Habitat For Humanity Trip: Asheville, NC

Hello everyone,
Long time no post.... college life is busy!
I survived my first semester at SVSU and it was a great semester! I have met some amazing people and had lots of fun times and made many memories! I'm looking forward to heading back to Saginaw to start my next semester. 
Anyway, onto the point of the post! Last week, I was fortunate enough to go on a Habitat for Humanity trip to Asheville, NC. And I must say it was incredible! Asheville is absolutely beautiful, and the people there are so kind- must be that southern hospitality! 
We took off for our trip on Sunday morning. We had planned to leave Saturday morning, but because of the big snowstorm that was supposed to hit that day, we decided to postpone the trip until the next day. We left at about 6 am headed for Asheville! After a few pit stops, we arrived in Asheville around 7:30, did some grocery shopping for the week and made spaghetti for dinner! It was a late night by the time we ate and got settled in!
Monday was our first real day. We headed to the Asheville Habitat offices for breakfast a little bit of orientation and got to check things out a little bit. After that, we got to go to the job site. At the location we worked at, for the most part, there were 6 different houses that were being worked on

3 houses in progress

More houses in progress.

We worked primarily with one contractor named John, who our group leaders raved about the entire ride to Asheville. Soon we all understood why. John was AWESOME! He was so patient and kind. He would explain anything to you until you understood how to get the job done!


On Monday, most of us worked on the house pictured above. Literally 30 seconds after we started working. Kaitlyn and I were moving some long 2x4s to a different part of the house and I tripped on the pile of wood and landed on my side. I ended up with a pretty nice lump which has turned into quite an impressive bruise. After that happened, I was a little timid to do anything, especially go on the roof!

First, we helped to bring shingles up to the roof. Later we built walls and even put one up, which was a really cool feeling. A couple other girls got to help shingle the roof. 

From the roof!

That night, we went downtown to find someplace yummy to eat! After getting recommendations from other people we were working with we decided to check out Tupelo Honey. It was delicious southern food. Most of us got fried chicken with sides and biscuits! I got chicken and the best mac-n-cheese I have ever had in my life!

Tuesday, we were at a different location where the houses were almost finished. We had to add some finishing touches such as adding stucco to the house and painting and also encapsulating the crawl space, which is what I was lucky enough to do! I know this sounds scary, but I promise it's not! Basically, all encapsulating it does is create a moisture barrier. So first, we had to spread a layer of this black stuff that reminded me of felt. Next, we had to add a layer of white plastic! It seems very simple but it was very time-consuming because we had to go around the various pipes in the crawl space! It was a very interesting job and something I never thought I would do! 

The Crawlspace Crew

That night after we were done at the job site, we went to Blue Ridge Parkway to check out some the Asheville's stellar mountain views! We even got to watch the sunset over the mountains!

Wednesday we had to move lots of cinder blocks and rocks to other sites for them to use. The morning was very cold but by the afternoon it had warmed up to almost 60! That day I helped to put up scaffolding which is very tricky on ground that is not level. Later we built more parts for the walls that would be put up later



Rebecca, Autumn, and I making sure the wood was "flush" in other words lined up!




That night, we had dinner with one of the families who would be living in one of the houses we would be working on the next day, which was really cool to hear their story. Most people think that Habitat for Humanity just gives away houses. But this could not be farther from the truth. The families go through an extensive application and many meetings with the Habitat board to make sure they are a good fit for the program. Once selected, the family has to put in at least 200 "sweat equity" hours for each adult 18+. Out of these hours, at least 50 of them have to be spent working on their house. The other hours can be spent working at the local Restore or on other projects.

Thursday was our final day. We spent the first half of the day leveling out the crawl space of the house for the family we had dinner with the night before. So it was pretty motivating knowing the people whose house you were working on made moving dirt for 3 hours a little bit better because you knew they would have a better life because of it. After lunch, we trimmed some windows and cleaned up the job site because no one would be there for about a week because of the upcoming holidays!

It was really hard to leave the job site and all the amazing people we had met that week! But hopefully, it was a see ya later not a goodbye!

Overall, it was an incredible week. Our whole group became so close over just a few days which was a really cool thing. I got to see some beautiful mountains and do so many things I didn't think I could do- such as encapsulate a crawl space. So if you need any home repairs you know who to ask..... kidding I'm not that good!

But I definitely enjoyed my time in Asheville and would recommend a Habitat for Humanity trip to anyone! I think my favorite things about this trip were making 9 new friends and being able to physically see the difference we had made in Asheville!


Happy Holidays!
Aubrey :)