Construction Update- December

La Fortuna, Renton

December 17th, 2011

This morning we had 3 Americorps CVLs call in sick and 1 more on vacation. Kristina and I both took work crews and Marla just happened to be coming out and led another crew, plus 2 family members worked on a project they had started last week without further supervision. Jahna also helped when she wasn't doing volunteer hospitality things. 22 of the 15 vols scheduled showed up making it rather exciting.

LF5-

Siding continues with Hardi- panel on the 3rd floor and over the low roofs in the back. We are nearing the time when we will need to tear down the scaffolding in the rear and move it out front to work there.

Electrical is still waiting for journeymen to come out. Jahna has a contact who might be available to help out.

LF7-

All of the stairs are in. Unit "e" has all of the exterior walls are up and the partywalls are framed, sheeted, and fire rocked. Unit "b" has 1 partywall ready to stand and all of the front and back walls up.

Work next week will include; framing, siding, and maybe painting?

December 10th, 2011
 

What a week! We were inundated with tools after the news stories on the radio and KOMO- TV. The response was amazing.

LF5-

Siding continues with panel on the third floor in the back and some plank on the north end and front. The belly band at the third floor has been completed, encircling the entire building. With this belly band finished we can now complete the last of the window trim on the third floor.

We failed gas piping inspection in 2 units and still haven't had a fire sprinkler inspection.

The journeymen electricians didn't make it in this week, so the electrical rough- in has not progressed.

LF7-

We had another Microsoft house day and got the partywall closed up, Strong- Walls installed. Asa and Josh came out on Saturday and framed a couple of walls on the ADA.

We finished floor framing on "b", guardrails,  sheeted the floor, started walls and put in the stairs. "E" has three walls up and another long wall started. "D" has one partywall framed, sheeted, fire rocked and 1/2 stood. "C" has some plates cut and ready to start framing.

Work next week will include; wall framing, siding/trim, electrical rough- in (depending on journeyman availability), framing punchlist, and draft blocking.

December 3rd, 2011

LF5-

Siding continues with siding across the front at ground level and on the north end on the second floor. Trim has started on the third floor on the front.

HVAC is complete and passed the duct blaster test and is scheduled for inspection.

Wiring is 99% in unit 6 and started in unit 5. We currently have 2 journeymen committed to Wednesdays and 1 apprentice who is working at IH when we don't have supervision. We are going to reach out to the Geek Squad team that came out last summer to work on the low voltage.

LF7-

Framing continues with 3 units sub- floor completed and another has the floor joists and beams in and blocking started.

Kip put in the temporary steps at the front doors of all 4 units. LF7e has a complete set of stairs to the 2nd floor, "d" has the stringers cut and rready to install, "c" has the landing completed and ready for stairs to begin, and "b" has the landing started.

The ADA unit was started by a Microsoft group on Wednesday and the partywall is framed and sheeting started. There is another group coming next week to continue framing.

Work next week will include; wall framing, floor sheeting, siding and trim, electrical rough- in, and framing punchlist.

 

Issaquah Highlands

December 17th, 2011

This week we had a series of inspections. The electrical, communications wiring and framing all passed. Insulation started in the garages with the ceilings and party wall. OSB was also installed on the party wall. We continued sealing the building with foam and caulking as we look for ways to improve our air leakage. Sheet rock was stocked in the building. Next week the ceilings will be installed and more foaming will be done in the attic. After the holidays we will be testing the building for air leakage and then proceeding with insulation and sheet rock.

On the exterior we shifted and removed some scaffolding. Decent weather allowed us to have several paint crews on Saturday. The south side of the building is now finished.

Next week Marc will begin trenching for utilities on the south end, removing additional scaffolding and continue with the foaming.

December 10th, 2011

The mechanicals for building 5 are complete. HVAC passed inspection and the Energy Star duct testing. The electrical and communication wire was finished on Friday and will be inspected early next week.

Siding for the building is complete except for an area over the main roof. A lot of effort went into caulking and foaming areas inside the units to help seal the building against air leakage. We also worked on punchlist items to get the building ready for framing inspection next week.

Next week we will continue with air sealing, insulating and closing up the party wall and hopefully be able to start insulation in the garages and some other areas of the building.

December 3rd, 2011

Good progress over the last week and a half in Issaquah.

On the exterior we've been continuing with siding, exterior paint prep and even a small amount of exterior paint. There are only two areas left to be sided, a portion of the front gable and a small field over the main roof. The soffits in the back were installed and the porch ceiling on 5A was insulated and installed.

On the inside we the plumbing system passed inspection, as did the gas piping. The HVAC contractor decided to change the design of the main duct system. They were nearly complete and have been removing and replacing duct work. Hopefully they will finish by the middle of next week and we will be able to have the system inspected and tested. Electrical rough-in started just before Thanksgiving and continued all of this week. 5B is about 90% complete and 5A is at 75% completion. We also started installing boxes, drilling and running conduit for the phone, cable and internet wiring. On Saturday, volunteers started sweeping out the units and caulking sill plates to better seal up the homes.

Next week we will continue with siding, wiring and exterior paint.

Bringing Hope to Haiti

Our Executive Director, Tom Granger, led a group of courageous and kind hearted volunteers to Haiti for the Jimmy Carter Work project on Nov. 5-12, 2011.

At the end of the 28th Carter Work Project, 100 safe, decent new homes now stand in the Santo community in Léogâne, the epicenter of the January 2010 earthquake.

Habitat for Humanity has become a significant force in Haiti and plans to build 500 homes by the end of 2012. “Habitat for Humanity has made a five-year commitment to serve 50,000 Haitian families, and the Carter Work Project will help us to build homes and raise awareness to meet that goal,” said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International.

These new houses provided more than just a safer place for families to lay their head at night, they provide hope for a brighter future.

Read about Carol and Ray Dellecker's personal experience volunteering at this year's Jimmy and Rosalyn Work Project in Haiti. 

Click here to read their story.

It’s a Wonderful Life at Habitat for Humanity as the Community Rallies Together to Replace Stolen Tools

Renton, WA. December 12, 2011– Habitat for Humanity of East King County has received an overwhelming amount of support from the community after news spread that thieves stole nearly $4,000 worth of tools from their La Fortuna, Renton construction site.

“It’s like the final scene from It’s a Wonderful Life,” said Tom Granger, Executive Director of Habitat EKC.  “Thanks to the community’s generosity we will be able to replace all the tools that were stolen and we will put in a security system to make sure this doesn't happen again,"

Longtime supporters, new contributors and even corporate sponsors responded to the unfortunate incident by donating over $15,000 worth of cash and $4,000 worth of tools to help Habitat get back to building. Bank of America sent in a check for $4,000 and The Mosaic Company hand delivered a $4,000 check upon learning the news.

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation is one of the largest corporate donors on the La Fortuna Project, and their employees have volunteered more than 1,200 hours onsite this year.

 “We are deeply committed to La Fortuna and Habitat’s work in our community, and when we learned of the theft, we knew we had to respond quickly to ensure that the expectant home owners weren’t faced with uncertainly and that everyone could resume construction as quickly as possible.” said Bob Peters, Washington State president for Bank of America.

Other corporate donors include Complete Concrete, PCL Construction, Genie Industries and Schnitzer Steel.

“We are incredibly blessed by a very generous community who support the Habitat for Humanity mission and are eager and willing to help us when we need them,” said Granger.

Below is the link to KOMO's news story:

http://www.komonews.com/news/problemsolvers/135216453.html?tab=video

KOMO's follow-up story can be viewed at:

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/In-wake-of-theft-help-pouring-in-to-Habitat-for-Humanity--135291913.html

Thieves Steal from our La Fortuna, Renton Site

                                                                                                                  

Thieves Steal Tools from Habitat for Humanity Construction Site

Renton, WA. December 7, 2011– Habitat for Humanity of East King County reported another burglary at their La Fortuna construction site located in the Cascade neighborhood of Renton last week.

“Thieves came prepared this time,” said Mike Hammerquist, Renton Site Supervisor for Habitat EKC. They entered the property by cutting the padlock on the gate and then drilled through the lock on the storage container.

Missing were three circular saws, four coil siding nail guns, two framing nail guns, a drill, a reciprocating saw, a jig saw, an angle grinder, several heavy-duty power cords, and spools of copper wire, all of which is valued at nearly $4,000.

“It has taken several years to build up our tool supply,” said Kristina Struve, Assistant Site Supervisor for Habitat EKC. “This is a big hit to productivity since we are currently installing siding on one of our buildings and now have to nail it up by hand.  We also now have a shortage of power cords, which makes it difficult to run the site efficiently.”

It may not seem like a lot, but to Habitat staff, volunteers and homeowners, having these tools available on a regular basis make it possible for Habitat to continue with their building schedule.  Executive Director Tom Granger commented, “We really don’t expect to be the target of theft based on the work we are doing in the community.  Since this is the second incident this year, it looks like we will need a security system in addition to replacing the tools.  That could be another $4,000 or more.  It is a shame to have to divert those funds from the building program.”

Habitat staff is scrambling to replace the needed tools to keep construction moving along on the two multi-family buildings under construction at this site in Renton, called La Fortuna.  One Habitat for Humanity homeowner responded by bringing in a few tools she had and donating them so volunteers could continue working.

Almost 100 community volunteers, AmeriCorps members and families earning sweat equity work on this jobsite every week.

Habitat EKC has inventoried their tools and filed an incident report with the Renton Police Department.  They are hoping whoever took the tools will return them so they can continue to use their funds to build affordable homes .

More About Habitat for Humanity International: Habitat for Humanity surpassed its 500,000 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 111 new homes and rehabbed or repaired other houses for low income families in our community. The East King County service area incorporates the regions east of Lake Washington.  The goal of this affiliate is to make it possible for low-income residents of King County to be able to purchase simple, decent, and affordable homes on the Eastside. The families who will move into these homes will put in 500 hours of their own labor as a down payment towards homeownership. Visit habitatekc.org to learn more.

Media Contact: Gena Guillen, Special Events and Communications Officer

email: gena@habitatekc.org or call 425.869.6007