Week 3

Extreme Home Makeover… Athens style! A little slower but with finesse, style and grace! We now have the rafters on the Christian Home!! What a beautiful home it is going to be for this sweet family! In these “economic down-times” that we are in, you would think that people would be saying “no” to this home and any type of donation of labor, material, or time of any sort. But everyone just continues to give, and I am completely overwhelmed with the generosity and kindness being shown to Melissa, Callie and Wyatt. Some of you have even said that you “can’t wait” until it is your turn! It is completely exciting to watch and be a part of!

During Week 3, the guys worked through the rain on Tuesday and are expected to finish the roof decking this Monday and Tuesday. A & G Framing has done a tremendous job of leading their crew and being accountable of the materials we have had donated. Steve Reuchel, of S R Home Plans, you should be proud of the plan and how it all has come together. Great Job! Doug Kilpatrick of D & D Construction was my “Mighty Man” of the framing package. Doug and I go back to the EARLY Lowe’s days here in Athens. He never hesitated when I asked for help! Thank you Doug, for the material take-offs and checking in on us!

Toby Hines of Toby Hines Crane service was our saving grace for the week. He joined us on Thursday to help with the setting of Harbin’s roof trusses. What a chore this would have been without you Toby. Thank you for watching the weather and coming out to the job site earlier than planned. I can’t believe that we are already battling freeze warnings! I am NOT excited about Winter moving in so quickly…as I have said….I don’t freeze well!

Murrell’s waterproofing also came out this week to seal the foundation and install drain lines. David and Cindy Moore of Murrell’s are from Loganville and were referred to us through their daughter Chelsie, who works with Coldwell Banker. Thank you Chelsie for helping to spread the word of the Christian Home. This build is spreading throughout the area, and we are so thankful for everyone’s help and the outpouring of material and labor of the greater Athens area.

UGA’s news team also joined us during Week 3 for a lead story. We will be featured one day this week. I will certainly try to let you know when that will be for those of you on Charter cable.

We closed out the week Saturday with a crew from Westminster High School 10th grade class coming in to help clean up! These girls really got right down to it early that morning when most of their friends were home sleeping in! What a wonderful way for them to learn what “giving back” is all about. We thank you all and can’t wait to get started on Monday morning with a clean job site!

David Griffeth, of the Athens-Clarke Co. Police Department is our coordinator with Noble Heroes and the Buddy Christian Trust Fund. David has been very supportive and comes out to check on us almost daily. I appreciate his constant attention to detail with all the paper work involved and his caring spirit. David is also a wonderful photographer. I know you will enjoy the additional photos that he adds to the blog each week!

Charlie Upchurch introduced me a few days ago as the “Cheerleader” of this project. As I told the Athens Homebuilder’s this week in our monthly meeting, it is easy to be the Cheerleader for a team such as you! Each of you are an integral part of this project! Keep it up! Week 3 was a huge touch down for us, and now I am ready for the “specialties team” to come in! The “Put me In Coach” attitude is riding high! Stay tuned!

Eternally Grateful,
Karen
10/21/11














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Week 2

We are already putting on the floor joists of the second floor, and the house is looking great!  What a view this family is going to have from their second floor porch!  They will be able to see the rolling hills with the horses, goats and dogs all before them. 


Our first two days this week were of course rained out, but the framing crew of A & G Framing, were not about to get behind.  They really got to work Wednesday morning first thing and were putting the decking on the second floor by Friday.  I cannot say enough about Alex Triplett and Gary Derreberry and their crew.

Our lumber packages were delivered promptly and have been beyond our expectations.  Huber donating our sheet goods was an incredible gift.  Dustin Warren with Universal Forrest Products and Jim Thompson of Power Building Supply worked together to supply our floor joist system.   Brannon McFarland with Magbee Contractor Supply supplied our studs.  Brannon also joined us Friday and helped the framers for the afternoon.  He said that he thought riding around in the truck selling lumber was a lot easier than lifting it!  Charles Pierce from Builder’s First Choice helped supply the 2x8’s for our roofing material.  Harbin Lumber and Todd Lord supplied our roof trusses along with a hefty part of our framing package.  Harbin also donated the trucking time of picking up the sheet goods from Huber and the storage of these until needed.  Being the closest supplier to the construction site, Harbin has been a true blessing with all of their help.  Others that contributed for Week 2 were American Pest Control, Mike Thompson, for the pre-treat for the foundation and Hardeman & Hobson Waste, Mitch Hardeman, supplied the roll-off for construction debris.  As I keep saying, it is taking a community to build this home.  Each gift counts as a huge step forward.

Thursday and Friday were also spent getting the garage and porches back-filled and ready to pour concrete.  Calvin Fleming again came to my rescue to help with moving the dirt.  Lafarge Concrete, Alex Forrester, supplied the concrete for this 2nd concrete call.  Gantt Bros. Concrete and Classic City Pools again supplied the labor for the slab.  So, we have a beautiful garage and “Gator area” that were getting walls by this Monday! Danny Rogers of USA has been my “Mighty Man” for the foundation and has been a tremendous support throughout.  Thank you to all you men for everything.  You are all awesome in your craft, and I thank you for sharing!

For those of you that missed it….Saturday night with the 5K that Coldwell Banker put on for the Christian Home Build, was incredible!  Yours truly brought home a trophy aka hammer for coming in 2nd in the female 55-59 age bracket!  The older you get the less people run!  Congratulations Charlie Upchurch to you and your entire team on a super event enjoyed by all, and the hammers were pure genius!

We ended our week with another luncheon on the farm last Friday.  Todd Lord brought out Zaxby’s for the framing crew for the week.  We are getting spoiled by our Friday “feasts”…let us know if you are interested in participating in that as a way to close out a good work week.  Now you know why I run!

We should finish up the framing within Week 3 and will be on to the exterior trim and setting the windows and doors for Week4.  Please let me know if you would like to participate in any phase of this.  We also hope you will enjoy this new blog as a way to stay connected to the project. You may sign up to receive blog updates as emails through the link on the right side of the page or stay connected to us on Facebook.  At the top of the page, you will find a link to the updated donations list and contact phone numbers.  Please join me in supporting these that have given so generously.  If you have a project coming up…give them a call.  As always, I thank you for everything.  This is an amazing Association, and I am so proud to be a part of this group and all that you are doing in the building of this home for this sweet family. 


Many blessings to all,
Karen








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Week 1 Update

What a grand first week we have had with the Christian Home!  The ground breaking last Sunday was a total blessing.  So many of you were there to join us in celebrating the day!  A huge thank-you to Jimmy Brooks, Mandy Wilkins and Boyd Smith for help with the set up and Charlie Upchurch for joining me on stage.  It is always wonderful to call out the troops and for you to respond!  Of course, our very own Lisa Teal was the official photographer.  She has a web site that you can link to if you would like to see more of that beautiful day. 



Monday and Tuesday were spent gathering permits, laying out the house and batter boards, grading the crawl space and digging the footings.  Madison Co. allowed us to pull the Health Department and Building permits at no cost under the leadership of County Commissioner Anthony Dove.  Many of you remember David Hoechst.  He came out of retirement to help me with the lay out.  Charlie Callaway of Athens Building Supply supplied our batter board materials.  Ray Brooks and Johnston Dove of Madison Co. Towing did the grading, and Calvin Fleming of County Line Enterprises dug the footings.  By Wednesday, we were pouring concrete!  I believe these footings could have been the most expensive that I have ever poured labor wise…if I had to pay!  My laborers led by Calvin, were Keith Burgess of Classic City Pools, Danny Rogers of USA Concrete, and my husband Doug!  They actually did a pretty good job!  USA provided this round of concrete for the footings but three of our concrete companies, Lafarge, Thomas Concrete of GA and Ready Mix USA are sharing this build together.  That is what this home is all about…as our bracelets say, “Community built”! 


On Friday and Saturday, Pat Halloran himself, of Halloran Masonry and 5 of his FOREMAN went out to lay the block for the foundation.  Steve and Cathy Banks of Quality Block supplied the block, morter and sand.  Their very own, Craig Cleveland joined us on the farm Friday at lunch and cooked ribs with all the trimmings to feed the masons, the other crews of the week, and friends and family of the Christian family.  It was totally delicious and enjoyed by all!  Pat Halloran asked that each craftsman involved with the building of the Christian Home, take the time to teach little Wyatt, almost 3, part of his skill.  “Wyatt will remember building his Mom’s house for his Dad….a special memory for his entire life”.

Monday started us with a new week and the framing crew, but we were rained out by lunch.  We are looking forward to getting started with the lumber!  Little Wyatt has learned to lay block and now is ready to hammer!   The framing will take 2 weeks and then we will be working on exterior trim, cornice, siding etc.  If you have not been contacted and would like to help with the labor or material of the exterior trim, please give me a call….  706 202-7339….we would love to have you join us.  More on the framing donations in my next update!  They have truly been amazing!


 I am leaving you with a few pictures that we have circulated on Facebook last week.  Join us on the Athens Area Homebuilder Association Facebook page for updates (see link on the right side of this page).  I have also included a list of donations that have already been included in the Christian Home.  Again, we could not be doing this without your help.  I am so grateful for each and every one of you.  Thank you!


Many Blessings,
Karen

















Halloran Crew and Craig Cleveland from Quality Block with the Christian Home foundation.  Halloran supplied the labor and Quality supplied the block, morter, and sand for the home.  It was a pleasure working with you men.  Thank you, thank you!

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Groundbreaking

The groundbreaking for the Buddy Christian Home was on a beautiful sunny afternoon, October 2, 2011.  Read more about the ceremony in the Athens Banner Herald here: http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2011-10-03/builders-band-together-make-widows-dream-home-reality.













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