Trip #11: Day 4

          Today we had two roofing jobs to complete. Mr. Carroll took six kids to his job site witch was a small porch roof job. I, Ryan Dickson, was with Mr. Carroll’s crew. When we arrived at the job, we started taking shingles off right away; this was challenging because there were two layers of shingles that needed to be removed. When we got all the shingles off the roof we learned that back in the day when building houses, they didn’t have plywood so they just used boards to go across the rafters. We put plywood on the entire porch roof and then we put ice guard down and drip edge on. Finally, we began to shingle the roof. This was a learning experience because we used three tap shingles which doesn’t get used often in construction. After finishing the roof, we cleaned up and then met up with the other group at the other roofing job.

            Today I, Chris Santiago, was with Mr. Brightbill on the second roofing job. We got up today around 6:15 AM. We had pancakes, bacon and eggs. Mr. Brightbill wanted us out of the church by 7:30 and we managed it by 7:29. When we got there we established who was going on the roof and who was going to be on the ground. I was on the ground and I was running shingle rippers which are just shovels with several points on them. I also helped set up the air compressor, the generator, and air hoses. I basically supported the people on the roof. Once we got the shingles ripped off, Mr. Brightbill found out that they had ½ plywood with luwan plywood as well. After finding that we realized that the plywood wasn’t nailed down at all the only thing holding it down was the roofing nails, so we nailed it down and put ice guard on the roof and started laying shingles. We got about 1/3 of the roof done then the second group came to help.

            Once Mr. Carroll’s group finished and came to the other site, Mr. Brightbill took the dump truck to the landfill and then took a small team back to other roofing job to pick up the shingles from that job. We then went back to the other roofing job that Mr. Brightbill started and helped finish the roof. When we finished the roof the home owner came out and we got some time to talk to her which was amazing. I found out that she had been a teacher in Crisfield for 28 years. She taught 14 years at a high school and then 14 years at an elementary school. At the end before we were getting to leave we gave her a bag of homemade pillow’s that she could keep or give away and she was honestly speechless. She started crying and, seeing her cry, made many of us tear up. This is the kind of stuff that makes this whole trip worth it. Finally, we went back to the church to shower. After showers we went to Mr. Crockett's shanty and hung out and watched the sun set. We played corn hole which was a lot of fun. Today was so much fun and my favorite part was seeing and getting to know that lady (Mrs.Horsey).

      We are leaving tomorrow, one day early, because our work is finished.  We have managed to complete 5 different projects in 3 1/2 days of work.  This has been a rewarding week.

Trip #11: Day 3

Today we started off with a good breakfast of eggs, bacon, and English muffins. After breakfast we got ready to go to our worksites. Mr. Brightbill’s group headed over to the church to finish up the shed roof. Mr. Carroll’s group headed over to the handicap ramp to finish the pavers and added shims to create a nicer transition.  Both sites required a few finishing touches to be considered complete.  After this, the groups met at the last house to add a piece of fascia on the side.  Once the fascia was on, all of us went to assess the next jobs that were lined up for us.

Since our first assigned jobs were finished and our next ones involved too much work to complete in time to clean up for our evening activities, we decided to change our plans for lunch and the afternoon.  Everyone got together and returned to where we all are staying to get lunch supplies.  We headed out to Janes Island State Park for a picnic lunch.   We did burgers and dogs grilled over charcoal.  While we were there, many of us enjoyed a touch football game while others went to a nature museum to check it out. 

After our fun at the state park, we all came back to cycle through showers and work on homework.  Some people even took a quick nap.   Once everyone was back from showers, we got prepared for a sunset cruise. When we set out, we could see very little of the sun through the clouds, but at the last moment, a sliver of clear sky opened to see the actual sunset.   It was a decently long cruise and a little cold.   While on the cruise, we got to see places where we had been from the previous days.  After the cruise, we came back to eat pizza and wings.  Some participants went to pass a football while others worked on more homework and journals.

Trip #11: Day 2

At the handicap ramp job site we started out with finishing the decking boards going down the ramp. While some were working on the decking boards, others were finishing digging trenches for the joists to rest into the ground to make the ramp level to the ground. After some of the students were done with the decking boards they started putting up the railings and screwing the balusters to the outside of the railing, making the railing on the ramp look outstanding for people driving by the house.  When we finished the ramp, we put the pavers at the bottom of the ramp so the lady with ALS could have an easy smooth level ride up the ramp. She came out to say thank you to us.  Her face and reaction was priceless.  It was touching to us because she was crying and made some of us tear up a little.  After all, the handicap ramp was a successful project for us without any injuries or any arguments.

At the roofing job site, we shingled the rest of the roof. On the front of the house we also covered the existing shingles with new ones.  This area was much steeper and students had to use fall protection to be safe.  While we worked, we counted about 10 trucks carrying chickens to their final destination and returning empty. There was only one minor injury at the roofing site, a hammer fell off a ladder and hit Holste’s head.

After finishing the first site we moved on to the next which was a small 12’x20’ shed that is located a few blocks away from where we are staying. It is a storage building for a church and we wanted to help them out.  When we arrived it was around 2 o’clock and most of us were ready to make a run for it and quit for the day but we pushed through it and got half of that project completed. After that we headed for the showers and ate dinner, which was awesome chicken by the way.  

Near the end of the evening, a family stopped by that BC Cares had helped 3 years ago. They invited us to their house and told us how important our work was to the people that we are helping. They specifically asked about two of the students from that trip, Kody and Zach. Mr. Bradshaw said that those boys will be forever in his heart.

Trip #11: Day 1

Today during the Building Construction Cares trip of 2016 in Crisfield, Maryland, our group sat down with Ben and Gordon, part of the United Methodist Disaster Response Peninsula Delaware Conference, and talked about four possible projects and went to look at all of them. We decided to work on a handicap ramp and the first of several roofing projects.

Mr. Carroll was the supervisor for the handicap ramp. He had six workers, five from Carpentry and one from Building Construction Technology. Seniors, Brad Mowers, Aindrea Shuller, Noah Gainor, and Juniors, Devon White, Michael Barowski, and Laurel Musser. This group started out with just an idea and almost no experience whatsoever and six hours later, they finished almost half of it.

They are building the ramp for an older couple. The ramp is for the wife who was diagnosed with ALS. Laurel was the only student that went into the house and talked to Mrs. Ashby. Laurel said that she is showing early signs and she’s starting to slowly lose motion in her arms and legs. Laurel also said Mrs. Ashby is beginning to have trouble talking. Mrs. Ashby thanked the group multiple times. She was so happy that they were doing this for her.

Mr. Brightbill was the supervisor for the roof project. He had ten students. Six Seniors, three Juniors, and one Sophomore were in his group. The first thing they did on the job was tear up the shingles that were on before. After ripping the shingles off, they put down ice guard. Ice guard helps keep rain out from getting under the shingles and getting through to the plywood. They had to replace some parts of the plywood roof. Water had gotten through throughout the years and it had started to rot away. Seniors, Nate Florence, Josh Negron, John Williamson, and Ryan Dickson started the drip edge from the bottom-up then everyone started working on the shingles. From having to tear stuff off and then start over during their six hours of work, they got about a quarter to a half of the way done.

After dinner, they took a little trip down to dock to watch the sunset. We believe the pictures speak for themselves.