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15_the_circle) wrote2008-06-09 12:00 pm
Saturday: ramping up
[OT from cottage renovations]
it was like Mississippi all over again.
only different.
hotter and more humid, for one thing.
once again the Grove's pastor became aware of a service opportunity and mobilised resources from her congregation and the Town to meet the need. this time around the situation was a lot closer to home. working with one of her collegues whose ministry is to the Spanish speaking communities, she learned of a wheelchair-bound gentleman whose only ingress and egress to and from his mobile home involves a vertical lift on the order of 4½ ft. even though he's a wheelchair athlete he cannot do this unassisted.
the obvious solution would have been to find a more accessible home for him and his family. but the obvious doesn't always have a way to happen, particularly in our county where the term "affordable housing" is most frequently encountered with other terms such as "unavailable", "scarce" or "crisis".
unless or until across-the-board solutions to wider problems such as these can be found, those with a smaller scope but which are practical and achievable are the ones that seem worth pursuing.
Germantown, MD
the job site is the last trailer park in the county. Ed had been out there and had scoped out the work, producing plans and a bill of materials. the project was anticipated to require two full day work sessions, with an additional half day for contingencies and any necessary follow-up.
on Saturday morning the Grove contingent was supplemented by the other pastor who went to the day labour centre and explained the situation, offering the chance to put in a hard day's work -- on the hottest day of the year -- and to be paid with: lunch. no actual wages, just a volunteer opportunity. 20 of the fellows immediately accepted the offer but he was constrained by vehicle capacity so the others were thanked and turned away. those who came were advanced by the centre management to the head of the queue for the next day's (paid) assignments.
the resulting crew was a mix of affiliations, beliefs, nationalities and languages.
(click through these thumbnails for higher resolution images)
the first order of business was a bit of site clearance and setting up for digging the post holes and installing the posts. I was in the 3rd group to arrive and by the time we got there this process was well underway. this was very much a jump-in-and-get-going activity so there aren't photos of the early stages -- the tools of choice were shovel and tamping bar rather than camera.
in this image the posts have been set in place. in the interest of full disclosure it must be admitted that yes, we did have to move a couple of them in order to achieve the desired placement.
posts set
with the posts in the desired locations the first joists were drilled and bolted into the structure:
first joists
Ed's design took advantage of the lot slope for the first rise so only a single switchback was needed. the bottom of the ramp did need a transition up from ground level; these images show how the grade was adjusted.
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| moving dirt | |
Ed had been called away to a different task but his plans were referred to constantly throughout the day.
checking plans
there was also a great deal of checking for level, plumb and square. these concepts are not meaningful to many Grove cottages so I found that aspect fascinating by virtue of its unfamiliarity.
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| checking level | |
a couple of us were obliged to head back to the Grove to attend a memorial service for a friend and neighbour.
on returning to the job site we found that things had been whizzing right along to such an extent that the work was well ahead of schedule. any time something changes one naturally looks for an explanation at what's different: this surge in productivity was obviously a direct result of my absence. the framing had been completed and the ramp decking was being laid down at a frenetic pace.
framed, decking underway
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| tying in to existing structure | stairs in centre rear, ramp to R |
the process of attaching the decking was quite methodical.
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| screwing down the decking | setting screws |
the previous stairs will be replaced but are being retained as a temporary expedient until the next work session.
attaching the railing is not the biggest of steps, but it sure makes the structure seem so much more completed.
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| installing the railing | |
it didn't take long for the ramp to see its first test drives. these were a delight to its user and were equally encouraging to the whole crew.
what a concept: he'll be able to get into and out of his home unassisted.
by the end of the day the ramp and stairs were serviceable though some of the smaller tasks will still require another session.
our beneficiary, his family, friends, crew
many thanks to all who made it happen.
no subject
no subject
teamwork. amazing what can be accomplished with a little ol' fashion teamwork.