Habitat

Rochester Build Site Update

senhhab — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 01:13:55 +0000

The Rochester Duplex build has started again on a very limited basis. Those on the build site now have been selected for their skills to perform specific tasks in preparation for sub contractors who will be doing the electrical, plumbing and heating work. We will begin Saturday builds with volunteers as soon as these tasks have been completed.

Please don’t get discouraged if you see activity around the site – we still need you!

Thank you for your continued support!!

About Volunteering – From A Volunteer

senhhab — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:38:15 +0000

Volunteering, in general is a great thing to do – great for your soul and great for your community. Volunteering for ReStore is exceptional in that you never know what you are going to see or who you are going to meet!

From kangaroos to a guy playing music on a washboard! One of the first customers I helped at ReStore was a very nice, polite woman looking at a dining room table. We figured out how to remove the leaf – and that the mechanism needed oil – and then proceeded to chat about the store. The next thing I know, she is playing the antique organ sitting on the floor for sale! She has been back many times since to play for us and the customers. Her husband has joined in playing the washboard. It is a definitely something you do not hear every day and well worth a trip to ReStore just to hear, not to mention all the neat stuff for sale!!

Another interesting customer at ReStore is the curator of the Rochester Zoo; he comes in now and then looking for the odd cabinet or other furnishings for the zoo. The one evening I was not there, he comes in with a baby kangaroo! Where else can you volunteer – or work for that matter – where you could have experiences like this?

Volunteering for Habitat for Humanity can be much more than swinging a hammer. Check it out!!

Michael A Webster

Volunteer Coordinator and Technical Consultant

Thank You Tri-City Flooring!!

senhhab — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 02:04:41 +0000

The vinyl is installed in the kitchen and two baths for Unit B in
Farmington, future home of the Jennifer Pare family. Workers from Tri-City
Flooring of Somersworth came out in 100 degree weather Friday to get the job done and
keep us on schedule. The vinyl was certainly pliable! Tri-City flooring has worked with SENH Habitat for Humanity for years, donating labor, vinyl, and carpet padding. Additionall,y they give us very
good pricing on carpet and laminate. Roy the owner and all employees are a pleasure to work with.

Bob McCoy
Build Team Manager

Video From July 16th Rochester Build

senhhab — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 04:57:58 +0000

Thanks, Robb Russman, for another fine video!

Volunteer Creates Video of Rochester Build Team

senhhab — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 00:26:51 +0000

Robb Russman of Danville volunteered for his first time at the Rochester build on July 9th. He took some photos and video footage during the day and later pieced together this touching video. Enjoy. Thanks, Robb!

SENH HFH Participates in July 4th Celebration

senhhab — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 02:56:32 +0000

On July 4th, SENH HFH Administrative Assistant Anne Phipps and volunteers Dale Delory and Jess Phillips participated in the annual Rotary Club of Durham-Great Bay July 4th celebration held at Cowell Stadium. Anne, Dale and Jess provided several activities for the kids - decorating birdhouses, building bird feeders and building bulletin boards. Other activities from other organizations included:

- Granite State Zoo’s educational wild and exotic animal exhibit.

- McGregor Ambulance Corps exhibit and tours of an ambulance.

- An inflatable bouncy house and 22′ slide.

- Face decals, fireworks painting on paper plates, hula hoops, and other games.

- Carnival food including pizza, fried dough, sno-cones, hot dogs, etc.

- Music

- Newmarket Militia

- And, of course, spectacular fireworks!

The fireworks were presented by Pyrotecnico, America’s most innovative and creative designer of fireworks displays. A voluntary donation was requested at the gate to defray the cost. Proceeds assist in high school scholarships, food bank contributions, Christmas turkey distributions, support to high school and UNH Rotary Clubs, an international program to eradicate polio, providing boots and shoes to needy children in local schools, and supporting local charitable organizations including Womenade, Bobcat Bolt, and On-Belay.

The Rotary Club of Durham-Great Bay wants to thank all of its sponsors and in particular the Town of Durham for providing police, fire and public works support and UNH for providing police support and their spectacular venue.

Bike & Build Team Praises SENH HFH

senhhab — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 01:39:06 +0000

Rachel Jodway, Bike and Build Leader Northern Route 2011, wrote about her team’s recent experience with the Southeast NH Habitat for Humanity in a guest blog…check it out!

An SENH Habitat First – 4 Houses Under Way Simultaneously

senhhab — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 01:23:23 +0000

*Rochester – There Be Wood!*

A new foundation is a thing to behold. Two are even better.

And beginning the first-floor framing tops them all!

Saturday, June 4, saw the start of laying out double sill plates and
fabricating the main carrier beam for the street-side house at 9 Silver St.
After waiting for the floor plans to come together, it was a great feeling
to get started.

An eager bunch of volunteers, with some new arrivals, were on hand to greet
building coordinator *Keith Faris* and Habitat President *Tom Boisvert*, who
had been in Farmington to oversee start-up.

Under a warm sun, blue skies, and near-perfect temperatures for building,
longtime Habitat volunteers *Paul Lagarde* and *Bill Douglas* were joined by
*Bill Totherow*, *Christopher Goehringer*, *Tia Sukin*, and *Mike Fechter*.

As folks planned out the sills, drilled holes to accept the bolts embedded
in the foundation, and tightened them down, Habitat volunteer *Rick Stoklosa
*, Keith, and Tom huddled over the house plans to make minor field
adjustments and discuss preferable approaches.

One of the day’s highlights was assembling, lifting, and securing the
38-foot long, 1,300-pound main carrier beam in the street-side house. Not a
task for the weak-kneed or faint of heart. The beam is comprised of three
courses of what are called Laminated Veneer Lumber, or LVLs. Each course is
made up of two pieces of LVL of varying lengths, and is nailed to the
adjoining course. The entire beam is lifted into place as one piece.

Also stopping by to take measurements were folks from SEAREI, or Seacoast
Area Renewable Energy Initiative. But this deserves its own write-up for
later this week.

*Farmington – It Looked Like Snow*

It may not bowl you over or sound very exciting, but folks accomplished a
lot of messy, dirty, fussy, and necessary work on Saturday. At times, it
seemed like snow was coming through open windows and doors as sheetrock dust
was swept and wiped from ceilings, walls, and floors, and scooped up. What
a difference now that the rear unit also has been taped/mudded/sanded –
helps to make it look more like a finished house inside.

Many of those who turned out Saturday were among the original volunteer crew
that started April 9. One member, *Amanda Hardman* of Portsmouth, may have
taken it to extremes when she arrived at 8 to help with set-up, and joined
in the cleaning until she had to leave late morning to make it in time for
the first pitch at the re-scheduled Red Sox game.

But Amanda is not alone. Folks on the cleaning crew like *Danielle
Provencal*, *John Anderson*, and *Petr Brym* make it a point of coming out
nearly every week since the Farmington re-start. Happily, they were joined
this week by family partners *Jessica Tufts* and *George Whitehead*, along
with *Nate Berry* and *Leslie Modica*. Leslie heads up Habitat’s public
relations activities and serves on the Board. They all did a great job with
oversight and assistance provided by *Bob McCoy*. Folks also masked doors
and windows for priming. It was slow, tedious work, but it is all requisite
to being able to take the next step – a good, quality paint job, which will
start this Saturday.

Outside, *Ken Flesher* headed up the crew of *Lee Prescott*, *Rob Loker*,
and *Norb Lecompte*, which continued fabricating, plumbing, and installing
posts and rail systems for the two decks.

Folks also cleaned out the tool locker to allow better access and prevent
damage to bathroom fixtures being stored there.

All in all, a great day of progress at both build sites that was
accomplished only because of healthy turnout and commitment of dedicated
volunteers. Thank you all.

Jonathan Miller

Volunteer coordinator

PS – To those with the urge to do some deconstructing while the Kingston
project is on hiatus, building coordinator Keith Faris is putting out the
call for a few souls to help him with a DeCon beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday,
June 7, ay 11 Bay Point in Ossipee. You can reach him at 603-651-8089 to
make arrangements.

This is a separate DeCon from the one Tom B. has organized to start
Wednesday, so folks already committed to Tom’s project should stick with
him.

SENH Habitat for Humanity Goes Green

senhhab — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 13:09:32 +0000

Habitat for Humanity Goes Green

Jim Cavan
Sat, June 04, 2011

Habitat for Humanity has long been known for its work on behalf of affordable housing. Now, two of the Southeastern New Hampshire chapter’s projects are adding their own, green twist.

Southeastern New Hampshire Habitat is currently completing construction of a two-family duplex on Silver Street in Rochester. Along the way, they were aided by Shane Carter and Ridgeview Construction, a company known for its environmentally-friendly methods and approaches to home building.

The Deerfield-based Ridgeview helped with much of the site work, excavation and foundation and is poised to help with the frame. The end result? The two most recent Habitat homes will end up with EnergyStar certification. Both Ridgeview and Habitat’s ReStore – a repurposing outlet boasting everything from paint to plywood to furniture, located in Dover – are longstanding members of Green Alliance, through which Southeastern Habitat President Tom Boisvert and Shane Carter met.

“Shane and I had talked a few times about working together on a Habitat house,” said Tom Boisvert. “He always wanted to help with a project, and when that opportunity finally came, he jumped at it.”

Long before any official partnership was formed, Carter would often donate materials and supplies leftover from renovation jobs to the ReStore, all of whose profits go directly to Habitat for Humanity.

As with their ReStore donations, Carter believed offering up his company’s time, effort and materials was simply the right thing to do.

“It’s just a part of our company culture and belief system to give back and serve the greater good,” said Carter, whose company recently won the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of New Hampshire’s Bronze Cornerstone Award for New Green Construction. “Two things we strive to do are to build homes that help the environment, and to give back to the community.”

“We look at it as, each house that sells means more cash for Habitat, and therefore more homes for people who need them,” he said.

Ridgeview will also be involved – this time from start to finish – on Habitat’s next house, a single family home in Rochester slated to be started within the next month. After that? According to Carter, the sky’s the limit for the new partnership.

“I really hope we continue doing this well into the future,” Carter exclaimed. “Tom and the rest of the crew at Habitat have done a phenomenal job, and we’re proud to be a part of that in any way we can.”

To date, the Habitat’s Southeast New Hampshire chapter has helped build 20 affordable homes for families in the area. Going forward, Boivert hopes they can eventually succeed in constructing three to five of the homes a year.

Boisvert, who like Carter worked for years in the construction and development industries, echoes Carter’s enthusiasm.

“Having a company like Ridgeview who really know what they’re doing and build with quality and efficiency in mind really helps make these houses something special,” said Boisvert. “We really feel like we’re giving these family’s something that’s a cut above.”

Next week, Boisvert and Habitat will be donating their time to the United Way’s Day of Caring, held every year in locations throughout the country.

To learn more about Ridgeview Construction, visit ridgeview-construction.com

For more info on the Southeast New Hampshire Habitat for Humanity go to www.senhhabitat.org

For more info on Green Alliance, visit www.greenalliance.biz

Dover Moose Lodge Yard Sale to Benefit ReStore

senhhab — Sun, 22 May 2011 22:47:58 +0000

The Dover Moose Lodge is holding its annual yard sale on Saturday June 11th from 9 to 12 at 45 Chestnut Street in Dover and all proceeds will go to the ReStore….thanks, Gentlemen!