Habitat for Humanity - Day 3 (Jan 31/09)

Today, I helped work on a house that was almost ready for floor covering, so this was good.. seeing a house that is almost ready for finishing.. Started at 8:45 a.m. after the Habitat Safety meeting with the Construction Manager where we reviewed the safety risk assessment and were told the jobs that needed to be done that day.. Two guys arrived late to the Safety meeting, but got us all humoured up as they were wearing painter pants and white t-shirts. They had never painted before, but they looked like professionals. They were so “pumped” to be painting for the Habitat for Humanity, they dressed the part.. It started our day off on an energizing note.. (reminded me to find a white t-shirt to bring to work next time).

Spent the first hiour taking out all unneeded materials, paint, ladders. etc. and throwing out paintpails full of garbage. Did a good floor sweep on the upstairs and the basement area, while another volunteer did the kitchen/living room area. This was a dusty day from all the sweeping and I found my throat dry and I did a lot of drinking. Near then end of all the sweeping, I noticed that my breathing was a bit harder, not the usual regular breathing. I realized it was from all the sweeping dust. I had forgotten to bring a face mask.... and I won’t forget that again.

Decided to do final painting touches/edging/cutting in on trim, baseboards, etc., then back to the roller brush to put a second coat on the upstairs bathroom while the other three volunteers worked at painting doors with roller brushes.

Coffee break was at 10:15 a.m. for 15 minutes.. where we all stood around on the grounds near the Habitat trailor or on its deck to drink our coffee in the sunshine. It was a bit colder today.. The port-a-potty outside the front steps of the unit we were painting had cold seats (only -10 degrees)...but frozen hand sanitizers, so we had to go to the office workshop to get hand sanitizers to wash our hands…

After coffee, the construction foreman came in to direct us to move all heavy machinery (on wheels) to the outdoor balcony to be moved to the next unit. He wanted the whole area cleaned out for flooring.. I was greatful for the steel-toed boots that we were wearing, as I saw how close the heavy equipment came to our toes.

Lunch break was at 12:00 pm to 12:30 pm (30 minutes).. where we all went into different houses to find a heated place to sit and eat.. There was only one chair and it was covered with everyone’s outdoor clothes. So, you stood while you had lunch. I only had a bottle of water left, as I had drank all the coffee by lunch time. One of the women that is getting one of the houses, went for drinks at a convenience store nearby and came back with a coke for me. There was no afternoon coffee break, so we had to work straight to to 4:00 pm..

Back to roller brush painting, this time with the extender pole to get at the lofty walls up the stairs from the front entrance into the living room area..

At 2:30 pm, we found out we had to put a second coat on all the walls in the entry way/basement area. I painted the den, main hallway into the entrance of the house (duplex) and the stairwells which were about 10 ft above me. Had to get on a ladder to reach the height… really picked up the pace when I had to tackle the big entry wall and it was 3:40pm (only 20 minutes to quitting time).. Met another couple from South Africa that would be getting the house. Enlisted the dad and the son to do the edging for me, so I could focus on the brush rolling.. They were so greatful for my painting help.. Finished that in 15 minutes and for the last five minutes did the walls above the front doors and above the closet to the entry way. (the only thing left undone was the bathroom and the laundry room).

Today, I had better boots, as they were slip-ons, so easy to get in and out of them.. As before, it felt great to take them off and put on my old comfortable shoes… I really enjoyed the feel of my own shoes after wearing the steel toed boots all day..

Left the site feeling happy I had done good and feeling my back muscles from all the stretching.. Arrived home with a bit of paint on my green shirt where I had pressed into a stairwell ledge. My hours for volunteering were counted toward my co-worker's hours for the Habitat house........ It was another good day..

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