Week 1, Rio Grande City, TX

We arrived in Rio Grande City, TX on Saturday, January 23, 2021.  Our campground is at the rear of the campus of St. Johns's UMC, our host church.

 

On Monday, our team of nine was split into two groups.  One group stayed at the church and did some work for their buildings and campus.  Our group went to the Romero residence.  The ramp in front is too steep for use of a wheelchair, the front steps are in bad shape and have the wrong risers for comfortable use, and the front door needs a water deflector and replacement of the trim around the door.

We begin by tearing apart the old deck with the hopes that we can salvage some material for the new ramp.

The steps will have to be removed and rebuilt.

We extended the ramp length by 12 feet to get a better slope but we were able to use the old frame.

We built new stringers and thus added 1 step to reduce the height of the rises.

We used the old deck boards to build the runners on the steps.

We also use the old 2 x 4s to make a new railing for the steps.

We added 4x4 posts

added new deck boards on the lower 2/3 of the ramp

and added curbs for the wheelchair

on both sides.

At the end of the week we are almost finished with the ramp.

We also began removing the rotted door trim

and fixed some electric wires that were attached to the trim.  We'll try to finish it all next week.

When we got back to the church, we were able to see one of the projects the other team was working on.  They had been asked to add handrails on the steps on both sides of the altar.  They had built and stained the railings and now they are installing them so they can be used on Sunday, if needed.

Final touches are almost complete.  This group will move to another project next week.

Camp Wanake, Beach City, Ohio - 8/31 to 9/12/2020

We arrived at Camp Wanake, in Beach City, Ohio at the end of August.

Our first project was to solve a leak in the wall of the barn which serves as the camp office, meeting hall, and dining hall.

Jodi and I were asked to work on the inside of the basement (dining hall) wall to remove all previous paint, 

and loose sandstone.

This resulted in some areas with deep sandy holes

so we patched those areas with cement patch.

                                    

Once the patching was dry, we applied a layer of sealer

and two layers of Drylok to the entire length of the wall.

This is the finished wall.

Meanwhile, outside repairs include trying to eliminate surface water entering the wall by creating a slope to direct water away from the building.

They dug out loose sandstone, 

chipped away hard rock protruding too high,

then built forms for concrete.

They mixed concrete

and poured the concrete.

We also were asked to work on the Ranch house at the farm on the campground.  The plaster had fallen off in one of the second floor bedrooms.

The easiest way is to attach drywall over the lath

and tape 

and mud it.

We also fixed an open hole in the ceiling in the kitchen in the Ranch House.

Another project was to repair rotted porch posts on

one of the retreat houses.

Other jobs include closing and painting walls in the counselor's meeting areas and decorating the video booths,

installing drywall in the barn stairway,

and installing lights in the stairway.

We finished the project with a cookout furnished by the Camp staff.

Hattiesburg, MS Disaster Relief Project 11/24-12/18/2020

 After Thanksgiving, we moved south to Hattiesburg area where we are asked to fix this house

 that had been repaired by other volunteers and then  

professional plumbers and 

 electricians came in 

and made holes in the walls

all over

the house.

We patched the walls,

hung doors,

installed hardware,

installed dryer vents,

taped and mudded,

installed trim,

installed the tub and finished bathroom walls,

installed baseboards,

created new thresholds,

 and painted everything, everywhere.

On 12/17 we had a ceremony turning the house back to the owner (Far right)

With Covid 19, and  lack of unoccupied houses  to safely work in, we were asked to do some work at the Wesley Foundation on the campus of Southern Mississippi University.

They wanted a door added to the entrance to the student housing upstairs

to help maintain security and safety for the residents.

We cut an opening in the drywall for framing for the door,

installed the framing

and then the door.  We finished with trim, added glass on top and painted all.

On the outside in the rear

 they asked us to determine why water was entering the building in this area.

When the gutter was removed, it was plugged  so we cleaned that.

It appeared that all the water from the entire building was going into that one gutter on the flat roof

so we diverted the water from the pitched roof away from the flat roof.

Once the gutter was reinstalled, we needed to divert the water from that gutter away from the building so we created a plastic lined trench from the downspouts to the drain.

Downspouts reinstalled and this part is done.

Finally, the building itself tends to flood  in the lower meeting room and the carpet squares are mildewed and they want them removed. 

We rented a machine to remove all the carpet,

then rented a grinder to remove the adhesive,

and mopped and vacuumed the floor.

At the end, we had to clean the lower level

and all the contents above from the dust we made.

On our final day, we held a ceremony and presented the Director of the Wesley Foundation with a Bible that had been signed by all the NOMADS.

This project is now complete and we all head our severate ways for the Christmas holidays.