(5/8): Work has progressed steadily over the past few months. Franklin Tech students continue to work on the electrical fixtures and plumbing, while carpentry students complete the interior and exterior trim, soffits, and gable ends. With the Tech Schoolers working during the week and volunteer groups on the weekend, the house is nearing completion.

The drywall is up, taped (thanks, Pat!), primed, and recently got its first coat of paint. Doors are in; windows are trimmed, baseboard heaters are in. Most of the siding is up, as is the porch ceiling. Next on the agenda is finishing the front and rear porches, kitchen cabinets within a couple of weeks, and all the rest of those little details like plumbing fixtures, flooring, etc.

Many thanks to all the volunteers from UMass, Mt Holyoke, and Smith Colleges, and the other student groups who have helped out over the past months - we couldn't do it without you!

(2/14): Weekend work in December and January was sporadic, partly due to weather, though a little chill in the air didn't deter the Franklin Tech School students, who kept pluggin' along. The rough electrical work is done, and the house has power. The plumbing and heating system work is also finished, and the house has been insulated and the vapor barrier installed.

Thanks to a second training session on vinyl siding (with actual siding this time!) on Sunday, Jan 28, the siding has been started on the SW side of the house. As of last weekend, volunteer crews were able to begin work inside the house, installing drywall on the living room ceiling. Siding and sheetrock work will now continue on the weekends - no more weather cancellations are expected.

Thanks to all the volunteer groups who have contributed to this project and to the outstanding work done by the Franklin Tech students who kept us on track over the past few months.

(12/21): Franklin Tech School students have continued to make steady progress over the last month. The house now has electricity! Electrical students are continuing to work on the wiring as the carpentry and plumbing work continues. Carpentry students have framed the front porch, installed stairs on both levels, and finished the walls.

(11/9): Quite a bit has been accomplished in the past few weeks, even with a couple of weekend weather cancellations. With some serious digging and half a ton of concrete, the West County Churches group installed the remaining two front deck piers. Groups from Smith College helped finish the sheathing, all the strapping on the second-floor ceiling, made some adjustments to the first-floor walls, and built the small rear deck.

During this time, Franklin Tech School carpentry students finished the roof - shingles, ridge vent, and all, in addition to finishing the gable-end sheathing and installing a few windows.

The major projects for the coming weeks are (1) finishing installation of windows and doors, (2) stairs, (3) framing of the second-floor interior walls, (4) construction of the front porch, (5) vinyl siding. Franklin Tech Electrical students will start wiring the house during the week of Nov 13, with plumbing and ventilation soon to follow.

(10/15): Thanks to Franklin County Tech School carpentry students, the roof trusses are now in place, and one gable end is almost completely sheathed. They will continue to work on the roof over the next couple of weeks.

UMass undergrads (10/7) and a group from St. Paul's Lutheran Church (10/8) completed the last of the sheathing on both sides of the house - all the way to the roof trusses. The UMass group also installed two concrete piers for the small rear deck. Last Saturday (10/14), Smith College students and individual volunteers added a course of sheathing to the rear gable end and framed some first-floor interior walls. Sunday's group of grad students from the UMass Isenberg School of Management completed the walls on the first floor and - via some extremely hard work - managed to install two concrete piers for the front porch in just 4 hours - great work, folks! And thanks again to all the volunteers who have helped bring this site along over the past few weeks - we couldn't do it without you!

(10/3): The second flood deck was completed in late August, and framing of the second floor exterior walls proceeded through September, thanks to the efforts of student groups from UMass (9/9), Smith (9/23 & 24), and Mt Holyoke (9/16 & 30). Franklin County Tech School students, who began working late last week, also contributed to the effort. As of October 1, the exterior walls were complete, and the roof trusses are in position and ready to be installed by the Tech shool students this week.
At this point, the prorities are the roof and the exterior sheathing. Windows, stairs, and interior walls will follow.
Many thanks to all the volunteers who have contributed to this effort so far, and we hope to see you back at the site soon.

(8/18): The first floor exterior walls and sheathing were completed on July 29 and 30 by individual volunteers and by a energetic group from South Deerfield Congregational Church. Basement stairs were built during the crew leader training session the following Sunday. On Aug 12 and 13, open-web trusses and the second floor deck were installed by a group of hard-working volunteers from Northampton Vineyard and other individuals. Second-floor exterior walls and roof trusses arnext on the agenda.