[Community-service] Question about Techniques for Painting and Renovation Projects

[Janae Burgmeier]

Hi I am late to this discussion but though I would throw in my two cents. It’s always good to figure out what stage of building the house they are in so you can brainstorm ways to help beforehand. What of the most challenging builds I did as far as finding accessible things to do was the actual putting up the wood frame of the house. It was hard for me to measure and carry things safely and I kept thinking I was going to hit someone with the giant wood slabs. 

My favorite is the landscaping projects. I love mixing concrete and digging holes and such. I have also done wood staining which is pretty self explanatory. I have painted too but I’m not super fond of how much that can hurt the next day after all the repetitive motions. 

I think anything can be made accessible really it’s just a matter of being confident in your own abilities     If building stuff is new to you, there is no shame in just doing something menial at first until you get comfortable. One of my first habitat builds I just spend poking holes in a giant tube that was going to be put in a trench to irrigate the water out. Literally just poking stuff into other stuff with a knife, but that gave me the courage I needed to move into the next thing. 

Anyway that was a bit rambly but I hope it was helpful.