Building with Habitat, Part 2

If you read my earlier post titled Staple Guns and Flat Tires, then you read about my first build day with Habitat for Humanity of Missoula. Each Bike & Build participant is required to complete 10 hours of sweat equity on an affordable housing build site before the start of the trip. Today I took the day off work to finish my sweat equity hours on the same build site that I worked on previously.

The first time I built with Habitat of Missoula, I jumped in with a service club of young college students. This time around I was with a more "seasoned" group of regulars from local Lutheran churches. Clad with their tool-belts and work boots, I could tell they had been building houses for years (a LOT of years). This was Fritz's 17th Habitat house, Ingrid's 16th, Martin's 14th, and so on. I felt a little naive and inexperienced, to say the least. Nonetheless, they worked patiently with me and showed me the ropes on an array of new power tools to add to my resume - hand saw, miter saw, table saw, air nail gun, air staple gun. I tried to play it cool any time they handed me one of these death toys, but inside I was both incredibly nervous and giddy. By the end of the day I was tooling around like a pro.

Check out the progress made on the house!

Habitat house on Saturday, May 3

Habitat house on Wednesday, May 28

Last time I was at the build site, it was one-story and empty on the inside. Now there were not only two stories, but all kinds of framing, rafters, ceiling supports, flights of stairs and more.  One of the old-timers walked me through the layout, and I could see the house becoming a home right before my eyes. Coincidentally, this home was featured on the front page of the local newspaper that very morning. Check it out here:

Habitat for Humanity of Missoula Newspaper Article

Every Bike & Builder gets to designate a $500 grant to the affordable housing organization of his/her choice, and mine will be going to Habitat of Missoula. I wish I had gotten involved with this organization before moving away from Missoula, but the good news is the Habitat for Humanity of Flathead Valley does housing projects around Whitefish, where I'll be living after the trip.

This summer, we will have 14 Build Days in 13 different cities and towns along our route.

Jun 19 - Portland, ME
Jun 23 - Fitchburg, MA
Jun 26 - Pittsfield, MA
Jul 8 - Columbus, OH
Jul 9 - Columbus, OH
Jul 11 - Dayton, OH
Jul 17 - St Louis, MO
Jul 21 - Springfield, MO
Jul 25 - Tulsa, OK
Jul 31 - Amarillo, TX
Aug 11 - Payson, AZ
Aug 14 - Flagstaff, AZ
Aug 18 - Williams, AZ
Aug 27 - Palmdale, CA