Jack Arnold

Contact: Emma Wagenvelt

August 14, 2014, 8:30am-4:00pm
Today I volunteered at a home on Robey Street in Grand Rapids. This home was mostly
completed except for some final touch ups and inspections. Our task this morning was to build a
fence and touch up paint the trim and walls. We first started out with introductions of our fellow
workers followed by a morning prayer since Habitat for Humanity is a Christian organization.
Our site supervisor was Mary, who was not new to Habitat projects, but was fairly new to fence
building. We started out by reviewing the blueprint and determining the proper location for the
fence. This took a little observation and measuring since the defining edges were not clearly
visible on the ground markers. Once the corner was found, we pounded stakes at the end points
and pulled a string between to obtain a straight line. Next, we marked off the location of the
fence posts. At these locations holes were to be dug down 24 inches using post hole diggers.
This proved to be a difficult task for a couple of the holes. Old concrete and an old foundation
was located just a foot below the surface, so some modification and adjustment needed to be
made. The next difficulty was to determine how the fence should be laid out. Several of the
others felt it best make the fence all one level, even across the top. This was now going to be
possible since there was a ground elevation difference of at least 18 inches or better. After much
debate, it was determined that the fence would have two levels to accommodate the elevation
difference. Once this was agreed upon, we cemented and leveled the posts in place and broke for
lunch. After lunch, the fence sections were screwed into place and the fence completed. We
then moved into the house with an army of paint brushes and paint. We proceeded to spend the
next couple hours touching up trim and walls throughout the house. At the end of the day, the
house seemed to be looking pretty tip-top and ready for a good cleaning and a new owner.