Project Wrap

Between January 6 and February 3, a group of 6 volunteers from California, New York, Wisconsin and Minnesota put in a total of 14 person-weeks of work in an attempt to make the homes of Jerry Williams and his son Cory habitable once again. We worked 7 days a week

The house, which had taken water up to about 5 ½ feet on the inside during the flood that followed hurricane Katrina, is a duplex, with Jerry occupying one unit and his adult special-needs son Cory occupying the other unit.

Prior to our arrival, Jerry had spent about $23,000 of his own savings, insurance money and SBA funds. The house had been gutted of sheetrock, insulation, cabinetry and personal contents. Most of the sheetrock and insulation had been replaced, a new roof had been installed, and tile had been installed to the floors of the kitchen and bathroom in one of the units. Electrical and gas systems had been restored. However the kitchen and bathroom of the second unit needed significant structural work, including the replacement of nearly 20 feet of rotted sill. All the hardwood floors were badly buckled.

We completed the following work:

• Replace unit 2 kitchen sills and restored kitchen subfloor.
• Restore unit 2 bathroom floor, install subfloor, apply tile and install toilet and lavatory.
• Add plumbing for washer in unit 2 kitchen.
• Prime and paint all walls and ceilings of unit 1, and half of unit 2.
• Restore the damaged hardwood floors of unit 1 and unit 2. Sand and finish the hardwood floors of unit 1.
• Install three new windows where existing windows were too badly damaged.
• Purchase, finish and install cabinets, countertop and sink in unit 1 kitchen.
• Purchase range, refrigerator and wall heater for unit 1.
• Install donated doors and trim in unit 1.

At the end of the project, unit 1 is habitable, except that gas has not been turned on and there is no hot water. Unit 2 is less complete:

• Half the walls need some taping, “mudding” and painting.
• Hardwood floors need sanding and finishing.
• The kitchen floor, sink, cabinets and countertop need to be acquired and installed.
• Doors need to be hung and trim applied to doors, windows and floors.

The project was funded by the volunteers and donors of cash and materials. We spent a total of $5,814 on materials and received $3,577 in cash donations from the volunteers and other donors. We also received donations of doors, trim molding, polyurethane floor treatment and ceiling fans.

While working on the house, we also slept and kept our tools in the house. This created less-than-optimal cluttered and crowded conditions for working and dusty conditions for living.