Women Build Habitat for Humanity Edmonton

NorQuest College and NAIT learn together on build

2006-05-24T05:16:00.000-08:00

NAIT and NorQuest Staff

This was my first day on the build site as a worker. What a great day for a little educational collaboration! The sun was out and the company couldn't have been better. Not only did I get a chance to pound some nails, but I caught up with colleuges from NorQuest College. The work was challenging..working in the basement and putting in the "party walls" on the main floor.
Posted by Sandi Barber, NAIT

What do Girl Guides and Habitat for Humanity have in common?

2006-05-11T11:36:00.000-08:00

Both offer females the opportunity to build skills and confidence in non-traditional roles. This year Girl Guides of Canada and Habitat for Humanity formed a partnership, creating a challenge for all levels of Girl Guides, from Sparks (5 & 6 years old) to Senior Branches (16 – 18 yrs old)
When the 140th Edmonton Pathfinders decided they would like to do the challenge, we did some exploring and to our good fortune, discovered that a “Women Build” was being done in Edmonton this year – and we wanted to be part of it. Since Pathfinders are 12 to 14 years old, they are not allowed to work at the actual build site. So we contacted Brenley, the Women Build Coordinator and she gave many suggestions on how we can help out. The girls voted unanimously to build a shed for the home, which could be done off site. We recruited a couple of dads to act as advisors and we were off. The girls learned how to check if a 2x4 is straight, how to check if a piece of plywood is square, how to measure, how to safely use a hammer, drill and power saw. This was a great experience, the girls were awesome, following instructions and working together as a team and they were able to contribute something to the family of this new home.

CBC EDMONTON HAS THE TOOLS IT TAKES!

2006-05-09T13:47:00.000-08:00

It takes a village*but first, you have to make sure everyone has a house. Neither cold nor wind nor rain could dampen the spirit of 15 of CBC's women during the Habitat for Humanity "Women Build" in Edmonton on May 6th. These women dusted off their overalls and hardhats, and put a day’s work into building a place that two families will be able to call home as of June 22nd.
Compared to a "mixed" site, participants said there was a great deal more laughter (and even some dancing) to go with the hard work. All of the women walked away with a really good understanding of what it takes to build a house, and a true appreciation of joists, power tools, preserved wood foundations and party walls. Adrienne Lamb, presently on maternity leave, dropped in with cookies and Moe Osler, brought us pots and pots of coffee all the way from her South Side coffee shop "Stir Krazy". There will be a second "CBC" build on June 3rd and sixteen additional women will be working towards building affordable housing in our community.

Weekly Update

2006-05-08T08:03:00.000-08:00

The old adage that “if you don’t like the weather, wait a minute” certainly held true for last week. We had weather ranging from 4 to 20 degrees with sunshine, cloud and rain.
Weather didn’t deter our hardy Women Build volunteers from their tasks though. They made great progress as follows:
On Monday we brought our main floor walls to site and began to place the sheathing and stand the walls in place.
Our final load of rock arrived on Tuesday and by hand we moved the rock around the perimeter of the house and into the basement. On Tuesday the inspector for the foundations and waterproofing showed up.
The 2x6’s for the sleeper floor were started on Wednesday and we continued standing the main floor walls. The prefab drawings for the two front walls were wrong (walls were designed too long) and as such we had to dismantle and cut them down on site. Also on Wednesday our 2nd floor joist package arrived and the plumbing inspector did his inspection of the basement.
Thursday we finished sheathing and standing the main floor walls and began the squaring and plumbing and placing the upper sill plates. Work continued on the basement sleeper floor with the completion of the 2x6 sleeper boards and started laying the poly and the perimeter 2x4’s.
Friday we built the party walls on site and stood them in place and continued on the upper sill plates. In the basement we finished all the pipe penetrations in the poly and the perimeter 2x4’s and began the 2x4 studs for the floor.
Saturday we finished the party walls on the main floor and the upper sill plates along the party walls. We then placed the rim boards along the west and north walls to start the second floor joists. In the basement the 2x4’s for the sleeper floor were almost completed.

Upcoming work this week:
On Monday we will start the floor sheathing in the basement. Monday afternoon we are expecting A&A to complete the backfill around the perimeter of the house
We will continue on the second floor joists and expect to have that work completed by mid week, at which point we will bring our second floor walls out to site.

Lessons Learned at the Women Build

2006-05-04T13:51:00.000-08:00

Another successful day is behind us with the Women Build. With a great crew and another fabulous lunch we were able to lay "the plastic stuff" in the basement. I think we may be done with gravel for awhile now! Not only did we build, but we learned today as well.

Sherley and Shona learned the dangers of an unbalanced picnic table.

Brenley explained the dangers of ordering pizza from Onoway...although Leah was not convinced!

Mary learned that all wood in the basement needs to have preservative brushed over the cut edges. I know she already knew this, but now she reeaaalllly knows! [Note lack of green wood preservative and evident frustration in first picture :)]

Does anyone have a pencil?

2006-05-03T12:55:00.000-08:00

Carpenter pencils were in abundance today on the Women Build site, and it seemed that they came in very handy for labeling lunches as well as measurements on lumber. Special thanks goes out to the women who were stuck in the basement moving gravel around...there are all types of roles on a build site, and some are less glamorous than others. We truly appreciate everyone's efforts!

See you out there,
Brenley

The first wall is up!

2006-05-02T14:18:00.000-08:00

May 1 may not go down in history, but it was a big day for the Women Build as we raised the first first-floor wall! After pausing for some pictures, the women were right back at work on the duplex -- one wall was certainly not enough for them. It was only a few short weeks ago that our build was simply a hole in the ground. With the progress we have made so far, it will be only a few short weeks from now that the homes will be ready for thier new families.

See you on the site,
Brenley

2006-04-24T07:26:00.000-08:00

It has begun – the Women Build that is! The build officially kicked off on April 11 with the groundbreaking ceremony. The site was blessed by Bishop Victoria Matthews and the earth ceremoniously moved by a backhoe operated by a fellow woman builder, as myself and a crowd of onlookers – consisting of sponsors, volunteers, and neighbours – looked on with eager anticipation.

With over 500 volunteers signed up to participate in the Women Build, it’s going to be a very busy and fast-paced build! That being said, I think that safety is something that should be on all of our minds when on the site. My motivation for remembering safety is the BBQ, promised by Roger Dootson of PCL, for all of the volunteers should the build remain incident free. If you ask me, an incident-free build should be a piece of cake since us women are much more careful than most men.

The build schedule is quite ambitious with less than three months to complete the house and Habitat for Humanity has not wasted any time. I stopped by this week to check on the progress and the basement was already poured! The site was bustling with ATB employee volunteers proudly displaying bright pink t-shirts and Carhart overalls, as they worked diligently to raise the basement walls. With this kind of progress, it will be no time at all before two families are enjoying their new homes.

Until next time – happy and safe building!
Amy

Women Build Habitat for Humanity Edmonton

2006-04-22T12:03:00.000-08:00

April 22 was a fine day for the Women Build as we celebrated a week of donations from NAIT's Club Culinaire with a feast of chicken, corn on the cob, salads, potatoes and great desserts! We would really like to thank the NAIT staff and students for providing our lunches for an entire week, especially since we have enough leftovers for another week!
The building is also going well today, with about 20 women on site. We are fininshing the basement sheathing and the party walls, and should be ready for vapour barrier this week.

See you on site!

Brenley

Women Build Habitat for Humanity Edmonton

2006-04-17T10:25:00.000-08:00

Women Build Habitat for Humanity Edmonton

I had a ton of fun at the training sessions! Thanks to all the NAIT staff who volunteered their time to putting on these sessions!

Sandi

Introducing the Womens Build!

2006-04-03T18:17:00.000-08:00

Instructor John Power leads Tool Basics Training at NAIT.

Let me begin my very first online diary entry with a great big WELCOME! As my very first entry into the Womens Build Online Diary, I would like to begin by introducing myself – my name is Amy and I intend to be your eyes and ears for all things related to this build. I am very excited to be a part of this unique project – the first ever Womens Build in Edmonton in Habitat for Humanity’s history.

While the build doesn’t officially begin until the groundbreaking on April 11, activities are well underway with training sessions and prefabrication happening weekly. I recently attended my first training sessions where I had the opportunity to work along side a dozen very interesting and very different women who introduced themselves as students, stay-at-home moms, professionals, and Womens Build board members. While the level of skills among these women was quite wide, they all had one thing in common – they were ready to learn and eager to help build homes and hope for local families.

The first training session I attended was Tool Basics. Having little exposure to power tools and even less experience using them, the evening was both exciting and a little scary for me. Despite the anxiety I felt as I stared at the blade of a skill saw, I picked it up and with the supervision of a NAIT instructor, I made my first cut. I was a little shaky at first and the edge of my plywood was anything but straight, but as the night progressed, my confidence increased. I was however, impressed by some of the other women who appeared to know what they were doing. I watched with envy as they maneuvered the skill saw, jigsaw, and router with ease as they chatted amongst themselves over the buzz of the saws.

I had a lot of fun that night. It didn’t matter that I was a beginner or that I was covered in a fine layer of sawdust because I learned some new skills and met some interesting women. I can’t wait to get onto the build site!

Amy

Tools Basics Training session at NAIT .

Edmonton's First Women Build

2006-04-03T17:18:00.000-08:00

Building Homes and Hope

Edmonton’s first Women Build is underway. With a ground breaking ceremony slated for April 11, this Habitat for Humanity construction project is being spearheaded by a wonderful group of community-spirited women who have already been busy securing sponsorship support, procuring materials for the build, developing support for the build among women of influence and inspiration in Edmonton, recruiting volunteers to swing the hammers, and training the volunteers.

The Canadian Women Build Program, established in 2003, was set up to promote involvement and leadership roles for women in the construction of Habitat for Humanity homes. These projects demonstrate the positive difference women can make when they come together to do something non-traditional. Women with no background in the trades will be working alongside construction professionals to build the Edmonton home, but, of course, this build – like all Habitat for Humanity builds – is about so much more than construction – it’s about building hope for families.

A traditional role for women in our society has been as builders of hearth and home – we create spaces in which our families can feel safe and can thrive. With Women Build, building a home takes on a new significance, as we actually build the house that can become the home for a family to realize its hopes and dreams.

“It’s critical that any woman who volunteers to participate in building be safe and well-trained,” explains Susan Green, co-chair of the Women Build. “Not only do we have a commitment to running a safe site, we know that the build is so much more enjoyable and efficient if the training is effective.” Working with NAIT and the instructors in the trades and construction areas, Habitat has been getting phenomenal support for this unique building project. “From Dr. Shaw and everyone I’ve approached, there has been great excitement about helping to make this first Edmonton Women Build a great success.”

The project aims to be complete within eight weeks of ground breaking and promises to be fun as well as meaningful. Anyone interested in volunteering for this build should contact: Women Build at 780.479. 3566.