Orange County is Going Green!

Habitat for Humanity of Orange County is working hard to Go Green as we fulfill our mission of changing lives and changing communities in Orange County. We continue to implement more and more green construction methods on our homebuilding sites. And our Habitat ReStores and DeConstruct Services offer local residents unique opportunities to preserve our environment by recycling while they help the families we serve.

Take part in ensuring a beautiful environment for future generations of Orange County residents. Don’t know where to start? Let Habitat for Humanity of Orange County help you begin your GO GREEN journey. Did you know that changing your impact on the environment from negative to positive can all start within your own home or business?

When you remodel don’t be in the red, instead GO GREEN!
It can cost a pretty penny to have old items removed from your home or business during a remodel or demolish. Instead of having your items sit in a landfill forever allow Habitat’s DeConstruct Services come prior to your remodel or demolition and remove qualified items. Qualified items DeConstruct Services will pick up are: appliances, kitchen cabinets, exterior and interior lights. The removed items will then be taken to a local Habitat Restore, in Santa Ana or Garden Grove, where your trash will become someone else’s treasure! By recycling your items you not only are allowing someone else to benefit from your previous items but also contributing to building affordable housing for hard working families.

Make the Greener choice!
Habitat’s ReStore Discount Home Improvement Centers in Orange County offer you the greener choice when shopping for replacement appliances and home furnishings. All ReStores are open to the public and allow customers to shop for deeply discounted appliances and home furnishings. The Habitat ReStores recycle by selling donated items which are gently used to new customers. Orange County has ReStore locations in both Santa Ana and Garden Grove with a total combined 280,000 square foot shopping space. Proceeds from the Habitat ReStore’s are used to build affordable homes for hard working families who are seeking home ownership.

Who knew that being Green could be so easy when teaming up with Habitat for Humanity of Orange County DeConstruct Services? This winning combination benefits YOU, future homeowners, and Habitat for Humanity of Orange County.

Another Award Winning Partnership

I have an exciting piece of news to share with you. We’re delighted to announce that KTGY Group, Inc. has won a Gold Nugget award for the design of our Yorba Linda homes. The Gold Nugget Building Industry Community Spirit Awards "Grand Award" was presented to KTGY Group, Inc. at the 47th Annual PCBC® (Pacific Coast Builders Conference) for three homes completed in Yorba Linda. Habitat for Humanity of Orange County was the developer on this group of homes.

KTGY Group, Inc. donated its architectural services as well as assisted in the construction of these craftsman-style homes in Yorba Linda. Simplicity in framing facilitated construction by a volunteer workforce and the three-home development was completed in 7.5 months from framing to dedication.

Our partnership with KTGY Group, Inc. is one of four partnerships that have resulted in Gold Nugget awards! Our partnerships with other design professionals have resulted in Gold Nugget awards for our developments in Rancho Santa Margarita, Santa Ana and Fullerton. We are delighted to be able to continue to partner with incredibly talented design professionals who help build award-winning developments that help eliminate substandard housing.

Thank you to KTGY Group, Inc., and to all of you who have helped build these homes. We couldn’t have done it without you!

A Call to Action - The SAFE Act

For the past couple of months we've been faced with the possibility that the SAFE Act could effectively halt Habitat's progress in the mission of bringing safe, decent affordable housing to families in California. So what is the SAFE Act?

Background
In 2008, the SAFE Act was passed as a part of the 2008 Housing and Economic Recovery Act. Under the SAFE Act, each state must set minimum standards for licensing mortgage loan originators. The SAFE Act was designed to affect for-profit loan originators and therefore is very multifaceted, with provisions for fingerprinting, background checks, outside training and coursework, surety bond requirements, and registration in a nationwide mortgage registry system. The multiple requirements under the SAFE Act will be extremely difficult for many small to mid-size Habitat affiliates and other significant non-profits to meet. Habitat affiliates will likely have difficulty in continuing their process of issuing mortgages if there is not more clarification under the SAFE Act.

Our Response
Habitat affiliates in California have requested an exemption through an interpretive opinion to the California State Department of Corporations. Representative Heath Shuler (D-NC) has proposed a legislative fix (HR 4400) to clarify that states have the authority to grant exemptions for specific nonprofit groups who meet certain requirements – specifically, 501(c)3 nonprofit corporations who:
• make mortgage loans to promote homeownership for poor to low-income, disabled or other disadvantaged individuals or families;
• offer mortgage loans at interest rates that are lower than the bank prime loan rate, or that are zero-interest loans or loans with interest rates significantly below the interest rates generally available in the market; and
• are otherwise not primarily in the business of soliciting or brokering mortgage loans.

Today I am here to thank all of you who supported our SAFE Act exemption efforts. For the time being, Habitat for Humanity has been exempt and your work to put pressure and keep this issue at the forefront paid off. This was truly an example of collaborative teamwork.

For more information on the SAFE Act, please visit http://ow.ly/1XJTc.

Sheathing: How to Do It Yourself

While working on a construction site you often learn construction tips. At our Fullerton construction site they recently worked on sheathing and some of our volunteers and families got a quick lesson. I hope you have your pen and paper ready because sheathing is your first D-I-Y on my blog.

Most new walls need sheathing to strengthen them, to act as a nailing base for siding, and/or to boost insulation. Existing walls usually do not require sheathing unless you are stripping off the old siding and applying a different type that calls for sheathing.

So how do you do it? Sheathing involves taking 8 foot boards made of structural grade wood (otherwise called “OSB” or Oriented Strand Board) and nailing the boards onto the studs of a freshly-framed house. The OSB is the layer that will provide the foundation for the wall; it’s what underneath the drywall and the waterproof wrapping. Sheathing is also meant to provide strength and structure to the walls of a house to help resist high winds and earthquake vibrations.

The volunteers in Fullerton nailed ‘fire blocks’ in between the studs. For your first D-Y-K (did you know) fire blocks are pieces of wood or foam used between studs to help block fire from spreading through a house. Before fire blocks were required, you could drop something from a hole in an attic wall all the way to the basement. If a fire starts, the channels made by studs act like huge chimneys that allow fire to travel from one floor to all of the others. The fire blocks help block the path of the fire before it can spread. They need to be installed between all of the studs in your home. Longer versions must be installed between each level and in front of the gaps where the flooring is so fire can't travel horizontally across the floor.

By the end of the day the volunteers and families learned how to make fire blocks and use sheathing for the first time. Do you have any questions on this DIY project or have any tips? Please comment and get the conversation started. Thanks!!!