West Virginia Style

Welcome to Building Construction Cares – West Virginia style.  Our trip here last night was very uneventful; unless you count almost running out of gas, driving over some beautiful but deep gorges, and taking too many switchbacks to count.  We arrived before nightfall and were pleasantly surprised to find the nicest volunteer housing that we have ever encountered.  With good Wi-Fi but no cell service for miles, we found unique ways to contact our families.

Our job this week is to replace a roof on a home two doors away from where we are staying.  This is the most challenging job that Building Construction Cares has ever attempted, based on the height of the house, the steepness of the roof, and the placement of an electrical service line.   This is also the dirtiest job that BCC has attempted because years of coal dust have permeated every crevice imaginable.  Today’s work included shingle tear off as well as ice guard and felt paper installation and, of course, clean-up, clean-up, clean-up.  After our crew put in an eight-hour workday, we were able to sit down to a delicious lasagna dinner, courtesy of Christine Noll.

Tonight, we participated in a form of West Virginia entertainment by driving some of the Hatfield McCoy Trail System.  Our drive terminated at a culm bank, the area that the local coal companies dump the waste products after sorting through the coal. The views were nice and the kids took advantage of the first cell signal they’ve had in 24 hours.