NOLA: Week Two, Day Three

This is Eagle Street, Miss Thelma's house. Some three generations live here, but we are only working on the "new addition" on the left, where we are trying to correct a problem with the floor joists and supporting girders. Tomorrow we will pour cement into four new pads which will support the new piers. These in turn will bring everything into a level plane -- we hope. Also, we have wrapped the exterior walls with Tyvek to create a vapor barrier, so that new siding can later be installed.

Gordon Street was finished today at three o'clock! A local TV affiliate showed up to talk with the owner and some of our NYS-fits+ thought they may have been pictured in the background. This is the second home that we have been able to see to completion, which gives a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. We realize that it takes the efforts of many, many groups to do all the work, but it is a wonderful high when you see that everything, literally everything, is finished!

Sadly, tomorrow Jim leaves. Another of us will go on Friday and then the rest on Saturday. The days have flown past us. We give thanks to God for the safety we have known and the spirit of cooperation and joy that has infused our team.

NOLA: Week Two

Time has been flying. It's already Tuesday of week two!

Good progress continues to be made on Gordon. Today some 25 bags of cement were mixed and poured into the reinforced forms for the bases of the two stairs. Inside, caulking, painting, hot water heater connections and other "punch-list" items were completed. Wesley again worked side-by-side with our intrepid volunteers.

On Eagle Street, Seth and Ted worked once more with Dan to level the joists in the middle room. Each of the lines in the photo are levels against which they are attempting to move the joists, so that the new floor will be level. A larger jack, capable of lifting 30 tons, is coming tomorrow to raise the center joist. Following that the news pads will be poured for the piers. Outside, the sheathing was wrapped around 3/4 of the house and set in place with staples and felt nails. When the sheathing is completed and the floor leveled, the windows will be re-installed.

NOLA: Days Four and Five

Thursday and Friday work pushed ahead on three fronts.

On Gordon Street both the inside and outside areas made great progress. Caulk, paint and plumbing tasks continued on the inside; the front and side porches are nearing the completion point. Pressure treated wood was used throughout, and the sculpted handrails and rounded spindles give them an attractive appearance.

On Tchoupitoulas we finished the roof Friday afternoon when the ridge caps were added. Two vents were installed to take hot air out of the attic. The entry way and side shed roofs were also completed as well. Fortunately this all took place about two hours before the heavens opened and about 4 inches of rain fell!

On Eagle Street most of the tearing outs and removing of old materials was finished. The first steps in the rebuilding were taken, beginning with the outside area around the bay window on the side of the house. Next week we tackle the center and supporting joists of the floor.

NOLA: Day Three

Work continued under mostly cloudy skies. We lathered up with sunscreen early because it looked as if the skies would clear and we might bake, but that was not to be the case.

On Gordon Street in the Lower Ninth, the front porch efforts continued apace, as did the painting and caulking on the inside. Also, the side porch was begun. They appear to be on track to finish or almost finish by the end of the week.

On Tchoupitoulas (Nice name, huh?), we stripped off the last part of the roof and continued to shingle the first half. Ted built a railing for the long flight of existing stairs and a short set of steps from the landing to the ground. In the picture, Seth has stolen the nail gun from Ted to drive in the last nails.

NOLA: Day Two

The skies opened up last night and dropped some more rain on the Crescent City. It continued raining in the morning, but then slowed and cleared enough for some of our roofers to return to their work. Others on the crew were moved to a third house to do work that would not be slowed by rain. By the end of the day, however, our intrepid roofers had entirely papered all of the roof and shingled about half of it.

On our second house progress was made on the new front porch. Interior painting and cable wiring continued, as well as the plumbing. There is a good chance that this house will be finished by the end of the week.

At the new third house, old water and drain lines were cut and removed to make way for the new plumbing. Underneath the main rim joist where the flooring has been removed, two new temporary piers were erected. These will be used as part of the solution to a four inch floor sag. Additionally, the first step in addressing other joist issues was begun. Much work remains to be done.

NOLA: Day One

Fortunately, the hot and humid conditions that had been forecast for Monday never appeared. This gave us an opportunity to get a good start on the roof of one of the two homes we are working on. We have about half of the old shingles and paper off, repairs made to the roof surface, almost half of the new drip edge installed and several courses of paper and shingles started.

At the second house, work has begun on the new front porch, the new cable lines were pulled and some of the interior finishing work is underway. Painting and plumbing also need to be done, including the installation of a new hot water heater. Some of the exterior work may be slowed down if the rain predicted for tomorrow materializes.

And, yes, our final two re-builders arrived late this afternoon. We are now nineteen strong!

Our Return to New Orleans

Seventeen NYS-fits+ have arrived in New Orleans to continue the rebuilding efforts that we began here in the Fall of 2007. We are expected two more persons tomorrow to bring our team to its full complement. Once again we will be working through the Disaster Recovery Office of the Presbytery of Southern Louisiana.

Grace Lutheran on Canal Boulevard is our host church for this visit. Their building was under eight feet of water for three weeks, but, with help from persons all around the country, they were able to return to their sanctuary for worship on Easter of 2006. They continue to be highly supportive of the rebuilding effort in New Orleans, as hosts and volunteers. They have also sent teams to other parts of the country to assist rebuilding efforts there.