We closed on the property on Furnace Brook Road in Shaftsbury on Wednesday, September 15, 2010. We have built a ranch style home on this property with and for the Giorgi family of five.  The Giorgi family move into their home in late June of 2011.   Click for directions.

Laura and Alfonso Giorgi have three children, ages 12, 8, and 5 at the time of the build.  Their oldest child, Lucas, is severely handicapped and Habitat board member and architect, Larry Kolloff, designed special features into the home to make it work for the family.  It is a one-story fully handicapped accessible home.  In speaking about their new home, Alfonso and Laura said, “We are very excited that our home will be able to assist us in caring for our son. Lucas is getting bigger and we are currently doing all the lifting ourselves." Habitat incorporated a lift system for Lucas and tracking to the bathtub, which made it safer to move Lucas.

Efficiency Vermont Rating - We are very proud of that once again, we received a 5++ Home Efficiency Rating from Efficiency Vermont.  Larry Kollof’s design and the workmanship was first rate.   As with golf, the lower the score the better.  Anything below 70 is assigned a 5++ rating.  We received a 52!  Efficiency Vermont estimates that the annual operating cost for heating ($1,268), Hot Water ($521) and lighting/appliances ($576) and service charges (142) will be $2,507.

• Ceiling R-53, R-40
• Above grade walls R-25
• Foundation walls R-10Slab – R16.5 edge and R6.5 Under

June 1 - the last day of the build! - We spread the topsoil, planted shrubs, and spread grass seed.

Dedication - May 22, 2011 - Over 60 friends and family members welcomed the Giorgi family to their new home.  It was a great day of celebration.  Alfonso carried Laura over the threshold. 

May

We are almost done.  We still have to paint the shed and the front door, bring in topsoil, and seed around the home.

April

We are in the home stretch.  As of April 30th, things left to do include; painting the shed, building the ramp to the front entrance, building the steps to the back deck, lots of cleanup of every room of the house, soffit on the south and north ends, and the siding on the back.  We also have do some landscaping.  Topsoil needs to be brought in.  We have scheduled the dedication for Sunday, May 22.

March

Steve Newton led a small crew of professionals to tape and apply the joint compound to the ceilings and walls.  It took longer than expected because the cold temperatures meant that it took longer for the joint compound to dry between coats.  They did a great job.  The seams are not visible, and we primed the ceilings and walls in all but one room on Saturday, March 5.  A group of five from the Merchants Bank, led by North Bennington Branch Manager, Bette Smith, did a great job.  On March 12th we had 28 people come; 20 from the SW Association of the United Church of Christ, in two groups and they put the finish coat on the ceiling, applied the first coat of color on the walls of two of the bedrooms, and finished laying the floor throughtout the home. 

February

  We have made good progress but have been missed some days because of the snow and while waiting for the insulation to be put in the ceiling and exterior walls. 

 

January

We started off the new year focused on finishing the soffit for the shed and house.  We installed the vent for the heat recovery ventilation system and started putting up the Sheetrock on the ceiling.  Once the pipes are in the walls, we will install the Sheetrock on the interior walls.  We have power inside the house and look forward to having heat in the home so we can apply the joint compound.

December

We have had incredible luck with the weather and our core volunteers have worked hard in our race with winter!  Lou Midura Builders helped a lot by putting up the sheathing and felt on the roof.  We managed to finish one side of shingles and got about a 1/3rd done as of Deceber 4th. On December 11th we finished shingling the east side of the roof and installed all the windows and the front door.  Prue Electric came on Saturday, December 17th and by 2:00 p.m. they had wired all but two rooms!  Led by Gerry Prue, Jorey Gibson, Matt Bohmer, and Garry Littlefield worked fast and did a great job.  They are contributing their time to help us build this house.  Their help is tremendous and is greatly appreciated!  We had power to the house on December 22nd!  We finished the extension jambs for the interior windows and put the siding on the shed.  On December 29th, twelve volunteers accomplished a lot.  Some people cleared 20 inches of snow from the driveway and cleared a path to the trailer and the shed.  Others worked inside putting nailers for the sheetrock between the wall studs and we started to install the Sheetrock on the celing.  Despite the snow, we got a lot accomplished.  We work work next on Wednesday, January 5th.  Happy New Year!

November

We finished the exterior walls on November 9 and put up the first interior wall.  We also started to put on the sheathing on the back and side walls.  By November 20 we had finished all of the interior walls, had built the shed door, and had started the walls for the stairway to the basement.  We also had built the deck floor.  The trusses were delivered on Wednesday the 24th, and we built the truss ladders for both ends.  We put the trusses up on Saturday, November 27.  It was cold, but the snow held off until the very end of the day.  Everythng is set for the sheathing and felt to be put on the roof.  Brandt dug the trench for the electric.  The window will be delivered on December 2.  Once we have the windows and doors in, we can get electricity in the house. 

Women Build Day - October 30 - Over forty women and seven men worked together for the first ever Women Build Day.  A lot was accomplished - the deck for the first floor was nailed down, the south and north walls of the house were built and put into place, and the floor and all four walls of the shed were built.

On October 9th a small crew installed the permiter drains and radon tubes.  The foundation has been poured and construction on the deck will begin on October 20.  The Federated Church of East Arlington sponsored a lasagna dinner to raise funds for this home.  Everyone ate well - had a great time - all the time knowing they were helping a hard working family to have a home.

With the owner's permission, a small crew cleared some trees and brush from the site on September 9th. In less than two hours the site had been transformed. The view looking west is especially outstanding. The site is surrounded by trees, providing privacy. We are scheduling the excavation and hope to be able to have volunteers to the site to start framing in late September or early October.    Photo - Laura and Alfonso Griorgi and their family.  They are very excited to have been selected to partner with Habitat, and look forward to working with volunteers to build their new home this fall and winter.