July 15th Neither heat nor humidity nor dirt and dust nor painful blisters kept Bedford Rotarians from engaging in volunteer service at Habitat for Humanity’s latest house renovation project in Concord.
Throughout a very hot and muggy day, a cadre of 10 Bedford Rotary members joined with Concord Rotarians to help renovate and convert an older, ranch-style house into separate, individual homes for two qualified families selected to participate in the Habitat for Humanity program.
This particular house held some unexpected, hidden surprises for the Habitat team.
After it was acquired termite and carpenter ant damage was found in several walls meaning more demolition and rebuilding was required than anticipated.
Those were among the tasks the morning and afternoon Rotary crews tackled with skills guided and tried under the watchful eyes of Site Supervisor Bill Bulens and Construction Manager John Maslowski.
Wielding hammers and prybars, and with the help of Sawzall's, sections of walls and floor were removed and re-worked. With care and circular saw precision, repurposed lumber from earlier demolition was fashioned to a new use for window framing. And with drills and nail guns they were anchored in place.In the basement,
the removal and leveling of dirt and stones became necessary to ensure sufficient ceiling height, for the reimagined two-bedroom home to be built there.
the removal and leveling of dirt and stones became necessary to ensure sufficient ceiling height, for the reimagined two-bedroom home to be built there.Habitat for Humanity of Greater Lowell, marking its 30th year of existence in 2021, typically completes 2-3 house projects per year. New owners put sweat equity into the construction of their homes-to-be but it's thousands of volunteer hours that do most of the work.
Even during covid 2020, says Kim Trainor, Habitat of Lowell’s Director of Development, 530 volunteers gave 11,000 hours to Habitat construction. More than 350 volunteers have spent 7,000 building hours just thus far this year.
Work progresses five days a week, and these sweaty Rotarians are just one group among the many volunteers that are already scheduled for build days well into November. The kickoff of the Concord project was May 15th. Completion is anticipated before the end of next April.