So Troy and I ended up with a different assignment from the others in our group. We helped to clear out the tool shed at Camp Coast Care so the tools and materials stored there could be transferred to the Bay St. Louis site. Troy proved to be a valuable asset as he was quite adept at getting the maximum amount of stuff in a step van per trip. We were filthy at the end of the day, but it was an important job to take care of. Tonight we have kitchen clean up duty (yeah!).
Monday, June 15, 2009
This doesn't look like building a house.?
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3 comments:
Joe: What a job! I am distressed that CCC is closing, but it sounds like some of the functions are going to places where they can continue to be used for the important work of re-building houses. At lease, the tools are moving!
I am delighted with the pictures that you are posting on this blog! Keep up the good work.
Peace.
Pam
Joe: As I was using a wet saw today on some tile - we were grouting a floor - someone asked me if Pete Anderson and Building and Grounds know that I am this "handy" with power tools. The answer is no they don't but I guess I can hide that now. It was really fun cutting the tile and having the water splash back on my face and hands. It was really hot outside and it had the feel of being at a waterpark...George Glazier
On Monday George, Julia, Brian, and I went to the house of Inky and his sister-in-law Cat to work on some tile grouting. The room was kind of a cross between a sun-porch and a den. The walls were not finished. Tile was laid by last week's crew and they cemented all the tiles down and had grouted about 1/3 of the room. First we had to scrape off grout and cement that had stuck to the tiles, and scrape the cement down enough in the cracks that we could have room for grout. This took what seemed like a long time.
Then we got to do the actual grouting. I got to mix the grout, which was pretty simple. You get the grout in the form of powder and pour into a big drywall bucket, then add water and mix with this big mixer-gadget--to the approximate consistency of cake batter. Actually applying the grout entailed basically smoothing it over the entire surface so that it got in the cracks, then wiping off all the places that grout didn't need to be. It was key to keep changing the wash-water before it got too dirty. I had a lot of fun grouting, although I skinned some of the skin off my finger. I was not as fast as I might have been but I was good at conserving grout. We ate lunch and finished up more methodically: one person to carry water, two to grout, and one to wash. This was more efficient and also eliminated the tracking in of muddy footprints which we suffered in the morning. We were done by 2:30 or so, and were supposed to go to another site, but there wasn't really enough time for us to have gotten much done so we came back to camp and relaxed. We were the first group done. I bet we won't always be so lucky!
We talked to Inky at the break. His real name is Ed, but he got the nickname Inky because he weighed only two pounds when he was born and was an incubator baby, in an incubator that his family had rigged up out of a box and a heatlamp. Despite this crude technology he survived in one piece. I'm glad we have better incubators in this day and age.
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