As you can see, there is a lot of work to be done on this house yet. 
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Sites From Mrs. Baptiste's Roof
Well, I am done roofing now. We finished up today before lunch. We started to put 1/2 inch plywood on all the floors in the house. To level things up a little. We got about 1/3 done that today. Lots of cutting to do. The plumbing and electrical should get done within the next little while. But there is no building permit, so we cant do the sheetrock until it gets inspected. The jobs we are doing are bigger undertakings than the jobs in Laurel. I am not sure why, but I think there may be more money down here. The budget for the jobs are in the area of 10,000 to 13,000 dollars.
As you can see, there is a lot of work to be done on this house yet.
As you can see, there is a lot of work to be done on this house yet. 
Monday, October 29, 2007
Slidell
These are some pictures I took on my journey to Slidell. It is about 100 miles south of Laurel, in Louisiana. There is one field along the Interstate with hundreds of FEMA trailers sitting there. They are generally a dump after they have been used and often just get burnt. I am not sure what is going to happen to these ones. I have a small trailer to myself for the next 6 weeks. With my own bathrom and all. It would be tight for a couple, but it works well for me. We started work today. I was roofing with two older men. We are over half done, should finish it up tomorrow. The house we are working on has pretty well been redone. More than half of the studding was replaced. Pretty well they only original parts are the floor, which was leveled and braced and the rafters. We have to wait for the plumbing and electrical before we can do much else on it.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Pictures from the Zoo
A relaxing monkey.
The pelicans.
A monkey trying to get a bean pod I dropped outside its cage.
Luther's favourite rodent.
A small gorilla looking animal perching on top of a palm tree. I didnt not think it was real until it changed positions and went back to sleep.
A big, friendly jaguar.
The pelicans.
A monkey trying to get a bean pod I dropped outside its cage.
Luther's favourite rodent.
A small gorilla looking animal perching on top of a palm tree. I didnt not think it was real until it changed positions and went back to sleep.
A big, friendly jaguar.
The Hattiesburg Zoo
On Saturday, seven of us went to check out Hattiesburg. There is not a whole lot to do there, but with the Zoo and the historic downtown, we thought we could make a day of it.
The Zoo cost $2, which someone paid for me. It was a decent Zoo for the size of the town. There were various monkeys, birds, tigers, jaguars, emus, zebras and a few other animals. It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm. This meant that most of the animals were relaxing in the shade, trying to conserve their energy. We were able to coax a few animals up from their sleep with our whistling.
After we had finished at the Zoo, we went to check out the historic downtown. Well, there may have been something going on there in history, but not that afternoon. We drove around it a while and then went for a late lunch instead.
The Zoo cost $2, which someone paid for me. It was a decent Zoo for the size of the town. There were various monkeys, birds, tigers, jaguars, emus, zebras and a few other animals. It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm. This meant that most of the animals were relaxing in the shade, trying to conserve their energy. We were able to coax a few animals up from their sleep with our whistling.
After we had finished at the Zoo, we went to check out the historic downtown. Well, there may have been something going on there in history, but not that afternoon. We drove around it a while and then went for a late lunch instead.
The Week
Well, Marv and I finished up at Grahams on Wednesday. It was sad to leave them. But they were very happy with the way everything turned out. The bathroom turned out quite nice. It would have been easier for us to tear all the old panelling out, but they wanted to keep it. So we had to patch some things together with old panelling from the warehouse. They didnt mind though.
On Thursday morning, Marv and I went with the Grendels, from Brockville, to another site. They had already torn out the ceiling in the master bedroom and were just about down re-tiling it. Marv and I were to tear out the laundry room floor, as it had obviously been water damaged, replace some joists and put down a new floor. I wasnt feeling very well on Thursday morning, so I wasnt much help. I ended up going to the clinic and finding out why my face was swollen. I was given some antibiotics and the swelling is going down. The drugs seem to sap my energy though. Friday I went back to work. We got all the subfloor down and drywalled the ceiling in the laundry room as well as the hall. Tomorrow we will be mudding, putting down the underlay for the linoleum and a few other things.
On Thursday morning, Marv and I went with the Grendels, from Brockville, to another site. They had already torn out the ceiling in the master bedroom and were just about down re-tiling it. Marv and I were to tear out the laundry room floor, as it had obviously been water damaged, replace some joists and put down a new floor. I wasnt feeling very well on Thursday morning, so I wasnt much help. I ended up going to the clinic and finding out why my face was swollen. I was given some antibiotics and the swelling is going down. The drugs seem to sap my energy though. Friday I went back to work. We got all the subfloor down and drywalled the ceiling in the laundry room as well as the hall. Tomorrow we will be mudding, putting down the underlay for the linoleum and a few other things.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Some Pictures
The Graham's place.
Billy Graham helping out Marv.
The finished shower stall.
The new vanity.
Billy Graham helping out Marv.
The finished shower stall.
The new vanity.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Tourist in New Orleans
On Saturday we went as a group to New Orleans. This time we did the touristy things. We drove down to the French Quarter and spent the day there. We got beignets at the Cafe du Monde, apparently world famous. They were quite good. Reminded me of ole boilen. I walked around in the morning with four other men, who didnt have their wives with them. We took a mule carriage ride around the French Quarter. It was not hit hard by Katrina. Which is a good thing, because a lot of the buildings are 150-200 years old. The French Quarter is a national historic site, so the faces of the buildings cannot be changed, just restored, and permits must be granted before any work is done on the buildings, interior or exterior.
In the afternoon I walked around with Mike. We sat in some parks, had a snack at a coffee shop and walked up and down the streets. After a while, it all seems the same. There are lots of similar shops with souvenirs and clothes.
The Cornstalk Inn
The reason they call it the Cornstalk Inn.
The view down a street.
Plants on a street corner.
My lunch, gator kebob.
The Past Week
Well, I have now worked with the new crew for one week. We have been able to get quite a bit accomplished. This new group is fun, despite the fact that everyone could be my grandma or my grandpa. They stay up longer at night than the last group did though. We have fun, even without a Karl. And I am still getting teased quite a bit.
On Monday I headed out to a job with Marv Sjaardema, Ted Koning, Gene VanStedum and Jannie Grendel. This house had a variety of repairs that needed to be done. The main thing was tearing out the bathroom floor and replacing the tub with a shower. This bathroom hadnt been in use since Katrina as the floor had rotted. We also had to replace some floor in the laundry room, put down new linoleum, put new carpet in her bedroom, replace the flooring in the hall and put new linoleum in the other bathroom.
The couple that we are working for are really great. They are encouraging and love to see the progress and to talk. Mrs. Graham has quite a story to tell and loves to share it. They are fairly young and have been married for 48 years. They both care for each other so much.
When we started to tear up the bathroom, we knew we were in for a surpise. Me and Marv tackled that job. We got the old tub out, got the floor ripped out and then started the task of trying to level the floor. We spent about two days under the floor of the house with bottle jacks, trying to get the bathroom relatively "level". It is impossible. Some joists were rotten, some were cracked. We got the bathroom floor to the point where we could put the new plywood on the joist on one side and up on a strip of old half inch plywood on the other side. And that made it almost level. There are still parts of the floor that have visible slopes, but we did the best we could. It was quite smelly under the house as the sink drain had been disconnected from the main drain pipe for who knows how long.
So now we have the linoleum down, the shower surround ready to be glued in, the new vanity installed and almost ready for the baseboard. We should be just about done by Tuesday. It will be very sad to say goodbye to the Grahams, but they took all our addresses and we got theirs. They are the kind of couple that you would go back to visit if you were in the area again.
On Monday I headed out to a job with Marv Sjaardema, Ted Koning, Gene VanStedum and Jannie Grendel. This house had a variety of repairs that needed to be done. The main thing was tearing out the bathroom floor and replacing the tub with a shower. This bathroom hadnt been in use since Katrina as the floor had rotted. We also had to replace some floor in the laundry room, put down new linoleum, put new carpet in her bedroom, replace the flooring in the hall and put new linoleum in the other bathroom.
The couple that we are working for are really great. They are encouraging and love to see the progress and to talk. Mrs. Graham has quite a story to tell and loves to share it. They are fairly young and have been married for 48 years. They both care for each other so much.
When we started to tear up the bathroom, we knew we were in for a surpise. Me and Marv tackled that job. We got the old tub out, got the floor ripped out and then started the task of trying to level the floor. We spent about two days under the floor of the house with bottle jacks, trying to get the bathroom relatively "level". It is impossible. Some joists were rotten, some were cracked. We got the bathroom floor to the point where we could put the new plywood on the joist on one side and up on a strip of old half inch plywood on the other side. And that made it almost level. There are still parts of the floor that have visible slopes, but we did the best we could. It was quite smelly under the house as the sink drain had been disconnected from the main drain pipe for who knows how long.
So now we have the linoleum down, the shower surround ready to be glued in, the new vanity installed and almost ready for the baseboard. We should be just about done by Tuesday. It will be very sad to say goodbye to the Grahams, but they took all our addresses and we got theirs. They are the kind of couple that you would go back to visit if you were in the area again.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Some Pictures from the Session
The dedication wreath at Newsome`s house, during the Last Nail Ceremony
Anthony Newsome
The front of the Newsome`s house, all nicely repainted
The side of the Newsome`s house
The finish back porch at McCormicks
The cat I befriended at Newsome`s
El Guapo, the big alligator on the swamp tour
McCormicks
The 3 Canucks and Miss Thomas
A sign in New Orleans
Our house
Newsome`s house
The original crew and Miss Newsome
Me mudding
Anthony Newsome
The front of the Newsome`s house, all nicely repainted
The side of the Newsome`s house
The finish back porch at McCormicks
The cat I befriended at Newsome`s
El Guapo, the big alligator on the swamp tour
McCormicks
The 3 Canucks and Miss Thomas
A sign in New Orleans
Our house
Newsome`s house
The original crew and Miss Newsome
Me mudding
The End of Session One
Session one has just about been completed. A few people have already left. We only worked half a day today and then washed and cleaned the trucks. Ive done a variety of jobs this week. I painted at the Newsome's house on Monday. On Tuesday I went with Bob and Karl to Miss Thomas's to drywall a ceiling, paint a ceiling and install a new front door. We got home early that day too. Then on Wednesday, I went with Bill and Hugo to replace plywood on a back porch with deck boards. But we first had to reinforce the joists and all that.
On Wednesday night I went with Lin and Dale to have supper with a client whose house they worked on in November of last year. We had a catfish fry, quite tasty actually. It was quite an experience. Mr. Isaac and Miss Diane are very welcoming and friendly. I am invited over there whenever I want, as long as I phone ahead so they can prepare. We then went with them to their Southern Baptist church for a Bible class and prayer meeting. Dale, Lin and I stood out, the only white people. It was very much like you see on TV. Loud and involved.
On Thursday I went back to McCormick's, the porch place. We finished up the back and started on the front. Bob, Karl and Pete were there as well. Bob spent most of the day under the house, trying to reinforce the floor in the bathroom, as the floor was extremely rotten. Bob actually fell through tried to stop himself by putting his hand on the wall and went through the wall. Bob and I got a workout throwing the cast iron tub out of the window. We finished up the front porch this morning. It was quite a change from what it was.
On Wednesday night I went with Lin and Dale to have supper with a client whose house they worked on in November of last year. We had a catfish fry, quite tasty actually. It was quite an experience. Mr. Isaac and Miss Diane are very welcoming and friendly. I am invited over there whenever I want, as long as I phone ahead so they can prepare. We then went with them to their Southern Baptist church for a Bible class and prayer meeting. Dale, Lin and I stood out, the only white people. It was very much like you see on TV. Loud and involved.
On Thursday I went back to McCormick's, the porch place. We finished up the back and started on the front. Bob, Karl and Pete were there as well. Bob spent most of the day under the house, trying to reinforce the floor in the bathroom, as the floor was extremely rotten. Bob actually fell through tried to stop himself by putting his hand on the wall and went through the wall. Bob and I got a workout throwing the cast iron tub out of the window. We finished up the front porch this morning. It was quite a change from what it was.
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