Yesterday, I spent the day building what I think are stantions (piles of blocks held together by mortar) to hold a house 5 feet above the ground. Through twitter, I saw a bunch of people from all over the country that were going to TechEd 2010 in New Orleans a day early to help in a Habitat for Humanity project. The group had created a web page called http://geekgive.org/Charity/habitat. I’ve always wanted to help on one of those type projects but never really figured out how to. This seemed like the perfect opportunity, and also, since some of my friends from around the country would be there also, I thought it would be a great time to catch up. What a great time and a great feeling to help.
As everyone knows, New Orleans was devastated after the kill hurricane went through. Many houses were just totally demolished. These Habitat for Humanity houses are designed to sit 5 feet above the ground on steel re-enforced concrete blocks. They can withstand 125 MPH steady winds with 200 MPH gusts.
Before: (Just the foundation)
After: (Most of the stantions and concrete work done)
My small group’s contribution. Below, Sara Ford and I are standing with Ben, the Habitat for Humanity leader after inspecting our corner assembly.
