Submitted by Team Leaders
Dave & Nancy Jo Fridline
August 12, 2003

Twelve FMCA Chapter: Habitat for Humanity volunteers participated in a ten-day build with the Livingston County, NY, Habitat for Humanity [LCHFH] affiliate. Ten Chapter members participated each week – two coaches departed after the first week and were replaced by two additional coaches. Also Mike Des Jardins, an FMCA member and a volunteer from the LCHFH joined the team – Mike is the Chapter’s newest member having joined the Chapter the second week. Thus, we had 11 coaches the second week. Three couples were first-time builders with the Chapter:

Coaches parked on a grass parking lot at the Hunt Baptist Church in Hunt, NY. Water was provided from a central hookup with hoses “daisy chained” to the coaches. We used generators for electrical power. Gray water was dripped and a port-a-pot was provided to help save our black tanks. Only one coach needed to make a trip to the dump station during the two-week stay. Two coaches [John & Carol Lee and Ken & Joy Fehrenz] choose not to park with the build team – they elected to stay at a commercial campground in Dansville, NY [about 20 miles away].

The parking area had been visited and inspected several times during the Spring. Although the parking area was a bit damp in the Spring, it appeared to be a satisfactory parking area with the anticipated dry July/August. The team leaders arrived Sunday afternoon to finalize parking arrangements with the Church and LCHFH. All appeared well.

Coaches started arriving around noon on Monday, July 21st. Although a bit damp with the unseasonable rain, the ground was firm enough to park. One of the early arrivals found an abandon septic tank in the middle of the parking area. The left rear drive wheels broke through the top of the septic tank which resulted in the left side of the coach settling to the ground, resting on the engine/transmission and the rear wheels hanging. The town maintenance crew and the church trustees quickly responded and all agreed that in their collective memories [35 to 50 years with the town and church], there was no record or memory that the septic tank existed.

Six+ hours later [in the rain of course] with the concentrated efforts of build team members, the town maintenance crew and the church trustees [and a good deal of sidewalk supervision] the coach had been raised to a sufficient height to winch it out with a tow truck.

Our thanks to Maury & Susan for providing our “Monday Night Entertainment.”

LCHFH, together with the Hunt Baptist Church and the Town of Hunt, provided us a great welcome dinner in the Church Hall. A pot luck meal attended by a cast of 40 or more, including the local affiliate, the Church, the Town Supervisor, the partner families from Hunt and Dansville, was provided. We took a break from the Monday Night Entertainment to enjoy the repast. There were enough leftovers to feed us for two days. On build days, lunches were provided by local churches.

We had three build projects. Our top priority was a home for Marri Lynn Ransom in Hunt, NY [about a mile from the Church]. Our second priority was a rehab job [wheel chair ramp and a bathroom remodel] for an elderly lady [who recently had a stroke] in Dansville, NY. Our third priority was a home for Dan & Ellie Rivera in Dansville.

Since the Lee’s and the Fehrenz’s had elected not to stay with the rest of the team, they were assigned to the Rivera home in Dansville. John & Mary Juarez and Mac & Shirley McKee initially were assigned to the rehab job in Dansville. The remaining six coaches were assigned to Marri Lynn’s home in Hunt. We worked with local volunteers at the Ransom and Rivera homes throughout the build. A Church youth group from Caledonia, NY joined the team at the Rivera home Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of the second week.

Marri Lynne lived in a circa 1860 home that had shown the results of 140 years of occupancy. About five years ago LCHFH replaced her “blue tarp” roof. Marri Lynne took the blue tarp from the roof and used it for a front outside wall. For insulation she used recycled pizza boxes. She cut trees from the woods behind her home and chopped wood for the stove. One evening last winter, a LCHFH stopped by to visit. Marri Lynne commented that the warmest she could get the house was 45 degrees and that “all three of her aquariums had froze.” The local health and fire departments condemned her house and the local volunteer fire department used her home for a training day and conducted a controlled burn.

When we arrived on site Tuesday morning, the foundation was in [five-foot crawl space] with the sub-floor almost complete. We finished the sub-floor and went up. We worked Tuesday through Saturday the first week and Monday through Friday the second week. By the end of the second week, we had put in approx 1,005 hours on Marri Lynne’s house in Hunt, NY.

All LCHFH homes are in the Energy Star program and thus require additional sealing not provided in other homes. The sub floor and exterior sheathing are glued and nailed to the floor joists/studs. Four inches of blue board are installed on the inside walls and floor of the crawlspace. All seams around the outside of the house are caulked. Although, we did reach that stage of construction, the home receives an air-pressure test to insure that it is air-tight.

The exterior walls, trusses and roof [including shingles] were complete. All of the interior walls except for two small partitions in the bathroom/utility room were up. The electrical rough-in was completed to the point that the house was ready for an inspection [wire runs were pulled and boxes were in place]. The doors and windows were installed. One inch of blue board was installed on the outside of the sheathing. Two corner pieces and the starter strip on one side were installed – the last task completed on Friday afternoon was the installation of the first piece of siding by Marri Lynne.

On the rehab job in Dansville, there was a misunderstanding between the family and LCHFH which resulted in a slow start. John & Mary Juarez and Mac & Shirley McKee started the job. After the first week, Mac & Shirley moved to Marri Lynne’s house to work on the electrical job. By late in the second week, the wheel chair ramp was completed – the bathroom remodel was returned to the drawling board. We put in approx 125 hours on the rehab job.

John & Carol Lee and Ken & Joy Fehrenz started Tuesday morning working on Dan & Ellie Rivera’s home in Dansville. 2 ? courses [of 7 total] had been laid for the foundation/crawlspace. They worked the first week and into the second week mixing mud [by hand] and laying block. They were augmented by the crew from the rehab job during consultations between LCHFH and the family. By the end of the second week, the foundation was complete; stone was spread on the floor of the crawlspace and over the exterior drain lines. Blue board was installed in the crawlspace [walls & floor] and the sub floor was complete. We put in approx 225 hours on the Rivera home in Dansville.

The team voted to split the excess Build Team Funds between the Hunt Baptist Church [$100] and Marri Lynne [$100]. Marri Lynne Ransom home: 1,005 hours
Dansville Rehab Job: 125 hours
Dan & Ellie Rivera home: 225 hours

Total 1,355 hours

Rain Days Lost:

Marri Lynne Ransom home: ? Day
Dansville Rehab Job: 1 Day
Dan & Ellie Rivera home: 2 Days

Total 2 ? Days

Injury Report:

The usual number of Band-aides was dispensed.

Helen [Dolly] Ricardo slipped on the door jam [Marri Lynne’ house] and bruised her sternum – she lost 3 days on the job.

Susan Trackman exacerbated her carpel tunnel after spending a day on the roof [nailing sheathing]. She lost 1 day on the job and had another day of “light-duty”. Susan was back on the roof in time to put on the shingles,

Submitted:

Dave & Nancy Jo Fridline F172901
Build Team Leaders

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