G Avenue House's Photo Blog

G Avenue House, Pre-Rebuild

You Spin Me Round, Right Round

Various pieces of the house, collected in one of the upstairs bedrooms.

Doo Doo Doo Lookin' Out My Front Door

According to the City Assessor, the G Ave. House is a Two-Story Frame House built in 1900. Before the flood, the home was worth $59,000 and the lot was worth $12,000. The 2009 Assessment puts the resale value of the house at zero, and the value of the lot at $5,000. The home is 1,356 square feet, with 7 rooms and a basement with a cellar-style entrance from outside.

STOP RIGHT THERE!! ... Before You Go Any Further

There is lots of work yet to be done before we can start rebuilding the 'G Avenue House'.  Plumbing, electrical, and framing inspections all need to be passed before any unskilled volunteers are able to start labor on site, as well as replacement of the subflooring.  Currently it appears the house will be prepped and will hopefully be ready for Alternative Spring Break '10

The first two photos are of wood flooring that's been stored across the roof support beams, which will possibly be used in the living room. The third photo shows old wiring that Diego has been tearing down from the ceiling downstairs. The fourth and fifth photos are original nails in the framing, and wire casings. The wires were fed through these casings to prevent them from catching the framing on fire. The final photo is Diego at work.

Right now, the estimated cost of renovation is around $30,000, which will be split between purchased and donated materials. Plans are for all labor to be completed by AmeriCorps VISTA members and retired plumbers and electricians. When complete, the house will be used to house VISTAs who are working on flood recovery. When the flood recovery program is complete, CCIA will then use the G. Ave  site as a halfway house.

We All Live for Sub-Flooring

Diego and Josh installed a layer of subfloor over the old wood planks in preparation for the plumbers' arrival today.

Splish, Splash

Rough-in plumbing has been completed.  Thank you to the volunteers who helped make this happen!

My Floors Will Live On

The G Avenue site will feature hardwood floors that have been salvaged from a hundred-year-old schoolhouse in Hayesville, Iowa. We teamed up with AmeriCorps*Green and Preservation consultant Rodger Scott to to remove the floorboards. They will later be transported to Cedar Rapids, cleaned and installed in the G Avenue house and possibly other sites.  

She's Electric!

Retired electricians installing lighting in the house. After the HVAC team comes, we'll put VISTAs to work on hanging drywall.

It's a Nice Day for a White Winter

Photos of the G Avenue after the first blizzard of the season dropped over a foot of snow on Cedar Rapids.

The Heat is On

Foster's Heating and Cooling came to G Ave. this week to install the HVAC systems. Here are some photos of their visit.