rvingwithapurpose

It’s Summer In South Mississippi

Monday, May 24, 2021

As we start our third week in Laurel, the short spring has turned to summer. We will have 90 degree temps this week and will have to be careful to keep everyone hydrated. We of course began today with a planning session with Robby and then our morning meeting with Ken and Heidi. Our number one goal for this week is to get the roof repairs completed and the roof was where Max, Ken and Robby began their work day. Heidi and Anne were outside helping as needed. The guys got all the rotten and warped decking removed and replaced with new material over the master bedroom as well as the master bath. They also reinforced more trusses. They then moved back to the front, investigating the area in the living room that has been leaking. There they removed more shingles and found there was also rotten decking there as well as the valley tin needed replacing. So, they again reinforced the trusses in that area and replaced the decking. The shingles will not be replaced until the trailer is at home on the new property so the tarps will remain on the roof until after the move. Cannot believe how much work was completed on the exterior today! The inside is also coming along. Everyday there is more cleaning done and the house smells so much better. Today the insulation was replaced in the living room wall. All the old caulk was removed in the hall bath and the tub re-caulked. We will be needing some new trim for the vanity. Heidi also did a great job cleaning and painting several ceiling spots that had mildewed. Some cabinet repairs were done and a few more are needed in the kitchen. It was a very productive but hot day. We all made sure we were drinking lots of water and we extended our breaks a little due to the heat on the roof. We should all sleep well tonight.

Ken worked as ground crew while Robby and Max were on the roof

New decking over the bedroom and bathroom

Repairing a little rotted area over the living room

Anne tried to get a picture of Max working

Heidi did a great job blending the new paint with the surrounding ceiling.

Restful Weekend

Sunday, May 23, 2021

Since, once again the closing company and lender did not have everything ready for closing we had a quiet weekend in Laurel. We spent Friday dealing with the closing company and taking care of NOMADS business then walked around downtown and visited some of the stores. On Saturday we after working a while in the RV we walked around one of the residential sections of town admiring the old homes.

This Outdoor Art Gallery is across the street from where we ate dinner Thursday night.

There are lots of cute things for sale around town.

We saw this t-shirt in one of the stores. It reminded us of the way the company has been handling our closing. We saw another shirt that said “I don’t have an accent. Y’all do.”

A beautiful flower bed in Laurel. The garden clubs here go all out.

Today we streamed our service for Lester Memorial UMC and attended church at Laurel First UMC again. Both services were so good and again today Ben and Erin and their sweet little girl worshiped with us. For those of you that don’t know, Ben’s Dad is a Methodist pastor. The rest of the day we tried to avoid the heat.

Gumby Got a Rest

Friday, May 21, 2021

Gumby got a rest this week. We didn’t have to be very flexible because we worked on the trailer all week as expected. The master bedroom is coming together. We all worked at doing different things at different times and helping each other wherever we were needed at the time. The rotten subfloor was removed, and all the floor framing was reinforced as needed and the subfloor replaced. The new exterior wall was built with new studs, new top and bottom plates and new sheathing installed, the windows were reinstalled and the vinyl siding was reinstalled. We began removing the roofing and decking and reinstalling the decking and got the area of the largest hole in the roof repaired. There is still a lot of roof work to be done. The kitchen cabinets were scrubbed, sanitized and the interior painted. The other two bedrooms walls were cleaned. The walls in both baths were washed down, and the hall bathtub and surround were scrubbed and sanitized. There were also hundreds of staples and tack strips removed from the flooring.

We very carefully removed the shingles over the bedroom and found that very little was holding them up.

Trusses reinforced and one sheet of new decking in over the bedroom

At the end of Thursday we had the wall rebuilt and one sheet of decking on the roof. Even though no rain is predicted we put the tarps back on for the weekend. After all, it is still spring in the South.

Wednesday morning we were able to go to the location were the agency will be moving the trailer and see the condition of the home that was destroyed by the storm. We also got to meet our homeowner. He is such a sweet man, in his seventies. His home was in the direct path of the tornado that destroyed so many homes in the Soso community. The home was built by his grandparents and he has wonderful memories there. He is currently removing the last of his belongings which will be placed in storage. The agency plans to have the fire department burn the house (very sad for him) and then after the pad is prepared, the trailer we are repairing will be moved in. The trailer will look very nice in its new setting.

Magnolia that survived the tornado – a little misshaped but still blooming. There’s probably a lesson in that somewhere.

We are working very hard to prepare a nice home for him. We know we will not be able to complete everything or see the trailer moved to its new site but we will do all we can. The team this week was so amazing. Everyone worked so well together. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Nell and Randy Friday morning as they left for Atlanta to check on Nell’s family. It was a very productive and fun week.

More Help for Week 2

Monday, May 17, 2021

Today was a busy, busy day. We met with Robbie our construction coordinator at 7:30 and discussed the next steps at the trailer. We will all probably be working there all week. After devotion we headed back to the trailer. Four extra hands certainly made the work move even faster. Today Heidi and Ken tackled the master bathroom ceiling. They removed ceiling lights, the wet, falling, drywall and insulation – a big job. We were able to assess the roof decking and know a fairly large section will need replacing. Next step is to get on the roof and remove some shingles and see what the decking looks like from above. Max and Randy worked on removing the rotten wall in the master bedroom. What a mess but big progress is being made. Randy built the temporary wall to hold up the roof while the outside wall is being rebuilt. Max worked on removing the vinyl siding. Robbie purchased the studs and other materials we needed – $300.00 for 3 sheets of plywood and some 2x4s and a couple of 2x6s. Lumber is so expensive these days. Anne and Nell worked on tearing out the living room wall where there is another leak in the roof. This one is not nearly as bad and doesn’t involve any roof decking replacement, at least not yet. They also worked on cleaning the kitchen. We were all very tired at the end of the day but wowed at the amount of work that was accomplished. Great team!