Donna, Melissa and Ilsa (from Newtown) tackled reorganizing the food pantry, while Meg worked at the Micah Center. Rita, Karen and I took care of the army's stomachs... All in all, a great start to the week.
Oh, and there was enough energy left after dinner for some serious carousing --
At least for some of us.
At first glance, it didn't look too bad. But we learned that the home had had to be elevated to meet flood zone requirements, and unscrupulous contractors had totally botched the job, leaving the homeowner holding the bag.
Concrete supporting blocks had shifted and cracked....
The chimney had fallen through the roof when the house was lifted, leaving a gaping hole...
Mold had invaded most of the rooms...the wiring had been improperly installed...
....and there was a menagerie of bats, salamanders and cockroaches (mostly dead).
The objectives: Shore up the foundation to stabilize the structure, remove improperly installed Hardiboard siding and salvage as much as possible, remove drywall and plumbing, take the shingles off the roof in preparation for installing a new one.
Needless to say, the homeowner, shown with Jo below, is delighted and relieved to see the remediation begin.
Despite the unpleasant surprises, our first-timers plunged in with gusto and good humor...
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| Anna |
 |
| Olivia |
 |
| Mary |
Meanwhile, back at BBM, Donna, Melissa and Ilsa (from Newtown) tackled reorganizing the food pantry, while Meg worked at the Micah Center. Rita, Karen and I took care of the army's stomachs... All in all, a great start to the week.
Oh, and there was enough energy left after dinner for some serious carousing --
At least for some of us.
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| Brian, 9 p.m. |
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