SUSIE KAESER RECEIVES 2013 HOUSEMENDER AWARD

The HouseMender Award was established in 2006 to be given to those “whose spirit and actions exemplify the mission and values of Home Repair Resource Center.”

This  year’s award recipient, Susie Kaeser, joined HRRC’s board in 2009 and has spent many hours promoting the organization and raising funds in our community. Her enthusiasm for our mission and programming is contagious. Susie insisted that we recognize HRRC’s 40th Anniversary last year, and helped plan an event celebrating our history and accomplishments. In addition to serving as the chair of HRRC’s Financial Development Committee, Susie has also focused on how HRRC can promote sustainability and help homeowners identify measures they can take to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.

Sustainability has always been an important part of HRRC’s programming, but Susie has encouraged our board and staff to bring this issue to the forefront of our programming. She helped the Board identify three ways to connect what we were already doing to how people can make a difference to our planet:

1) Each repair is an act of sustaining the life of a house.

2) It is useful to look at repair issues through the lens of environmental costs.

3) Many energy conservation solutions are more affordable when done in conjunction with home repairs.

Susie has also helped HRRC explore ways that we could work with other nonprofits to encourage sustainable renovation of older homes.

Her actions demonstrate her passion for our mission, and she is a true friend to HRRC.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Please join us:

PRACTICAL SUSTAINABILITY: Where to Start?
An informal conversation
Monday, June 17th, 7-8:30 pm
The Bottlehouse, 2050 Lee Rd.
For more information and registration, click here.

Home Repair Resource Center offers advice to do-it-yourselfers, through both our Nuts & Bolts newsletter and handouts in our Resource Library. Here is a sample of the information we provide:

CHECK YOUR PORCH EACH YEAR
June 2013

Each summer, it’s a good idea to inspect the condition of your porch – a part of your house that is particularly vulnerable to attack from moisture and insects. Small problems, if not corrected, can soon lead to more expensive repairs.

The first part of your inspection is likely to be the least pleasant, as you‘ll need to crawl beneath the porch to check out the supporting structure. Look first at the piers that hold the weight of the porch. These piers can be made from wood, brick, stone, or concrete. Ideally, they should be supported by concrete footers that extend below the frost line, but in all too many older homes you’ll find them resting directly on the ground. Especially in these cases, you may see signs of rot and water damage.

Wooden piers are in need of repair if you can push a nail by hand more than 1/4” into the wood. If the damage is not too extensive, you can reinforce the original piece by “sistering” two pieces of sturdy lumber alongside it, bolting them in place. If you are dealing with a severely deteriorated wooden pier, replace it with a new piece of pressure-treated lumber of the same size. Be sure to install a concrete footer beneath the new pier, to keep it from coming into contact with the ground.

With piers made from brick or stone, you’ll need to check the masonry joints. If there are cracks or holes in the mortar, tuckpoint

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