A Conclusion for Cedar 4

It's Cedar 4's last week at Block by Block, so it's a shame that this is only the second post we've provided. I would've liked to chronicle our progress more thoroughly. Our team has gotten to dabble in all sorts of different tasks and stages that are involved in rebuilding a house. Several weeks ago we helped move a man from the FEMA trailer where he'd been living to his home again. There's a possibility that this week we'll muck a house that hasn't had any work done to it yet - that means we'll be removing the furniture and belongings that were ruined and have been sitting there since the flood in '08.

The trade that our team has become most practiced in is probably siding. We started with a shed and moved on to a garage. Our mentor was Don Baker who as far as I can tell is capable of anything and everything related to construction. The process of siding was repetitive and we had to be meticulous about keeping pieces level and making sure they weren't nailed in too tightly. The effort we put into it paid off; the guy who delivered the siding dropped by and was talking to the homeowner a day or two after we finished. He stated that it was one of the best siding jobs he'd seen. I heard that after the first garage the plan was that we would side a bigger garage, then a small house, then a larger house. Unfortunately things got changed around as they're apt to do when you're rebuilding a whole neighborhood and have teams coming and going every week.

For a week, our team was working with Matthew 25 on an Urban Farm in the Time Check neighborhood. We made around 25 beds or so and planted everything we could plant before the last frost. Matthew 25 is going to use the vegetables to make lunches for children, as I understand it. When we started the project we had a number of ambitious plans including birdfeeders, benches and blocks of marble. By the end of the week we hadn't gotten to any of these projects, but we took some time last week to make the birdfeeders and finish the sign. Some of the vegetables are sprouting now; the peas appear to be doing especially well. In one instance we've experimented in creating a hybrid where spinach was planted over broccoli (or vice versa, I don't remember the order).

When gutting, one of the key points that Melisa keeps reminding us of is to clean as you go, so we usually give ourselves enough time before lunch or before the day ends so we can clean up the majority of the mess we've made. At first it sounds like it's just a little tip that'll save you time when it's time to wrap things up, but it's more important that that. I'm not exaggerating when I say that if you didn't clean up at all while gutting an entire house, you'd be waist-deep in wood, drywall and nails. Even a few hours of continuous demolition makes it difficult to move around, and finding level ground to place a ladder becomes tricky if not impossible.

I used to think that if at the end of the day my work wasn't thorough enough or neat enough, whoever it was that came through next would take care of the odds and ends. In my defense it wasn't out of laziness but a lack of confidence that I was capable of doing something right the first time. However, while doing projects like this I learned that often enough the person who picks up where I left off is me. Now I've got a goal that I keep in mind: The work I do today should make work in the future easier. It's annoying to clean while there are nails sticking out of the wall and catching your clothes, so I remove the nails while I'm taking drywall down. It's not just gutting or siding or construction jobs that this applies to, this is a lesson that I'm taking away from my time here with Block by Block.

On that note, I speak for my whole team when I say that we have thoroughly enjoyed working with the people and volunteers that are a part of this organization. Our supervisors have been open to feedback, supplied any material or support we need, and (best of all) they're fun to be around and work with. We got to spend time with people who enjoy what they do and do it well. Our hearts and appreciation go out to our sponsors for making these six or seven weeks an engaging project.

Many thanks,
Sarah Debrick & all of Cedar 4