Gift of appreciation gloat

[Todd Davidson]

Kim and I have spent the Summer rehabbing 16 kitchens for the Ct state Housing Authority in a complex that houses elderly and disabled folks. One of the tenants - a former carpenter whose disability resulted from a work related injury - thought well enough of the work that we had done and bestowed a gift. He said the gift was too much for him to handle since the accident and that he had only used it a few times......

[Richard Wolf]

Great gloat. How about some pictures of the great work you and Kim are doing, my friend.

Richard

[Corey Hallagan]

Awesome Todd! I am sure you guys deserved that! Way to go.

Corey

[Vaughn McMillan]

The gift is nice indeed, but it still pales next to the gift you're giving in the form of rehab work. (I second the call for pics, too.) I'll bet it makes the former carpenter feel good knowing his router (and the wheelbarrow full of accessories) will be in good hands, and will actually be getting used.

Very well done -

- Vaughn

[Dick Parr]

That's great Todd, very nice thought on his part.

[Joe Mioux]

Todd,

The best part of this gift is that your client appreciated your work and he thought enough about you to repay you the best way he knew how.

Very nice gloat
JOe

[Jerry Clark]

What a nice WIN,WIN situation-- He felt good about giving you an unexpected gift and he knew that you appriciate it and care for it. Every time you us it- you will think of him! Also a great program for needy people-- Hurrah for you!

[Alan Turner]

Very nice, but I must say that I am not surprised that a fellow WW would be so appreciate of your efforts. The fellowship and kindness among WW is one of the more attractive aspects of our sport.

[Joe Blankshain]

Thanks for taking the time to give back. We all should do alittle more (mostly me) to help that less fortunate. Nice gift, honor it as he has honored you and put it to work.

[Don Baer]

Todd,

Nicegloat and well deserved.Keep up the giving and you'll get your rewards

[Bob Winkler]

Good for you- I'm glad your work was recognized. But having met you, I'm sure that your true reward comes from the gratification from helping others. No better feeling than helping others and completing a job well done.

Congrats,
Bob

[Gail O'Rourke]

Nice...really nice. All of it, you doing the work, him doing what he can...lovely.

[Todd Davidson]

The encouraging words are greatly appreciated.

Just to clarify, we were compensated for our efforts. Never-the-less it is a rewarding experience to help provide housing for those that are in need.

Will take pictures of a couple of the finished kitchens tomorrow and post them to honor Richard's and Vaughn's requests. Normally wouldn't consider posting pictures of a rehab as, even though it requires a modicum of skill and similar tools, it is a far cry from the quality woodcraft that is customarily posted on this forum.

The units in the complex we rehabbed were originally multi-family homes built in the 1930s & 1940s that housed the workers of the factories that at one time proliferated along the nearby railroad. Thirty or so years ago the state purchased the complex and utilized the houses for those in need.

Our rehabbing of 16 of the units consisted of essentially gutting the kitchens - removing existing cabinets, plaster walls and ceilings, floors (linolium [sp?] and subfloors), windows, entry & interior doors/trim. We remedied any framing problems; (had plumbing and electrical contractors bring their respective parts up to code) put down a new subfloor; sheetrocked & taped; installed new doors & windows & trim; painted; installed new cabinets (oak doors/drawers/face frames on oak plywood boxes) & countertops. Had a flooring company lay VCT tile. Was quite a bit of work considering we had 16 weeks to do 16 kitchens. As we completed the units tenants moved in and all seemed to be pleased with the finished results.

Next week we are heading to another housing complex (this one in Glastonbury) to remodel 44 kitchens & baths. In all of these units we will be renovating the kitchens/baths for handicapped access as to meet ADA requirements.

Thanks to all who posted to this thread. In peace, Todd

[Richard Wolf]

Just to clarify, we were compensated for our efforts. Never-the-less it is a rewarding experience to help provide housing for those that are in need.
Todd

I don't think anybody was under the impression that you where doing this for nothing, but we could sense that you and Kim left a little more at the job site than lumber and materials. Appreantly the disabled carpenter did also.
I'll be looking for the pics.

Richard

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Ditto Richard's last posting! Photos please!