We are working on a house that was nearly destroyed in a fire. The gutting was all done already and some of the rebuilding. We have one crew working inside the house helping with the drywall today and prepping the floor for new flooring to go back in. They will put in a floating floor and baseboards hopefully in the next few days if we stay on schedule.
Then we have the bigger crew working outside on the the mobile home underpinning. You might ask what that is... so here is our quick construction lesson. When a mobile, or modular home, is placed on site it has spaces all around under it. So once the house is in place they frame (or some even do brick) around it and hammer up material (vinyl or metal) to cover all the space. It is done for a few reasons, one is to help insulate the house so the cold air (it does snow here) doen't get in around the bottom of the house. The other reason, of which we are all too familiar at my house (stupid groundhog) is to keep animals out from around the bottom of the house. Partially because animals are annoying, but also because they can chew up wires, tear out insulation, etc. Here is a picture of what underpinning is (thanks Google):
Many of the homes around here are missing many of these detail items. Which means they are harder to keep warm, which for people on a tight budget can mean they can't keep their homes warm. Or for those who have animals destroy parts of their home, which they already could already not afford to upkeep sets them down a vicious cycle. We got to work along side our home owners today and learn more of their story. They have three young children under the age of 6 and have struggled back and forth to find work. They currently live in a tiny apartment and last fall came upon the opportunity to purchase this home which had a fire. They sunk their life savings into it and planned to flip the home for them to live in... well one thing after another, costs of materials, building problems put them way behind. Nearly to the point of having to walk away... and continue to stay in an apartment that doesn't meet their needs and they can barely afford.
So here is where ASP and we come in... they pay for the materials and we provide the labor. The family has just over a month left on their lease and they need to move into the home they paid for... I hope that we can help provide this family a home where their kids can do homework, play in their yard and have more opportunities.
Our fingers hurt from skills (or lack thereof) with the hammer, and shoulder hurts from swinging a sledgehammer or running a saw. Tonight we rest... tomorrow we do it all over again.
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