Habitat for Humanity
February 17, 19, and 21, 2009

Baldwin County Lutherans,
Habitat for Humanity,
and Thrivent for Lutherans
Team Up to Build Robertsdale Home

Click here to see even more photos of this build.

    The Lutheran Churches in Baldwin County along with Thrivent Financial are building a Habitat for Humanity Home in Robertsdale. The home being built is a four-bedroom, two-bath home located on Eagles Lane. The family who will own this home will be Sally Prim and her three children.

Lutherans, as every evangelical knows, run on coffee. Here Ned Owens and wife Janicebring in the coffee to start a brief breakfast before the crew begins the day's labors at the Habitat Facility on Highway 65.
The Habitat for Humanity crew "movers and shakers," Cathy Blake and Alex Carey, pose briefly before setting the construction tasks for the day.
Each volunteer signs in on two different logs, one for the project and one for Thrivent for Lutherans, a Lutheran fraternal society which is funding part of the Lutheran Build for Habitat for Humanity.


    Zion Lutheran Church hosted breakfast for the "Lutheran Build 2009 Team" on February 17, 19, and 21. These pictures are from the Team's work at the Habitat warehouse site on Highway 65 in Foley.

"You get to know the regulars on the project," Ned Owens (l) says as he shakes hands withDanny Inlow.
Henrie Burnett and Ruth Ann Bulltinck (l to r) sign in for the morning, part of the Zion Lutheran Church crew serving morning breakfast.
Ned Owens, Phil Rutherford, and Janice Owens (l to r) look on from the warehouse door, soon to have the days piled high where they stand.



Work surfaces have to be prepared. Ned Owens hauls out saw horses to hold molding for painting of the trim.
Tom Goodwinand Ruth Ann Bulltinck from Zion share a story before the work starts.
More saw horses. The interior of the warehouse was re-arranged to allow shed construction to commence. Phil Rutherford and Ted White shared in the tasks.


    Hammers and saws and wood are what we often think of in building. But there is planning and sequencing manpower, materials, and specific projects. Much work is done other than swinging a hammer and not all of it happens on the home site. Since the beginning of February, there have been 187 volunteers for a total of over 1000 volunteer hours in working on components of this Eagles Lane home.

Lutherans gathered around that coffee, but they found rolls and biscuits and orange juice! Pictured (l to r) are Janice Owens, Sharon Cain, Charlie Canning, Henrie Burnett, and Ruth Ann Bulltinck.
Habitat for Humanity operates every day of the year, not just during build projects for a day here and a day there. Here Rosi of the Habitat staff puts in the day's mail. "Bills come due for everyone."
Habitat uses a variety of saws, jigs, and sawhorses to cut pieces for assembly. Here George Bossio and Danny Inlow assemble a portable saw to its horse.



As much work is done as possible before materials are trucked to the actual Lutheran Build construction site. Materials are prepared prior to shipping to the site. Here Sharon Cain, Janice Owens and Barb Ramsland (l to r) paint the trim boards.
Not all work at the Habitat for Humanity warehouse is accomplished inside. Sawhorses, tables, saws, etc. are assembled outside to accomplish specific tasks. Here Ken Smith is preparing to run power to a skill-saw set-up.
Phil Rutherford parks his skill-saw on a designated nail on this sawhorse. No need to bend all the way down to the ground again and again when you have the right sawhorse!



Delivery driver brings a load of studs from the lumber truck in front of the Habitate facility to the warehouse door on the side of the building. The lumber will be carried manually by volunteers from the garage door to fabrication points inside the warehouse.
The height of the front-end loader did not permit the lumber being brought into the warehouse by machine. George Bossio guides the forklift driver as close as possible to the work site.
Our lumber yard delivery driver brought in individual pallets of wood from the lumber truck sitting toward the front of the warehouse facility.



The garage door opening was not high enough to allow the front-end loader to access the warehouse with load in place. Here George Bossio prepares to move lumber into the warehouse, board by board.
"I could use a hand with these," he says. Help comes from behind. Could Keith, George Bossio, Cathy, Jamie with Ernie Burnette stage a better picture?
Ernie Burnett (foreground) joins the process of moving boards from the garage door opening to the interior of the warehouse where a shed is being laid out for pre-fabrication. In the background are Keith, Cathy and Jamie.



Ernie knows about back problems. He sizes his load of studs carefully.
Danny Inlow, Joe Manning and Tom Goodwin (l to r) lay out the base plate for the first wall of the shed. They are working on a table in the warehouse of Habitat for Humanity on Highway 65.
The shed wall has been laid out. Here Joe Manning uses nails to attach plate to studs.


    The dedication of this new home will be held on March 5 with the family and pastors representing the Lutheran churches and Ebernezer Baptist Church, Sally Prim's church. The public is welcome to come and admire the work of many volunteers and join in prayerful celebration.

Each stud is nailed through the plate in the assembly process. Here Danny Inlow applies hammer to nail.
Each wall is laid out, stud by stud and plate by plate. Ted While, Joe Manning, George Bossio and Tom Goodwin line up the plate at this point.
Ted While, Joe Manning, George Bossio and Tom Goodwin prepare to line up studs to the floor plate of this piece of shed wall.



The floor space is now open for the next project. Jamie Armbruster, Bill Harris and Cathy Blake discuss layout and assembly.
Jamie Armbruster has a hearing loss in her right ear, noise-induced. Workplace safety includes use of proper protection, including ear protection.
I use ear protection myself," Jamie Armbruster offers. "We need to protect our hearing."


    Information concerning this 2009 "Lutheran Build" project can be directed to Ned Owens via e-mail at NJOwens14@aol.com or by phone (251-978-0930).

The saw has been assembled and is moved to facilitate fabrication of shed. That's Charlie Canning, Ernie Burnett, and Ned Owens carrying the gadget.


Click here to see even more photos of this build.

Click here to read more about this build.



Click here to read about our 2007 Habitat for Humanity Project.

Click here to see more photos of this build.

Click here to see even more photos.

Click here to see even more photos.