House Dedication

Today, Saturday, March 13, was the last "official" day of our twelve-day bulding blitz.  The exterior of the house is done.  The siding and trim is painted--even the house numbers are on the outside column.

The dedication of the Dana House was attended by members of Dana Othmer's family.  Here are husband Hans, her mother Mary Ludie, and her son Devon.

Greater Baton Rouge Habitat Director Lynn Clark began the dedication cermony with a short reading from Habitat founder Millard Fuller's "The Theology of the Hammer."

Habitat Family Services Megan Radar introduced Dee and her family.

House Captain Craig Gardner presented Dee with a Bible for her family and new home.

Pastor Gerrit Dawson led the group in a responsive prayer.

Finally, the group surrounded the house, laid hands on it and said the Lord's Prayer to bless the house and close the dedication service. 
 

The beautiful weather on Saturday, March 6, brough out many volunteers from all four churches.

First on the list of tasks accomplished was the laying down of the roof tar paper.  Then the interior floor of the house was covered with felt, but not before homeowner Dee wrote her favorite Bible verses on the slab.

As the day continued the siding on the front and the back of the house was installed.

Meanwhile, the sides of the house received a coat of paint.

But perhaps the highlight of the day was a visit by Jaden, two-year-old son of homeowner Dee.  Although he was momentarily distracted by a dog that was playing nearby, he expressed, off camera, his delight with the progress on his house.

Day 4 & 5

On Day 4, Thursday, volunteers finished the roof decking, soffits, and did additional pre-siding work.

On Day 5, Friday, volunteers from the churches were joined by Exxon colleagues of Jesse Price.

Additionally, House Captain Craig Gardner reported that a major contribution to the day's work was done by the mother of First Pres. member Brett Furr and her girlfriend.  These two ladies single-handely cleaned the interior of the house of all the debris left by the subcontractors' work.  Craig said they hauled wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow to the dumpster.

By the end of the day, most of the siding was up.

Also, a significant portion of the tar paper on the roof had been laid.

Days 3 & 4

On Tuesday, the third day of the build, lots of important, if less apparent, work was accomplished including the setting of the porch and gable trusses, installation of the hurricane straps, sub fascia, and rat run (whatever that is!).  

Today, Wednesday, a sunny but crisp day brought out about 12 volunteers to lay almost all of the roof decking.  The Habitat staff was impressed with the amount of work that was accomplished.  They were also grateful for the yogurt for breakfast, club sandwiches, and all the cookies. 

Our construction manager, Ryan, is anticipating that on Thursday, the roof decking will be finished and work will begin on the siding.  Also on Thursday, the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC subcontractors will be on site to complete their work. 

Volunteers are especially needed during the week, so please join us in this great project!

Day 2

Saturday's work continued with sunny, but chilly weather.   Volunteers from all four churches made steady progress completing the wall board and tacking on Vytek.

By Saturday afternoon most of the windows were installed.

With House Captain Craig Gardner's optimistic encouragement the roof trusses were in place by the end of the day as well. 

Day 1

Despite cold weather and cloudy skies, we began our build early Friday morning with the "Blessings of the Build."

Pastor Gerrit read a short scripture passage and led the volunteers in prayer.  Then homeowner Dee Pania and Pastor Dick washed the hands of all the volunteer builders, a Habitat for Humanity tradition.

After a short briefing by the Habitat staff, work began on the framing of the house.  Before afternoon rainscut the work day a little bit short, the walls were up and progress was made on the wall board.