Buddy Christian Family Home

Week 15, 16, & 17

2012-02-12T12:30:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I called Jackson EMC and asked if they had a row boat that I could borrow for the job site at the Christian Farm….it seemed they had everything else that I have needed! At that time, we were almost to a stopping point due to how wet it was out there. Only 4 wheel drives could make it up our hill! The rest of us put on mud boots and splashed our way up…and THEN… we were blessed with 6 days of sunshine and warmth! Talk about “making hay”… with this wonderful weather, we are moving on to reality time. Let me introduce you to those who weathered this time with us.

Legacy Woods, Jeff Bell provided the white oak beam for the mantel. It is an incredible piece of lumber and SUPER heavy! It came from old growth there on his farm in Watkinsville. Whether it is flooring, beams or doors, every piece of wood from their reclaimed stock is always an excellent accent piece. Thank you Jeff for this. I also want to thank Michael Tolbert, Billy Wilkinson, and Lawrence Tolbert for coming back to install the mantel. Good job guys!

Our stonework continued inside and outside. Sherman Meadows worked on the fireplace area for several weekends, and the finished product is just beautiful! Being cousins, this was a true labor of love for Buddy on his part, and it shows. Roy Dalton from Halloran Masonry Inc. was back to install our limestone front porch floor. Both of you men are true craftsmen with stone, and we thank you for sharing your talents with us. The stack stone and the limestone and mortar came from Mike Phillips and Specialty Stone. Thank you…thank you Mike! It is all just incredible!

Tom Edge and his guys with TDE Inc. Construction and Painting have certainly hung in here with us! I don’t know how many weeks he has shared Rick and George with me now…I am sure that Tom knows….but these 2 men have almost single handedly painted the entire house, inside and out! He did send in some replacements one Saturday, and we were blessed to have them! Charlie Upchurch, Coldwell Banker Upchurch Realty, treated these guys to a super lunch for giving up their Saturday. Charlie was certainly a good sport, putting on his mud boots and walking the lunch in through our huge puddles! I also want to thank Stephanie Doer, Make Mine Home, for sending out Michael Mills, Prestigious Painting to help with the paint in the garage. All of this to say, we are STILL painting and Tom says that we are up to 20 color changes. I am sure that Sherwin Williams knows this also. That is what you guys get when you work with women! Sorry Tom…. but bless you!

We have had a little metal work going on inside and out. Tom Fletcher roofing was back to finish up the metal roofing after the brick was completed, and it is such a wonderful accent. My own brother, Greg Bell, also joined this line up. A talented machinist, he made the metal pan to house the 2 water heaters. We also had Campbell’s Gutter, Randy Campbell and his crew, install the gutters for the house. Randy and I always have the biggest fuss about where the downspouts are going on my houses! He KNOWS I don’t like them on the beautiful columns….not that his gutters are not beautiful! Melissa’s house was certainly no exception to our fussing!

As I mentioned before, we finally had a break in the rain and attacked the outside with a vengeance! Charles Fleming and Calvin Fleming brought their equipment and helped with the grading and drainage issues around the house and also completed the pad necessary for the concrete slab outside of the garage. Calvin stayed late one day and installed the gutter drain pipes as the rain was moving back in. This type of commitment is what makes this project so special!

With Spring temperatures, we were able to get the concrete poured for the garage pad. Thomas Concrete of GA, Darrell Kennedy, supplied us with 3 full trucks for that and the front porch underlayment. I want to thank him and James Waycaster of Waycaster Concrete for such a great pour. James made it a family affair as he brought 2 of his cousins along for help! The very next day we had Garrett Paving Co., Rick Garrett move in their equipment and grade for the driveway. Rick supplied the equipment and the gravel and once again Harris Trucking, Terri Harris came to our rescue for the hauling. What an exciting week to get these 2 outside projects done in January! I do need to stop and thank Ron Deal for taking time to come and lay out the drives for us. He is in the process of drawing up the landscape design, so hopefully that will be next! No pressure Ron!

We have had a few more specialty cabinets installed. First, Webber Coleman Woodworks returned and installed our cubbies for the children at the garage door. These are a beautiful oak and stained to match the kitchen. Spag Cabinets also returned and supplied the laundry room cabinets and shelving. We thank you both for these special additions and finishing touches to make this “home” for Melissa and the children. Bella Maria, Staus Korsunsky joined us and supplied the granite tops for the upstairs bathrooms and for the laundry room. I want to also thank Deanna Dooley for supplying the granite slab for the master bath vanities, shower accents, and Jacuzzi surround. It is a perfect retreat for Melissa and has just the right “purple”!

A thankless job that is so necessary out at the job are the port-a-lets! We have 2 from Peachstate Portables, Gary Armour and 2 from ASAP/Glenn Co., Robert Vaughn. Both have been so loyal in the rain and mud to service us. I even had them move them last week onto a more grassy area. Both companies are always ready and willing. Thank you both for your continued support throughout this project.

Another very big help last week came from the Hull Volunteer Fire Department. They were out and burned off the huge piles of debris from pre-construction fence clearing done on the farm. Another super job by these men!

As I close, I would like to introduce you to one last person. Those of you who have worked on the Christian home have received thank you letters expressing appreciation on behalf of Melissa, the entire Christian family, their friends, church family, the Athens Area Homebuilder’s Association and myself. I want you to meet the lady responsible for those letters, Rachel Chandler. I was remodeling the Chandler’s master bathroom on that fateful day last March 22^nd. Buddy and Melissa were members of the Hull Baptist Church where Mr. Paul and Ms. Rachel attend. As that day progressed and through the weeks afterward, I was struck with the loss that they were all feeling. Buddy was truly one of the “good guys” who should still be with us. Ms. Chandler said she could still see him playing ball with the church children out on the lawn. Most of you know the story of the sermon Doug and I heard on “community” and the nudgings of my heart that followed. As things progressed and we were about to start the home, I had the pleasure of meeting the Chandler’s daughter Lisa. She was on a ventilator and very sick but offered to somehow help me with the building of the Christian home. Lisa passed away the week before the ground breaking…but help she did. As the Chandler’s were dealing with their grief, they set up donations to go to the Christian Home build instead of to flowers for their daughter, and it was also put on Ms. Rachel’s heart to help us by writing appreciation letters for donations made to the home. What a relief it has been for me to know that this very important detail is being handled with the kindest of words and thoughtfulness by this special lady. More gifts to bring to the table….more “works” to share. “You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did?” Writing these letters and Faith is leading Ms. Chandler through her hard times of loss. Your “faith through works” have helped Melissa get through her time of loss this last year, and we are thankful.

As I continue to say…we do not all “nail nails”….but we all have hands to reach out and help others in some way. May YOUR “works” be extra special in the coming weeks.

Continued Blessings to all,

Karen

Billy Wilkinson, Michael Tolbert and Lawrence Tolbert install mantel


Tom Edge with the TDE Painting crew - Matt Duffel, Jeff Lord (sitting), Tyler Williams, Carl Fowler, Chris Anglin, & Tom

Greg Bell of Bell's Machine Shop and Mark Brannon of Brannon Plumbing installing metal drain pan for water heaters.

Tom Brand cutting stone for fireplace surround

Charlie Upchurch of Coldwell Banker Upchurch Realty wading through puddles to deliver lunch

Charlie Upchurch, wet but happy to "feed the troops"

Michael Mills, Prestigious Painting priming the garage ceiling

Tony Wilkerson, Prestigious Painting cutting in the ceiling of garage

Kenneth Dispain lending a helping hand to Sherman Meadows for the fireplace surround

Randy Campbell of Campbell Gutters with Kris Shirey and Jacob Baumgardner installing the gutters

Steven Waycaster of James Waycaster Concrete and Gary Derryberry, A & G Framing readying to pour the garage pad with Thomas Concrete of Georgia

Doug Adkins of Peachstate Portables helping move the buildings

Thomas Concrete of Georgia, Darrell Kennedy supplied the concrete for the garage parking pad and the front porch underlayment

James Waycaster of Waycaster Concrete finishing the slab

George Whitley and Rick Nelson of TDE Painting reporting for duty

Rick Garrett's Crew of Garrett Paving grading for the driveway

Garrett Paving putting in the driveway

ASAP/Glenn Co. moving the portables for easier access

Terri Harris Joiner's trucks of Harris Trucking hauling gravel for the driveway and the white sand for the masonry

Spag Cabinets are back with the laundry room cabinets and shelving

Henry Lee Jackson Jr helps Roy Dalton of Halloran Masonry install the flagstone from Specialty Stone on the front porch

Mrs. Rachel Chandler writing thank you notes for the donations of labor and material

Ryan Crump and Carlene Banevicz of Spag Cabinets with the laundry install

Staus Korsunsky of Bella Maria delivering vanity tops and jacuzzi surround for the upstairs bathrooms

Hull Volunteer Fire Dept burning off the brush piles from previous fence install

The Christian Home at the end of Week 17

Specialty Stone's Fireplace surround and labor by Sherman Meadows with Oak beam by Legacy Woods and stained by TDE Painting, cabinets by Webber Coleman Woodworks and Heatilator Firebox by Porter Fireplace and Insulation. It takes a community!

Bella Maria installing master vanity, sinks and jacuzzi surround

Webber Coleman Woodworks provided the cubbies

Jeff Bell and Jason Newberry of Legacy Woods cutting the oak for the mantel

Have you ever seen such a saw?

Tom Fletcher's crew of Fletcher's Roofing back to finish up the metal supplied by Georgia Metals

Charles Fleming of Fleming Grading and Calvin Fleming of County Line Enterprises working on the finish grade and backfill

Sunbelt Scaffold Rental and Halloran Masonry crew cleaning up the site

James Waycaster of Waycaster Concrete, Gary Derryberry of A & G Framing, and Calvin Fleming of County Line Enterprises forming the garage parking slab

Ron Deal of Garden South laying out driveway with assistant Nally Mountjoy

Calvin Fleming of County Line Enterprises installing gutter drains

Week 12,13 &14

2012-01-13T00:20:00.000-05:00

Weeks 12, 13, & 14

Forgive me for not being back in touch since the holidays. We have been a little busy as Christmas just keeps on coming out at the Christian Farm! This is an exciting time where we get to see the “fruits of our labors” of past shopping trips coming together every day with amazing installations. Let me share some of these.

Buddy’s friends, the Firemen stayed with us for almost the entire 3 weeks knocking out the interior trim. We have added a couple more men to this line-up that I want to thank. First of all a thank you to Baxter Hammock of Colonial Woodworking. Bax, you have incredible talents making all of our projects special and unique, and this home was no exception. Dango Nguyen also joined Michael Tolbert to help with Buddy’s study trim. I want to thank Athens Building Supply, Charlie Callaway for supplying the wooden doors for the study and also the staircase trim. It has been a pleasure to work with these men and the home boasts of beautiful craftsmanship!

The interior painting has begun, and I want to thank Stephanie Doerr of Make Mine Home for coming to our aid in paint selections. I also want to thank Dave Sykes for the new bedding and linens for the 3 bedrooms. This was a perfect gift to coordinate the color selections with Stephanie as she worked to bring this together beautifully. Of course none of this would have been possible without the backing of Sherwin Williams, Ben Perry and TDE, Tom Edge and his crew. Sherwin Williams committed to supply all of the exterior and the interior paint and painting materials and TDE is supplying the exterior and interior labor. What wonderful gifts! We also had Magnum Drywall, Melissa and Lionel Orbea back to check all the walls and ceilings for blemishes with their trusty light and pink mud. You gotta love it when they finish their task and still want to come back to help!

Our next large task completed was the installation of the tile for the baths and back entry. Dalton Carpet, Mike Blanton was one of the first who committed to the Christian home back in April, and true to his word supplied all of this material. Without the commitment from these businesses up front, it would have been impossible to start construction. Thank you Mike for stepping up with this part of the flooring package, and we look forward to the installation of carpet later! Frankie Roger’s Tile was our installer for the tile. Frankie and his crew did a wonderful job and never complained as we added many really neat features throughout! Traditions in Tile, Patrick Vaughn supplied the master bath flooring and shower tile for a truly elegant bath for Melissa. I thank you all for making each bath uniquely beautiful.

Our cabinet installation continued with the upstairs bath vanities by Spag Cabinets of Royston. These custom cabinets designed by Carlene Banevicz and Kellie Spagnoli truly follow the new furniture trend in cabinets and are a beautiful addition for the home. Pro-Granite, April Bonner also installed the incredible granite countertops for the kitchen cabinets, island and the downstairs guest bath. April is another who committed back in April, 2011 with the building of this home. Again, it is impossible to thank you enough for that initial commitment!

We were blessed during the holidays to start the stonework on the interior fireplace. Specialty Stone, Mike Phillips is supplying the stack stone and mortar for us. A funny note…the day that Melissa and I visited Mike up in Hoschton, GA, to pick out the stone, we made one quick stop for lunch on our way back and the stone delivery beat us home! I am sure that this is not always the case but cool none the less! One of Buddy’s cousins, Sherman Meadows is supplying the labor for us on the interior stone. It has been a true blessing to work with the men that Buddy and Melissa had originally lined up to work on their home. Sherman is one of these and truly skilled in his craft.

Last we have had some exterior work completed:

Halloran Masonry, Roy Dalton has completed the last brick wall. Another funny story….as Roy and Erin were working to complete the last gable high on the scaffolding…tedious would have been a good word…I heard Roy say to Erin as they struggled to get the last cut piece to stay in place and as only Roy can say…..”If you drop this, I will have to hit you!” I secretly howled! So funny!

County Line Enterprises, Calvin Fleming came back to help one Saturday backfill and clean up. Calvin is one that never tells me “No”. I so appreciate him and what he does for me on every job site.

Those Jackson EMC guys were back and ran our permanent service to the house, so that we could have Stanfield Air Systems hook up some much needed heat. Thank you…thank you both!

We also put in the water line from Melissa’s well to the new house. Brannon Plumbing, Daniel Brannon did the installation along with the “You Forget who you are dealing with” Jackson EMC guys again. Bless them, they are always there to help….even with the plumbing!! I asked them if they did tile work??

As I close, someone told me that each picture on this blog always has smiling faces. I do want you to know that we have wives now put to bed for the remainder of their pregnancy, wives undergoing chemo for breast cancer, and cars breaking down with huge mechanical bills….but, the men just keep marching on. Why? Because they believe in what they are doing and Who they are doing it for. Then amazing answers come for these men and women…. family stepping in to help with the wife and children as the men labor, encouraging Doctors ready to help with the diagnosed, and checks from church friends to aid in the car debt. He says, “Test me in this,…and see if I will not throw open the floodgates “ We just need to Believe, Smile and Keep Marching!

Blessings to All,

Karen

Mike Blanton, Melissa, and Jocelyn Paxson selecting floor coverings.

Mike Philips at Specialty Stone Supply showing Melissa options for the fireplace.

Jackson EMC running the permanent service to the new panel for the home.

Temporary pole is down and an outdoor spot is installed.

Baxter Hammock of Colonial Woodworking setting up shop in the garage.

Stephanie Doerr going over color selections with Melissa.

April Bonner of Pro Granite with samples for the kitchen countertops and island.

Dalton Carpet loading the tile for the installation.

Jackson EMC installing water line to the house from the well.

Daniel Brannon of Brannon Plumbing installing the water line from the well to the house.

Jason Bond and Ken Gordon of Jackson EMC reminding me of "Who I am dealing with"!

Frankie Rogers installing master bath floor and shower supplied by Traditions in Tile.

Baxter Hammock of Colonial Woodworking working on the staircase trim.

Frankie Rogers Tile crew finishing up the back entry tile supplied by Dalton Carpet.

Topping out the back of the house with the brick supplied by Boral Brick.

The finished brick on the back of the house.

Sherman Meadows installing the stacked stone for the interior fireplace.

Stack stone supplied by Specialty Stone Supply in Hoschton, GA

Magnum Drywall crew checking the walls.

Rick Nelson of TDE, Inc. Construction and Painting caulking to ready for the paint.

George Whitley of TDE, Inc. Construction and Painting covering the tile and cabinets to ready for the paint.

Magnum Drywall with the light and the pink mud for touch-ups.

Roy Dalton and Erin of Halloran Masonry topping out the last wall with brick.

Pro Granite's tops for the kitchen and island are beautiful on the cabinets.

Upstairs bathroom vanities - this one is Callie's - supplied by Spag Cabinets of Royston, GA

Week 10 & 11

2011-12-22T23:59:00.001-05:00

Weeks 10 & 11

The Firemen are here!! Wow…what a great 2 weeks we have had with the interior and exterior of the home. If trucks count…we win…for the yard has been full! Let’s get started introducing you to all of these wonderful men!

The Firemen took over the house and headed up the interior trim to start off Week 10. They have been like termites plowing through the material, and thankfully we have had an abundance to work with! These guys were mostly friends of Buddy’s, and he had already spoken to them about helping with the trimming of his new home when it was time. I know they feel his presence as they get to work each and every day. They are mindful of the craftsmanship that he expected and have gone above and beyond in showing respect for his wishes. I am so thankful to have met them and marvel at their talent as individuals. These guys include: Michael Tolbert and his Dad Lawrence Tolbert, Billy Wilkinson, Tim Taylor, Greg Pruitt, Stan Michael, Philip Hansford, Jamey Bramlett, and Neil Mathis. These same men will be back the week of Christmas to run the judges paneling in the study and build the staircase. It has been my pleasure working with each of you.

The trim material itself was an amazing story. I knew that VNS Corp., Mark Haney had volunteered the interior doors and some casing, but it wound up being the entire interior trim package! Remember….they also gave the windows!!! The downstairs casing sent out is just incredible and gives a grand and unique look for the home. The storage trailer for the doors and windows to stay in during the construction has also been a wonderful plus. I am so thankful for the support that VNS Corp.,Choo Choo, Mark Haney and Mitch Malcom have given to this project. It truly has been a blessing to have them on board with us from the beginning!

The interior beams for the great room were installed in Week 11. This incredibly beautiful White Pine was brought in from Cosco, Maine from a 6th generation family mill by Water’s Edge Woods, Chris Colter in Comer. Chris was one of those last minute calls who didn’t hesitate and stepped right in to help. L & L Construction, Eddie Luther was back for this install and did a wonderful job. I also want to thank Leon Daniel of Leon Daniel Construction. Leon did the interior trim material take-off for me up front. This was necessary to start rounding up the materials to be able to start.

Week 11 brought the beautiful cabinets by Webber Coleman Woodworks, Dan and Jessica Webber. They provided the cabinets for the kitchen, breakfast nook window seat, den entertainment units for each side of the fireplace, and the downstairs bath vanity. I do hope that each of you will be able to see the craftsmanship and detail that has been put into these. Buddy was a huge fan of oak and Jessica worked extremely hard with Melissa to honor this and design an incredible kitchen and living area. I will always remember Dan standing in line in the Homebuilder meeting back in April that started this great adventure. It has certainly been a pleasure to work with this fine family and business.

While the trim was going on inside, we had the septic tank being installed outside! D. J. Backhoe, Dale Johnson was our installer and did a fabulous job. The Madison Co. Health Dept., of course paid a visit and declared us legal! Again, I thank them for waving the local fees for this service. I also want to thank Jeff Bell of Bell Construction for the use of the equipment, truck and hauling. The septic tank was donated by McDaniel Concrete, Phil McDaniel from Winder. The pipe, paper, and labor for the trenches, were donated by Armour Plumbing, Gary Armour. Hanson Aggregates, Jeff Redmon donated the gravel for the system and Harris Trucking, Teri Harris Joiner again delivered it. I continue to thank these companies for they are always there to deliver. What a blessing each and every one of you have been for this install.

The Christian farm has a well on the property. Gary Armour also assisted with checking the well and procuring help with a water filter system. This was supplied and installed by Metro Water, Doug Davidson. It is so important when using well water to filter and protect the consumer as well as the new plumbing fixtures. I thank you Doug for your amazing contribution. Gary, you are also one of those guys that has been with me from the beginning of this home. Your contacts and encouragement has been tremendous and priceless.

We had another feast last week. Jerry Craig of Prudential Blanton Properties, brought out a lasagna lunch to “feed the troops” that was just delicious! These expressions of support are so welcome and refreshing for the boys and myself as we work. I will always be grateful to those of you who have contributed nourishment for our bodies as well as for our souls.

The same day that we were having our feast, Jerry Carnes with Channel 11 also came out to visit our build and interview Melissa. He said that with all the negative news going on in this world, it was nice to see a community working to give back. You can view this interview at:

http://www.11alive.com/news/article/216566/40/ATHENS--Slain-officers-dream-comes-true

As we approach Christmas, we will take a short break to celebrate with family and friends. I wish all of you a Merry Christmas…but especially to those who have shared so much with us this year. Just as the Wiseman brought gifts…you have brought your gifts to this home and family, and we are blessed because of you.

May we all remember the families of those who will be missing someone this year as they celebrate under their tree. Buddy, I pray that somehow you know and feel the kindness of so many reaching out to your family at this time and that it gives you peace. Melissa, may you, Callie and Wyatt look up on the hill and see His Mighty Hand upon you…for “He knows the plans He has for you.” …and that even with Buddy gone, you feel his legacy of “caring for others” providing a true Christmas gift for you now.

Merry Christmas and Holy Night Blessings to all,
Karen

Dale Johnson of D J Backhoe installing septic tank system with Josh Moore and Tony Patterson of Armour Plumbing and Well

Greg Pruitt installing crown in master bath.

Phillip Hansford and Tim Taylor hard at work on the interior trim.

Septic tank donated by McDaniel Concrete is installed.

Armour Plumbing added the "muscle power" for the septic tank install.

Beautiful work by Dale Johnson and Armour Plumbing

Michael Tolbert and Tim Taylor trimming away!

Stan Michael adding crown in the back hallway.

Trim crew - Jamey Bramlett, Stan Michael, Lawrence Tolbert, Tim Taylor, Phillip Hansford, Michael Tolbert, Billy Wilkinson

Week 10 guys enjoying lunch by Jerry Craig of Prudential Blanton Properties

Week 11 and the cabinets are rolling in by Webber Coleman Woodworks

Webber Coleman Woodworks did a fantastic job on the install!

Chris Colter and Kenny Branyon supplied the White Oak beam material.

Back of the house on Week 11

Halloran masonry continues to march on!

White oak beams and entertainment units are installed in family room.


Super oak cabinets supplied by Webber Coleman Woodworks

Oak was Buddy's favorite wood.

Rubbed black island and window seat compliment the rest of the kitchen.

The end of Week 11

Week 8 & 9

2011-12-07T20:45:00.000-05:00

Week Eight and Nine

Where were we?? Sorry, I got a little out of pocket during the holidays, so I am combining the week eight and the week nine update! More on the reason for that later! Let me bring you up to speed on what has been happening out at the Christian Farm while WE were all busy feasting on turkey!

It seems that each aspect of this build has been touched by it’s own little blessing, and the sheetrock phase has been no exception. So many of you have shared this story of the home to be built for the Christian family with others, which has led to amazing gifts of either material or labor. Kent and Karlene Lawrence shared our story at dinner one night last June. One of the men sitting at their table “just happened” to be from the National Gypsum Company and committed their company to supply the materials for the build that night. On Monday before Thanksgiving, this material was delivered to the site. I want to thank Robert Cunningham and John Mixson of the National Gypsum Co. for the generous donation of the sheetrock and the mud for this home. I also want to thank my dear friends, the Lawrences, for sharing the story.

Right after this commitment for the sheetrock material, we had an Athens Area Homebuilder monthly meeting. It was a special day for I had the pleasure of introducing Melissa Christian and several other special guests to the Association. I also shared the story of the sheetrock material gift. Afterward, Melissa Orbea, introduced herself and her husband Lionel, as owners of Magnum Drywall. She said they would like to furnish the sheetrock labor of the build. With tears in her eyes, she told me her story. Her mother served on the police force in Miami, and when Melissa was 15 and her sister was 10 she was tragically shot and killed. She said the community had come out in force to provide for her family in their time of grief. Melissa felt in helping with the Christian home she could “pay forward” the same comfort and support others in Miami had provided for her and her sister.

Melissa and Lionel took the reigns and handled the entire drywall package including arranging the delivery of the sheet goods and material by Georgia Drywall/Georgia Vinyl Distributors Inc, with Jason Jenkins. It seriously scared me as I saw the semi truck pulling a trailer along with another piggy-back truck drive into the jobsite with all 3 loaded with drywall on Monday of week 8. I later found out that we were just the first stop! I appreciate the special care the delivery team took with the windows and doors to ensure these were not damaged in the stocking process. As soon as the delivery was complete, the installation started, followed by the finishers. On Tuesday of week 9, Melissa called and said the sheetrock was finished and ready for trim. Magnum Drywall and their crew did a fantastic job with the sheetrock, AND the job site was left cleaner than any other drywall company that I have ever worked with! Melissa, you and Lionel have certainly “paid forward”, and I thank you.

On the outside, the Halloran men keep right on marching up the walls with the brick. The front is complete as well as much of the right side. Scaffolds were being set up on the back this last Friday. These guys continue to amaze me giving up their weekends. I want to thank Sunbelt Scaffold Rental, Matt Long, for the rental and delivery of the scaffolds. I would also like to thank Sutton Construction Specialties, Mike Lathrup for supplying the flashing and weeps for the masonry. We have had angle irons and lintels provided free of charge by anonymous donors. All of these items are necessary for the proper installation of the brick, and we thank you all.

About 12 years ago, a former customer introduced me to the wonderful tradition of placing a family Bible inside the wall behind the sheetrock at the front door. It serves as a blessing to all that enter and reminds each one daily of the protection provided by His Word. Before leaving for Thanksgiving travels, we placed the Bible that I had presented to Melissa at the groundbreaking ceremony in her front wall. She had filled it will their family lineage, pictures and postings, and it was a special moment of Thanksgiving for both of us. I am truly thankful for the opportunity to have met this strong and special lady and her wonderful family and friends.

It has been my past experience that if you have a good sheetrock crew, this is a good time to take a much needed break before the trim and set out starts. With Magnum in the lead, this house was no exception. Doug and I did take a much-needed break and enjoyed the Thanksgiving holidays with our family in TN. The holiday held the miracle of the birth of our second grand daughter, Eliana, and all the world stood still for just a moment . We are entering the busiest time of the year. May we all find time to just stand still for a moment and be thankful.

Blessings to all,

Karen

Stocking house with sheetrock from the National Gypsum Co. by Georgia Drywall Distributors.

Lionel Orbea and men from Magnum Drywall hanging and finishing sheetrock.

Melissa with Lionel from Magnum Drywall.

Callie showing off her bathtub!

Wyatt with his bathtub!

View of farm from second floor porch.

Kids showing us the Heatilator from Porter Fireplace.

Family putting the Bible in the wall.

My 2 little girls!

House after week 9!

Week 7

2011-11-23T00:37:00.000-05:00

Week Seven

One lesson I have learned during all of this is… if one door is closed, another will be opened! As a close friend frequently reminds me…”You just need to be still”!

Monday started us off with the installation of the heating and air systems. I want to thank Sally Stanfield of Stanfield Air Systems for stepping in for the entire mechanical package…including the installation labor, duct materials, and 2 zone systems. With Sally’s lead, Lennox Industries, Randy Head, supplied the home with both the 2.5 and the 3.5 Lennox 13 SEER heat pump systems. Mingledorff’s, Martin Gregory, also supplied duct materials, copper linesets, grilles and registers. These guys came in and got right down to business, including the ducting of the bath fans and vent hood. Attention to detail was given in every aspect of an amazing product.

Our next accomplishment this week was the crawlspace. I wish all of you would stop by and check it out! Another wonderful phone call from Carol Williams brought her brother up from Cordele, GA. Crawl Space and Basement Solutions, Charles Southerland, sent his electrician the first day to install lights under the house. The next day Charles and his crew came with the vapor barriers. This is a detail that should be required in these days with mold, mildew and allergies in abundance. Check out the photos below! I will be adding this to my next projects.

Porter Insulation and Fireplace, Keith Porter, installed a direct vent gas log unit by Heatilator for our den area. Steve Patterson, you have always been a huge help to me in my past home and renovation projects. I was super excited that you guys were able to supply this for the Christian Home.

Small details at the end of the rough-in are easy to forget but so important to a superior product. Wally Ash of Ash Plumbing heard that Melissa had mentioned an in-house vacuum system and stepped in with less than a 12 hour notice and roughed this in for us. Wally and Gary Waters of the Clean Living Store supplied the materials needed for the job. Jackson EMC Security, Hal Brady came for the rough-in of a security and monitor system. Partner Technology, Chris Cunningham came out for a consultation and supplied the wire for a surround sound system and additional speakers. Jackson EMC’s, Jason Bond and Ken Gordon came back over and helped with these wire runs! Seriously folks, these EMC guys are good, and I have been so blessed to have them right down the road! I would have been in trouble if there were serious power outages in the area!

The metal roofing was a welcome addition this week as this completed our sealing of the structure. Tripp Strickland and Byron Lee of Georgia Metals supplied the material and Tom Fletcher’s crew of Fletcher Roofing, were back for the installation. The metal roofing and the previous Certainteed architectural shingles are perfect together.

This was also the week of the insulation. We….don’t you just love the way I say WE…. have caulked, foamed and sealed just about everything that was attached to the house! As I have mentioned before Rowe Insulating has been working on this part for days to get ready. On Thursday night, the entire Rowe “family”…wives and children…were out sweeping and cleaning to ready for the install the next day! Certainteed, Javier Montalvo, supplied our ENTIRE house of insulation. With right at 200 employees, this is such an impressive Athen’s plant. Keith Porter of Keith Porter Insulation and Fireplace sent his crew to help with the install. Thank you Keith for that much needed help. Jay Tucker a Clarke Co. Fireman, also joined us for the installation. It was a total community effort and job well done, which was proven by passing the first phase of Right Choice Status with the Insulation and Heat and Air contractors this week.

What a special lunch we had on Friday! My Mom, Betty Bell and two of my best friends Barbara McConnell and Pam Huff brought out an early Thanksgiving Feast! Ham, potato salad, peas, biscuits, peach pie…are you getting the picture here? It was just incredible and loved by all. The men said to tell you ladies that Christmas was coming up and you were welcome back any time!

Friday was just a “happening day”…of course almost all days are like that out at the farm…with Channel 5 coming out to visit us. Tacoma Perry did a nice feature that ran Nov. 21^st. She was truly amazed by the house and the precious donations given for the Christian Home. Take a look at the Fox 5 site for the clip below:

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/local_news/Family-of-Fallen-Athens-Clarke-County-Officer-Gets-Dream-Home-20111121-am-sd

Of course those Halloran Men were back sacrificing their Friday and Saturday again. Pat Halloran had a special presentation for Melissa this Friday. It was a piece of Jerusalem stone that he had carved a cross with a special verse “Be Still and Know That I Am God” on the front to Melissa. Another special prayer was carved on the back for the children. A special “brick frame” on the front porch will later house this stone for the Christian Family. I will tell you, there were not many dry eyes that afternoon! Such a special and precious touch to an already incredible gift!

On a personal note, I need to thank Grant Tyner of Adam and Eve Hair Salon. He treated me to an afternoon of pampering last Friday. I think he thought that I really needed some help…and bless him…I did! Thank you Grant, you are a precious friend of 27 years, and your gift was perfect!

As Thanksgiving is just around the corner, I have to pause and give thanks for each of you. Without you, this dream would never have happened. This home is a precious design of time, talents and gifts given in the most “sweet of spirits” by a community that cares for our own. As several friends and family gathered to write scripture on the studs before the sheetrock, I added Romans 12:6 for all of you. “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.” Thank you for sharing yours.

As Melissa reminded us, this 22^nd will have been 8 months since Buddy was taken from her. In her post she says that she “could have missed the pain but if she had, would have missed the dance.” She is thankful for the 15 years of the dance.

Many Thanksgiving blessings to you all,
Karen

Stanfield Air System
Tony Stratton, Ted Richey, Josh Wheless, Josh Callaway, & Matt Hawley

Crawl Space and Basement Solutions - Charles Southerland

Crawlspace with barrier and lights

                                                      Keith Porter Insulation and Fireplace -
                                               Steve Patterson checking out the new Heatilator

Wally Ash of Ash Plumbing roughing in the in-house vacuum

Metal Roofing from Georgia Metals installed by Fletcher Roofing

Wayne Moon and Kevin Rowe of Rowe Insulating loading the insulation from Certainteed

Looking over the pick-up list from Certainteed -
Javier Montalvo, Kevin Rowe, Glenn Baxter, & Wayne Moon

Wayne Moon, Javier Montalvo - Plant Human Resouces Manager, Glenn Baxter - Plant Supervisor,
and Kevin Rowe

The Rowe Insulating "Family" cleaning up for the installation

Melissa talking with Tacoma Perry of Fox 5

Jay Tucker donated a day to help out with the insulation installation! Thank you Jay!

Stanfield Air Systems men finishing up the ducting for the vent hood

David Griffeth of ACCPD and Noble Heroes joins Melissa in showing Tacoma around the house

Pam Huff, My Mom - Betty Bell, and Barbara McConnell with Melissa setting up lunch for the crew

Lunch is served with a plywood table on saw horses!

Pat Halloran of Halloran Masonry presenting Melissa with a hand carved stone for the front brick wall.

The back of the stone with the prayer for the children.

David and Barbara McConnell, Pam and Mitch Huff, & my parents Betty and Simmie Bell
Thank you guys for the delicious lunch!

Keith Porter Insulation and Fireplace of Jefferson installing the Certainteed Insulation

More Insulation in the kids playroom - Mr. Alton Rowe, Kevin Rowe and Jay Tucker


		Halloran Masonry with a completed front wall

Halloran Masonry jointing up the new brick

Week 7 Complete

Christian Home - Week 7

News Break - November 20, 2011

2011-11-20T16:26:00.000-05:00

TV's Fox 5 in Atlanta came out last Friday and did an update on the Christine Home. Be sure to stay tuned to the early morning news, Good Day Atlanta, on Monday with Tacoma Perry.

Week 6

2011-11-17T11:40:00.000-05:00

Week Six

Building for me will never be the same! What progress we have made out on the Christian Farm this week. Famous quote for the week....”You forget who you are dealing with!” Jason Bond of Jackson EMC….more on this in a bit.

We had a great week in our sixth week of construction as we called out the electricians for the pre-wire. John Hadden’s crew from All Bright Electric came out to head up our electrical. I really appreciate John stepping in as the head electrician. Jackson EMC also sent out a crew to help. I want to thank Tommy Minish, Jason Bond, Brian Smith, Ken Gordon, and Brad Moon for all of their help. We had 12 men drilling holes, pulling wire, and nailing on boxes all in one day. It was NUTS…but so much fun to watch. These skilled men had a mission and went to it! Lade-Danlar of Stone Mountain, Wayland Boozer, supplied our rough-in materials. Wayland, you have been with us from the beginning in April, and your support has been tremendous and means a lot to me personally. I thank you.

Tom Fletcher of Fletcher Roofing and his crew were our saving grace this week. Anytime that you can stop a house from leaking is a great day. Tom had signed on to do the metal roofing, but when we hit a little snag, stepped in to do the entire roof…shingles and metal. We appreciate him and his men getting the shingles on and look forward to seeing the metal completed next week. ABC Supply, Fred and Lori Ellis and Joe Couch, we thank you for the beautiful architectural shingles and supplies to do this. Your continued support to the Association is priceless.

As I have continue to say, we have had wonderful support throughout this build with people stepping up with their gifts. Trowell Jernigan of Fells Fargo and his cute little family delivered pizzas, drinks and snacks on Thursday for the entire house full of men. I am sorry that I missed the photo opportunity on this one to share with all of you, but really want to thank this family for visiting with us and supplying lunch for the crews and me! We already have the next couple of weeks taken care of, but if you would like to help with the “feeding of the troops” call Lisa at the Home Office – 706 543-5760.

Kevin Rowe and Wayne and Deanna Moon of Rowe Insulating continue to give up their afternoons and Saturdays to be sure that every plate line is caulked and all the baffles are up and waiting on the insulation. We thank them and their suppliers for this personal commitment. I want to thank Arlene Scarbrough of S. F. Products, Adam Payton and Barbara Hillard of Roofing and Insulation Supply and Shaneaka Harvey of Airgas Safety for the insulation rough-in materials. Nothing is being overlooked with these skillful eyes as we proceed to the status of a Right Choice Home!

Seavy O’Neal of Building Wrights and Renovators came back out to help set another door and do a little punch out for us. The Halloran Masonry Team continue going up the walls with the beautiful brick supplied by Boral Brick. Steve West visited with us to see if we were doing his brick justice this week! I am proud to say that we passed with flying colors! Mark Haney of VNS Corp. also stopped by to check on his windows and was blown away with what he saw. There will be more on Mark and his other contributions later. We humbly thank both of you for everything that you are doing for us. These are “big ticket” items that were a huge asset in the building of this home.

Several of the Jackson EMC guys – Jason Bond, Tommy Minish and Randall Echols came back to run the cable and phone wire for us. They knew we were lacking this and stepped in and just did it! What a blessing. This is where my story comes in….I had asked Eddie Luther of L & L Construction to come back out and help me punch out a few things to get ready for sheetrock. I had told him “You do not need any help…it will just take a couple of hours”…does this sound familiar to anyone? I had forgotten that our super triangle windows from Magbee Contractor Supply, Brannon McFarland, had been delivered for the playroom and needed to be installed! (Thank you Brannon for once again stepping in to help!) I went up to Jason and asked if they had another ladder that we could borrow and could they help in getting the windows up to Eddie? Jason looked at me and said “You forget who you are dealing with!” I just looked at him questioning, and he whips out his phone and said “I am out at the Buddy Christian Home, and we need a bucket truck!” In less than an hour we were installing windows in the bucket truck! You are right Jason, sometimes I do forget who I am working with! I just have to chuckle when He reminds me!

As I said earlier, building will never be the same for me. When you have 12 men pulling wire for electrical, bucket trucks setting windows, foremen laying brick, heads of companies foaming windows and doors on Saturdays, sweeping floors with my 84 year old Dad, 6 plumbing companies under a house running pipe, and the list goes on and on for this home….I will be “Forever Ruined for the Ordinary”. I know that you can each see this. What a special project to be a part of. It is humbling to watch, and I thank each and every one of you.

Blessings to you all,

Karen

P.S….No baby yet!

Tom Fletcher of Fletcher Roofing measuring for the metal roof

Jackson EMC - Tommy Minish, Jason Bond, Brian Smith, Ken Gordon, and Brad Moon

John Hadden and Crew with All Bright Electric

Trucks and more trucks!

Jackson EMC's Ken Gordon and famous bucket truck!

Carefully setting the windows from Magbee Contractor Supply

Eddie Luther giving support from below.

Kirk Atkinson and Shane Halloran of Halloran Masonry working brick up the front walls

Steve West of Boral Brick surveying the work with Shane Halloran and Kirk Atkinson

Roy Dalton and Keith Duncan of Halloran Masonry working away

Wayne and Deanna Moon of Rowe Insulation adding baffles to the ceiling.

Mark Haney of VNS Corp stopping by to check out the Silverline windows.

The end of Week Six!

Fletcher Roofing Crew

Week 5

2011-11-10T12:03:00.000-05:00

Week Five

The clean up award goes to….the plumbers! I am still getting comments about the clean job site and floors inside. I have never been as impressed as I was this week with all the brooms and dustpans that came out at the end of their “shift”. Upon commenting about how much I LIKED this, Casey Nelson of C & C Plumbing said that it was a reflection on him and his work, and that he always left the job site cleaner than how he found it because he wanted to be asked back! Words to live by!

I also understand that we all missed the party. The plumbers celebrated Halloween on Monday night and Tuesday night out at the house. They had cupcakes, candy corn and drinks all ready for the party with lights and drop cords strung all through out the house. Melissa and I had been shopping in Conyers on Tuesday, and the house was “all a-glow” when she turned in. She said she almost had a wreck turning in her drive wondering how the electricity was on without lights! What a team Mark Brannon of Brannon Plumbing put together. We had 6 different plumbing companies represented. I understand that several of these guys used to work together, so it was like “old home week” out at the farm. I want to thank Mike DeVore and DeVore and Johnson for all of the rough-in material needed for the home as well as the fixtures that will be going in later. I want to thank the following guys for a great job of sharing this task and coming together as a plumbing community.

Brannon Plumbing – Mark and Daniel Brannon

Towns Plumbing – Mark Towns, Drew and Dylan McCurley

T & E Plumbing and Drain – Tommy Epps and Jason Ramsey

Carson Plumbing – Mike McCain, Pete Carson, and Stephen Brannon

C & C Plumbing – Casey Nelson and Jeff Yarbrough

Ash Plumbing – Wally Ash

We did have a birthday out on the farm this week. Little Wyatt turned 3! Athens Blueprint, Mike Hodges, worked miracles to have us a banner made and hanging as the family came home that day. Seriously, I don’t usually give these guys a lot of time when I need something, and they always come through for me!

As I mentioned last week, Tom Edge and his crew painted the exterior trim and siding and finished up on Wednesday. Thank you guys for a job well done and protecting the windows and doors and other supplies that had already been delivered to the jobsite. It was very professional and well done, and I appreciate you guys looking after those before you and those coming after you.

We had several great “walk throughs” this week to prepare for the work weeks ahead. One was held with Jackson EMC, Nelson McGinnis and Brian Patton, LECO Mechanical, Carol and Earl Lively and Rowe Insulating, Kevin Rowe. Jackson EMC is keeping us on track for a “Right Choice” Home. This will give the Christian Family one of the best energy efficient homes out on the market today. When completed and we have the certification, this home will qualify for reduced power bills for the family forever!

Another HUGE blessing this week came when Halloran Masonry returned for duty! Pat Halloran called a couple of weeks ago and said that his men wanted to return to lay the 35,000 brick for the Christian Home exterior! This is a huge commitment and required all of them to give up several of their next Saturdays. Halloran is not bringing their crews to knock this out. Let me introduce you to the guys who will be laying the brick for us.

Kirk Atkinson – President of Halloran Masonry

Shane Halloran – Vice President

Roy Dalton – Project manager/Supervisor

Jason Gomes – Supervisor

Alfredo Flores – Supervisor

Keith Duncan – Project manager/Supervisor of all General Contracting operations.

Pretty impressive list right? Again, I shutter to think if I had to pay these labor bills! I cannot thank each of you enough for stepping up to the plate on this.

I also want to thank Boral Brick and Steve West for the donation of the brick. They immediately joined us in the planning stages and gave us several brick samples for Melissa to choose from once she decided on a color. It is going to be a beautiful exterior especially with the red mortar being supplied by Power Brick, David Carter and Cemex, Stephen Henley. The beautiful white sand for the mortar was supplied by Atlanta Sand Co. Jeff Avant, and hauled by Harris Trucking, Teri Harris Joiner. Sutton Construction Specialties, Mike Lathrup, also donated the flashing and weeps for the brick. I thank you all for everything. It is always so exciting to see the items that have been picked out come together and the house start to have an identity all of it’s own.

I have to close by saying thank you to my daughter Jesi. It was her suggestion to keep everyone up to speed on the Christian home-building progress with this blog site. She is about to have her 2^nd little girl…our 2^nd grandchild…any day now and has so many things that she could be doing in Nashville, TN to prepare her little family for the new addition as well as preparing to be gone from her job at HCA. BUT, she has chosen in part of her “spare time” to help her Mom with the organization of this blog. I am so passionate about what I do…what a dull life it would be if we were not…and my children have always shared this with me and met some of the most amazing people along the way. I am so proud that I get to share all of you with Jesi and that I get to share Jesi with you as we wait for Eliana Starr Malloy to arrive. My heart overflows with pride for my family as well as for each of you – a wonderful community of family and friends coming together to share your gifts to provide this beautiful home. I continue to stand amazed!

If you see a silver blur heading toward Atlanta…that would be Doug and me heading to TN…would someone please tell Chief Lumpkin!

Continued blessings to all,

Karen

Week 4

2011-11-03T11:01:00.001-04:00

If you build it, they will come…and come they are! As I said last week, the specialties teams are stepping up now and coming in droves to help us! We have also gone “International” and “You Tube”! More on both of these coming up!

On Monday, we had to say good-bye to the A & G framers! They were enjoying themselves so much, I think they may have stayed with us. After two weeks of framing, the decking crew was called in. Seriously, if you have never watched a decking crew, you should. Andy Price and his guys are amazing as they walk 35’ or so in the air with sheets of our Huber ZIP roofing product above their head. Notice on the pictures below that ZIP requires no clips or felt…just the tape for the seams. This has been a great time to learn about new products on the market and their application. I want to thank Luis Imery of Imery Group for taking time out to come and walk through the house with us to share energy saving tips in the framing stage.

Our windows and doors are in and look fabulous. VNS Corp, Mark Haney and the Greensboro branch of Choo Choo Building Products supplied the window package for the Christian Home of Silver Line windows. Bryan Gabriel of Athens Window and Door was very instrumental in finding Tim Crocker of Classic City Door and Hardware, who supplied all of the exterior doors for the home. Tim is an old Armstrong and Dobbs guy who went off and started his own successful business. He also went to school with Buddy and wanted to step in and do something for the family. Mark works closely with Mitch Malcom on his large projects, and was very excited about helping with the build. You will read more about VNS Corp. later, as the windows are not the only items they are donating. We thank you all for these generous gifts and for all of your help getting these valuable assets for the build.

On Monday, Carol Williams of Coldwell Banker, sent an email introducing a fiber-cement exterior trim product that I have not used before. After reading, I called the Company that was started in Japan, has a home office in Norcross, GA and a manufacturing plant in Macon. In one hour, Michael Cobb of Nichiha, had volunteered to provide all of the siding, cornice trim and porch ceilings for the home…an amazing donation that saved us tremendously! I encourage you to go on the Nichiha web site and explore their products. I was taken with the fact that they manufacture this right here in GA and thought of the jobs their plant is producing for our state. If you are a LEED builder, you get points for using this local product. Charlie Callaway of Athens Building Supply also supplied our finishing touches to the exterior package and supplied the hauling of the Nichiha products to the job site. As I continue to say, each one of us bring our “gifts” to this project. It may be labor, it may be a product, it may be a contact. It is taking all of you to build this home, and I thank you for listening to your heart to contribute. Doors are being opened, and we are walking through them!

Next we had 13 men from four different Co.’s come out for the installation of the exterior trim. Seavy O’Neal of Building Wrights and Renovators, brought out his crew to set the windows and doors on Tuesday. Wednesday brought Jared York of J.W. York Homes and his guys to also help with the setting of the windows and doors, apply some of the ZIP taping and several other details that needed to be finished up. Chad Tracy of Patriot Construction sent out his crew for the rest of the week running the cornice detail. Eddie Luther of L & L Construction and his crew also ran the cornice and all of the siding. I was in Heaven as I had a cornice crew on the front and one on the back, with windows and doors going in from the inside! We were multi-tasking to the max…and I was loving it!

On Friday I went out to the house site and found Mr. Alton Rowe of Rowe Insulation, sweeping up the inside! As I have said before, I have never seen such expensive labor as we have had on this job site! His guys, Wayne Moon and Kevin Rowe were right behind him sealing up the plate lines and applying insulation behind the tub areas in preparation for the plumbers. More on the insulation later but I have to say thank you for the dedication of these Madison Co. men. Their office is just around the corner from the Christian farm, and this hit them personally…Buddy was their neighbor. I have also included a picture below of a quick trip to the local Certainteed Plant, where Brett Ostrowski had my car loaded for this task. I have ridden by these huge plants almost daily, and it is so amazing now to put faces with these corporate signs and also to again think of the local jobs created by them. What an impact they each make in this area.

We closed out the week on Saturday with the painting crew of TDE and Tom Edge. Bless them for being patient and starting the painting of the cornice and siding despite the rain on Friday night, AND being the GA/FL game day. Sherwin Williams and Ben Perry is supplying our paint. Bless them also for being patient as 7 samples later, Melissa and I, finally had the siding color that we liked!

The house continues next week with more of the specialty teams coming out to join us, so stay tuned. I continue to be humbled and filled with pride as each one of you contribute to this beautiful home. Join me as Melissa and I share your story on a spot that UGA’s news team and Amanda Santiago did for us. It can be found at:

http://youtu.be/k5VLLN5Q4MY

http://youtu.be/2uGi969ADOo

Blessings to you all,

Karen

Week 3

2011-10-25T11:23:00.000-04:00

Extreme Home Makeover… Athens style! A little slower but with finesse, style and grace! We now have the rafters on the Christian Home!! What a beautiful home it is going to be for this sweet family! In these “economic down-times” that we are in, you would think that people would be saying “no” to this home and any type of donation of labor, material, or time of any sort. But everyone just continues to give, and I am completely overwhelmed with the generosity and kindness being shown to Melissa, Callie and Wyatt. Some of you have even said that you “can’t wait” until it is your turn! It is completely exciting to watch and be a part of!

During Week 3, the guys worked through the rain on Tuesday and are expected to finish the roof decking this Monday and Tuesday. A & G Framing has done a tremendous job of leading their crew and being accountable of the materials we have had donated. Steve Reuchel, of S R Home Plans, you should be proud of the plan and how it all has come together. Great Job! Doug Kilpatrick of D & D Construction was my “Mighty Man” of the framing package. Doug and I go back to the EARLY Lowe’s days here in Athens. He never hesitated when I asked for help! Thank you Doug, for the material take-offs and checking in on us!

Toby Hines of Toby Hines Crane service was our saving grace for the week. He joined us on Thursday to help with the setting of Harbin’s roof trusses. What a chore this would have been without you Toby. Thank you for watching the weather and coming out to the job site earlier than planned. I can’t believe that we are already battling freeze warnings! I am NOT excited about Winter moving in so quickly…as I have said….I don’t freeze well!

Murrell’s waterproofing also came out this week to seal the foundation and install drain lines. David and Cindy Moore of Murrell’s are from Loganville and were referred to us through their daughter Chelsie, who works with Coldwell Banker. Thank you Chelsie for helping to spread the word of the Christian Home. This build is spreading throughout the area, and we are so thankful for everyone’s help and the outpouring of material and labor of the greater Athens area.

UGA’s news team also joined us during Week 3 for a lead story. We will be featured one day this week. I will certainly try to let you know when that will be for those of you on Charter cable.

We closed out the week Saturday with a crew from Westminster High School 10^th grade class coming in to help clean up! These girls really got right down to it early that morning when most of their friends were home sleeping in! What a wonderful way for them to learn what “giving back” is all about. We thank you all and can’t wait to get started on Monday morning with a clean job site!

David Griffeth, of the Athens-Clarke Co. Police Department is our coordinator with Noble Heroes and the Buddy Christian Trust Fund. David has been very supportive and comes out to check on us almost daily. I appreciate his constant attention to detail with all the paper work involved and his caring spirit. David is also a wonderful photographer. I know you will enjoy the additional photos that he adds to the blog each week!

Charlie Upchurch introduced me a few days ago as the “Cheerleader” of this project. As I told the Athens Homebuilder’s this week in our monthly meeting, it is easy to be the Cheerleader for a team such as you! Each of you are an integral part of this project! Keep it up! Week 3 was a huge touch down for us, and now I am ready for the “specialties team” to come in! The “Put me In Coach” attitude is riding high! Stay tuned!

Eternally Grateful,
Karen
10/21/11

Week 2

2011-10-18T09:59:00.005-04:00

We are already putting on the floor joists of the second floor, and the house is looking great! What a view this family is going to have from their second floor porch! They will be able to see the rolling hills with the horses, goats and dogs all before them.

Our first two days this week were of course rained out, but the framing crew of A & G Framing, were not about to get behind. They really got to work Wednesday morning first thing and were putting the decking on the second floor by Friday. I cannot say enough about Alex Triplett and Gary Derreberry and their crew.

Our lumber packages were delivered promptly and have been beyond our expectations. Huber donating our sheet goods was an incredible gift. Dustin Warren with Universal Forrest Products and Jim Thompson of Power Building Supply worked together to supply our floor joist system. Brannon McFarland with Magbee Contractor Supply supplied our studs. Brannon also joined us Friday and helped the framers for the afternoon. He said that he thought riding around in the truck selling lumber was a lot easier than lifting it! Charles Pierce from Builder’s First Choice helped supply the 2x8’s for our roofing material. Harbin Lumber and Todd Lord supplied our roof trusses along with a hefty part of our framing package. Harbin also donated the trucking time of picking up the sheet goods from Huber and the storage of these until needed. Being the closest supplier to the construction site, Harbin has been a true blessing with all of their help. Others that contributed for Week 2 were American Pest Control, Mike Thompson, for the pre-treat for the foundation and Hardeman & Hobson Waste, Mitch Hardeman, supplied the roll-off for construction debris. As I keep saying, it is taking a community to build this home. Each gift counts as a huge step forward.

Thursday and Friday were also spent getting the garage and porches back-filled and ready to pour concrete. Calvin Fleming again came to my rescue to help with moving the dirt. Lafarge Concrete, Alex Forrester, supplied the concrete for this 2^nd concrete call. Gantt Bros. Concrete and Classic City Pools again supplied the labor for the slab. So, we have a beautiful garage and “Gator area” that were getting walls by this Monday! Danny Rogers of USA has been my “Mighty Man” for the foundation and has been a tremendous support throughout. Thank you to all you men for everything. You are all awesome in your craft, and I thank you for sharing!

For those of you that missed it….Saturday night with the 5K that Coldwell Banker put on for the Christian Home Build, was incredible! Yours truly brought home a trophy aka hammer for coming in 2^nd in the female 55-59 age bracket! The older you get the less people run! Congratulations Charlie Upchurch to you and your entire team on a super event enjoyed by all, and the hammers were pure genius!

We ended our week with another luncheon on the farm last Friday. Todd Lord brought out Zaxby’s for the framing crew for the week. We are getting spoiled by our Friday “feasts”…let us know if you are interested in participating in that as a way to close out a good work week. Now you know why I run!

We should finish up the framing within Week 3 and will be on to the exterior trim and setting the windows and doors for Week4. Please let me know if you would like to participate in any phase of this. We also hope you will enjoy this new blog as a way to stay connected to the project. You may sign up to receive blog updates as emails through the link on the right side of the page or stay connected to us on Facebook. At the top of the page, you will find a link to the updated donations list and contact phone numbers. Please join me in supporting these that have given so generously. If you have a project coming up…give them a call. As always, I thank you for everything. This is an amazing Association, and I am so proud to be a part of this group and all that you are doing in the building of this home for this sweet family.

Many blessings to all,

Karen

Week 1 Update

2011-10-11T23:13:00.002-04:00

What a grand first week we have had with the Christian Home! The ground breaking last Sunday was a total blessing. So many of you were there to join us in celebrating the day! A huge thank-you to Jimmy Brooks, Mandy Wilkins and Boyd Smith for help with the set up and Charlie Upchurch for joining me on stage. It is always wonderful to call out the troops and for you to respond! Of course, our very own Lisa Teal was the official photographer. She has a web site that you can link to if you would like to see more of that beautiful day.

http://toursbytechco.phanfare.com/ChristianFamilyHomeBuild/5304378

Monday and Tuesday were spent gathering permits, laying out the house and batter boards, grading the crawl space and digging the footings. Madison Co. allowed us to pull the Health Department and Building permits at no cost under the leadership of County Commissioner Anthony Dove. Many of you remember David Hoechst. He came out of retirement to help me with the lay out. Charlie Callaway of Athens Building Supply supplied our batter board materials. Ray Brooks and Johnston Dove of Madison Co. Towing did the grading, and Calvin Fleming of County Line Enterprises dug the footings. By Wednesday, we were pouring concrete! I believe these footings could have been the most expensive that I have ever poured labor wise…if I had to pay! My laborers led by Calvin, were Keith Burgess of Classic City Pools, Danny Rogers of USA Concrete, and my husband Doug! They actually did a pretty good job! USA provided this round of concrete for the footings but three of our concrete companies, Lafarge, Thomas Concrete of GA and Ready Mix USA are sharing this build together. That is what this home is all about…as our bracelets say, “Community built”!

On Friday and Saturday, Pat Halloran himself, of Halloran Masonry and 5 of his FOREMAN went out to lay the block for the foundation. Steve and Cathy Banks of Quality Block supplied the block, morter and sand. Their very own, Craig Cleveland joined us on the farm Friday at lunch and cooked ribs with all the trimmings to feed the masons, the other crews of the week, and friends and family of the Christian family. It was totally delicious and enjoyed by all! Pat Halloran asked that each craftsman involved with the building of the Christian Home, take the time to teach little Wyatt, almost 3, part of his skill. “Wyatt will remember building his Mom’s house for his Dad….a special memory for his entire life”.

Monday started us with a new week and the framing crew, but we were rained out by lunch. We are looking forward to getting started with the lumber! Little Wyatt has learned to lay block and now is ready to hammer! The framing will take 2 weeks and then we will be working on exterior trim, cornice, siding etc. If you have not been contacted and would like to help with the labor or material of the exterior trim, please give me a call…. 706 202-7339….we would love to have you join us. More on the framing donations in my next update! They have truly been amazing!

I am leaving you with a few pictures that we have circulated on Facebook last week. Join us on the Athens Area Homebuilder Association Facebook page for updates (see link on the right side of this page). I have also included a list of donations that have already been included in the Christian Home. Again, we could not be doing this without your help. I am so grateful for each and every one of you. Thank you!

Many Blessings,

Karen

Halloran Crew and Craig Cleveland from Quality Block with the Christian Home foundation. Halloran supplied the labor and Quality supplied the block, morter, and sand for the home. It was a pleasure working with you men. Thank you, thank you!

Groundbreaking

2011-10-02T23:32:00.001-04:00

The groundbreaking for the Buddy Christian Home was on a beautiful sunny afternoon, October 2, 2011. Read more about the ceremony in the Athens Banner Herald here: http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2011-10-03/builders-band-together-make-widows-dream-home-reality.