November 6

Half our crew today was happily putting up siding on the north side of Bol's house. We made a good team with leveling, cutting, measuring, holding and....

I got to use a nail gun!

We got about eight feet high today, and it looks great!

Meanwhile, up on the second floor: Prepping the upstairs ceiling was a stellar crew! Gill, Bol, John, Kat, Devon and Dylan got a ton of work done!

BTW, if Dylan and Devon are any indication of the generation coming out of High School now. The world will be a better place. These two young men worked hard all day long, even swept out the dust and leftover dense pack insulation from my house on their own initiative.

Oct 21 - Another day on the roof in the rain!

Big thanks to those who braved not only the weather, but the heights to get the roofing shingles on Bol's house!!

We did a lot of clean up and cutting of sheetrock in my house today, and had a visit from PBS and VEIC (the builders and energy efficiency consultants). It was fun to have break with all those folks warm and toasty in my home, enjoying the delicious snacks that Jeanne brought (homemade coffee cake!) and coffee from the Old Brick Store!

Thanks everyone, for all your time and dedication!

Oct 2 - NRG Volunteers to Help!

Mike and John!

Thanks to all the folks from NRG Systems who came out to help on Bol's house! What a great crew, we got a lot done!

Sept 10 Our House Arives

There are nowords. Just no words to describe how exciting this day was for all three of us. This was

the first time the boys could be a part of the process that had been inching along all summer - and in one day... so much was accomplished.

Please view the

multitudes of photos at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54134812@N02/

August 7 - working up high in the air!

This was a day of working up high in the second story of Bol's house. One crew was working on trusses inside for the dormer and finishing the framing of the second story, while the other crew was standing on scaffolding or staging to put up the sheathing (the plywood boards on the outside). A lot got done, and it was a beautiful day, as you can see from the color of the sky in the photos.

Bol is getting really good with that hammer! And Jim is as far up as he can get!

Denny did a lot of the detail work, helping us make sure we were ready to nail up each piece.

We built three levels of scaffolding on the north side of the house to put up the sheathing for the second level and the roof.

Part of the intrepid sheathing team! We became a great unit of working together with hammers, tape measures, chalk lines and many jokes along the way.

At the end of the day, here's where we ended up. And yes, I was on the top level of that scaffolding along with my Mom and Joe for the final pieces of sheathing. Yeepah!

August 5

It is amazing how much can get done in one day. I am not able to be on site for the Tuesday and Thursday work days, but when I stopped by August 5, here's how much had been done!

First Week of August

The 1st of August found a new work crew and Mike eager to begin the day, but my camera's batteries, alas, were done after the first shot. So the photo documentation was limited, but the efforts of the crew were not!

We learned a lot about framing of a roofline, and how to do it with precision, patience, and practice...

Stairs were built to the basement and the staging for the east and west sides was built, so we could stand there later to bring in the sheathing!

Up Go The Walls!!

What a day! On Thursday (July 22), a crew of volunteers from IBM laid the deck for House 3 (Bol's house), and got so much done in a day, that they challenged Saturday's crew to get four walls framed and up... the gauntlet had been thrown down - and we rose to the challenge with enthusiasm.

7 hours later, and in 90+ degree heat and high humidity, four walls were framed and up! (Not to mention the basement floor joists had been supported in the basement (the intrepid over-the-head-hammering crew of Michelle, Colleen and Katie got a good shoulder workout!).

Thanks again to all who volunteered this week, it was great to meet more of our Charlotte neighbors on Saturday!!





Mike's in charge, making sure it all gets done according to the plans.




Nothing quite so exciting as being a part of the building of your own house, right Bol?


One wall up!












Framing the walls!



HYDRATE!!! We went through 10 gallons of water in 4 hours... and then some!



Hot and tired, but still smiling! Great job everyone! Look, Bol! Your house has walls!!!

Basement Floors Bring Me to Tears...

Bol's House's new basement floor!!




Our house viewed from the south. I discovered today that my camera has a timer feature... so I took my own picture in the basement window!!



Our smooth and wonderful basement floor!

It is a humbling experience to visit this site so often, see the progress that is being made, and find myself suddenly overwhelmed with gratitude and joy... just to see the basement floor has been poured. Thank you to everyone who works with GMHfH and on our home. We are so blessed.