Week Three, Day Two

Monday ...
The team I'm on started caulking and filling nail holes at 266 Lamuse Street, home of Charles and Bessie Mae Tanksley.

This is the very first home that Team #1 worked on (inside & out) on our first day in early October, ‘tho it looks remarkably different from when I saw it last. Every room is painted and most of the trim is on. The large, gaping hole in the floor that we all nearly fell into at some point (*ahem* especially me) has been replaced by a very solid sub-floor and it's possible that some of us will be involved in this house throughout the course of the week.

Mid-morning, Jim P. pulls Jaime and I off the project and asks us to do finishing painting and touch up work at 244 Nixon, home of Paulette Phillips. The building permit says it was issued for “storm building repairs” only ... but the permit expired on June 17, 2006 - clearly the definitions of what those *actually* mean aren't "law" because ... well, this house was very obviously gutted and rebuilt. (The walls are straight, the corners are tight, and the floors are stable. I guess after having been here for a couple of weeks and having been in a decent amount of these homes, I feel like I’ve learned what to look for).

Another portion of our team is working on mold-removal detail. Even though the temperature has dropped by about 15 degrees from 2 weeks ago, wearing a Kevlar suit with respiration equipment can make things feel downright tropical. This is work that takes about two or three days, and I know during our team meeting at camp tonight, the crew will have the opportunity to change to another, more motivating (and probably easier) task. Most new volunteer crews don't feel they should switch jobs after only doing something for one day ... but I remember Jim saying that this isn't something we'll be done with in a day or even a week ... so prior to the meeting, I sign them up for an outside job restoring a park tomorrow. It'll be a nice change of pace for them.

The 3rd part of our crew is cleaning bricks this morning ("oh, about 20,000 of them", says Patricia C. when I ask her how many bricks there were). I’m relieved to know that everyone still has their sense of humor.

Later in the afternoon, this crew will prep a building for sealing the floor of a business building.


It's an involved process of getting to the point of actually sealing a floor. It needs to be cleaned, sanded, power washed, had "Killz" applied to it, re-sanded, and swept - all a number of times over the course of weeks or even months, depending on the state of the rest of the building and the other work that needs to be done. And if someone walks through with shoes that haven't been treated? The process has to start over. This *also* can be a job that diminishes enthusiasm, so I sign up that team for an interior painting job.

How enthusiastic are my 16 teammates after doing this kind of work for a day? Well, they refused the fairly cushy re-assignments and will be doing the same labor-intensive work tomorrow.

The company has a LOT to be proud of.