Construction Update February 21, 2011

La Fortuna, Renton

One side of all garage level shear walls have been sheeted and fire rocked. There is 1 garage with all of the other side built, sheeted, and fire rocked plus one with 2 of 3 framed.

The floor system is scheduled for delivery on Friday, February 25th. Installation could begin the following Saturday.

Work this week:

• Wall framing
• Wall sheeting
• Floor joists.

Magnolia Village, Issaquah Highlands

Building 3:

Continued hardie plank siding.

Garage level and 1st floor is about 90% complete.

Continued white wood trim- corners and belly bands.

Started hardie panel on the top floor.

Electrical in the garages continued.

           

Building 4:

Continued painting on both gable ends.

4B is 95% complete and ready for scaffolding to be partially removed.

Completed pre-rock installation in the garages.

HVAC started- 50% complete in 4A and 4B.

Siding continued in the low areas in the front and under the porches.

Work this week:

• Siding on Building 3
• Dismantling and assembling scaffolding
• Painting

Last Build Day in Puerto Rico

Mary Martin weighs in on Habitat in Puerto Rico:

Our team finished up our work on the houses here in San Juan and ended the day with a well attended press conference of local officials, corporate sponsors and other guests.  Although most people spoke in Spanish, Edgar Martinez made some comments in English thanking our group for coming and working here with him.  It’s been a great week and everyone has been extremely gracious and appreciative of our efforts.

Greetings from Puerto Rico!

From Mary Martin, Resource Development Director, Habitat EKC:

Today was a great day of working with the Puerto Rico Habitat affiliate on a duplex they are building in San Juan.  We stripped forms from the first floor walls and tomorrow we will be working on forms for the second story cast in place concrete floor.

Wonderful weather and work team!

Housing and Homelessness Advocacy Day

On Valentine’s Day, over 500 affordable housing advocates from across Washington state gathered in Olympia to let our legislators know that Every Heart Needs a Home. The Washington Low Income Housing Alliance and Washington State Coalition for the Homeless rallied and readied those gathered for Advocacy Day on upcoming legislation and key policies to highlight when speaking with their representatives.

Habitat for Humanity EKC supporters met with our representatives (or, in true busyness of the Capitol, their staff team) from the 45th district: State Senator Andy Hill, State Representative Roger Goodman, and State Representative Larry Springer. Our fantastic housing allies from Hopelink and St. Andrew’s Housing Group joined us in urging them to invest in the Housing Trust Fund.

We took the opportunity to tell legislators first hand why affordable housing and alternative housing solutions are an essential, worthwhile investment for our future and a vital aspect to community development. It was also an opportunity to illuminate the connection stable housing has with other key issues in Olympia such as education and healthcare—we wanted our representatives to understand that the issues they are particularly passionate about are hugely impacted by the home environment.

Legislators, employees, donors, volunteers, and advocates all have a vision of a community that allows individuals and families to thrive. Participating in Advocacy Day was empowering, exciting, and impactful toward this vision. While the day itself was a concentrated effort, we know that advocacy can and should happen year-round (especially during tough economic times as we are hard-pressed to prioritize needs).

We at Habitat EKC encourage you to stay up-to-date on housing legislation and let your representatives know that you care about this issue and they should too! Utilize the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance Advocacy Page education tools and resources to make your opinion heard. Your passion and stories have power—believe the words of Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Construction Update February 14, 2011

Magnolia Village, Issaquah

Building 3:

• Set more scaffolding around the exterior.
• Finished installing windows for the building.
• Started siding on the middle course, 2nd story in the back.
• Continued with pre-painting siding, 99% down pre-painting.
• Electrical work in the garages is about 50% complete.

Building 4:

• Removed the remaining scaffolding from the back of the building.
• Installed front porch ceilings and worked on beam wrap and trim.
• Continued exterior painting on the gable ends.
• Installed insulation and sheet rock in the garage (areas for duct work only.)
• Electrical work in garages continued.
• Set bath tubs.
• Plumbing is now complete and ready for test/inspection.

Work this week:

• Siding will continue mostly on building 3.
• HVAC is expected to start in building 4.

La Fortuna, Renton

What a week! We started framing walls on Tuesday and have already 5 long walls framed and sheeted and 1 covered in fire protecting sheetrock. We also passed an inspection on Friday. We had the last 2 garages poured on Tuesday, so all of the floors are done.

All of the required plants in the wetlands have been planted and we are now trying to find wood chips for weed prevention.

Work this week:

• Wall framing
• Wall sheeting
• Fire rock
• Framing the stair landings.

Edgar Martinez Joins Habitat for Humanity of East King County for Homebuilding Trip to Puerto Rico

From February 14-18, 2011, Edgar Martinez will join Habitat for Humanity of East King County (EKC) for a homebuilding trip in his childhood home of Puerto Rico.


The Habitat for Humanity Puerto Rico affiliate will host the team of staff and volunteers from Habitat for Humanity EKC, Washington.


Although born in New York City, Edgar moved to Dorado, Puerto Rico in 1965 and attended American University of Puerto Rico before moving back to the states and being drafted to the Seattle Mariners. This is Edgar's second trip to visit Habitat for Humanity in Puerto Rico, but his first time helping to build a Habitat house. In May of 2010, he joined Tom Granger, Executive Director of Habitat EKC and Amanda Silva, Executive Director of Habitat Puerto Rico and Board Members in the groundbreaking event for their latest homebuilding project.


He will be joined by Habitat EKC staff and 8 other dedicated volunteers from the Eastside. During the trip, the group will be laying rebar for the second level of the house they will be working on, setting wood formwork and helping the electrician and plumber with rough-in work.


Trip participants will be blogging about their experience in Puerto Rico at the Habitat EKC website blog here: http://habitatekc.blogspot.com/ during the trip. Pictures, video and a quote from Edgar about his experience will be available upon the group's return.


Habitat for Humanity surpassed its 400,000 house milestone during its most recent fiscal year. Since the nonprofit was founded in 1976, its self-help, hand-up model has resulted in rehabbed, repaired or new housing for more than 2 million people worldwide. Habitat EKC is part of this global effort.


Since 1988, Habitat EKC has built, rehabbed or repaired 107 houses. The goal of this affiliate is to make it possible for low-income Eastside residents to be able to purchase simple, decent, affordable homes. The families who will move into these homes will put in 500 hours of their own labor as a down payment towards homeownership.


Habitat for Humanity of Puerto Rico was founded in 1997 as the 1,348th affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. It shares 10% of its unrestricted donations with the Dominican Republic affiliate. Their first housing project of thirteen row houses is located in San Juan between the communities of Cantera and Villa Palmeras. In February 2009, they inaugurated their 14th house in the Amelia Ward of the Municipality of Guaynabo. In August 2010 they started the construction of the two new houses in Guaynabo.

4-, 5-, & 6-bedroom homes available

Habitat for Humanity of East King County is looking for several large families who are qualified for 4-, 5-, and 6-bedroom homes. Please contact Emily Fortman, Director of Family Services, at efortman@habitatekc.org for more information about house size determination, selection timeline, and qualifications of homeownership applicants.

Magnolia Village reached Built Green 4-Star!

Today we reached a new milestone in sustainable construction and environmental stewardship: the first 4 homes of Magnolia Village, Issaquah have been certified to the 4-star level of the local Built Green program! Built Green is a non-profit organization out of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties. The program certifies homes up to a 5-star level based on the homes environmental impact; a lower environmental impact means a higher level of certification.

Magnolia Village is our first community to reach this level of certification. To succeed, the homes were subjected to a third party verification process including Energy Star verification, duct testing, and whole house blower door testing.

Some of the homes sustainable features include:
• Low flow plumbing fixtures and aerators
• Energy Star appliances, light fixtures, and compact fluorescent light bulbs
• High-efficiency furnaces and water heaters
• Low voc paints and adhesives
• Greenguard certified insulation
• Green Label Plus certified carpet
• Ceramic Tile entries, kitchens, and bathrooms
• Recycled content materials

Less maintenance due to durable materials and lower utility bills as a result of energy efficient construction lessen the financial burden on our families. As fossil fuels increase in price these steps toward energy efficiency will ensure the continued affordability of Habitat homes.

We want to thank everyone who contributed to our success and especially Diane Glen, verifier; Eric Sperline, duct testing; and Ed Brown, Habitat support. We do not want this achievement to become a one-hit wonder, but plan to maintain a standard for all newly constructed homes and continue to increase our sustainable building capacity. We will not step backward, but prove that affordable housing can be energy efficient and environmentally responsible!

Construction Update February 7, 2011

La Fortuna, Renton

Framing began the weekof January 31-February 4. We are currently installing mud sills and the beams at the garage doors. The garage door walls are purchased from Simpson Strong-Walls and come pre-assembled.

There are 4 garage slabs poured and the other two units are 95% ready to pour.

Work this week:

framing tasks

pony walls

stick framed garage/party walls

stage framed garage/party walls, beams, mud sills, and wall sheeting.

Magnolia Village, Issaquah

Building 3:

Continued work on white wood, window trim, and 2x2 corners.  Hardie plank siding started. Most of the garage level is complete in the back and up the gable sides. Plank was also started in the front.  Window installation continued to progress. ONLY 4 LEFT!  Pre-painting continued for building 3. About 90% complete. Scaffolding was built on half of the back of the building.  Front doors were installed and lock sets on both buildings.

Building 4:

Siding for the building is now about 80% complete. Both gable ends are complete to the roof. The porch and bump out areas in the front are started.  Corners for the front bump outs were started. Painting is 90% complete on the back of the building. Touch ups and painting on the roof remains.

 

Work this week:

Siding will continue on both buildings.

Painting on the back of 4 will be completed if the weather permits. Insulation and sheet rock will be installed in select areas to allow for the HVAC installation to be scheduled for a start date.

Scaffolding will also be shifted from building 3 to building 4.

Paint prep on the exterior of building 4 will also continue.