Corinto is seriously into concrete.  See his steely stare.  Witness his protective stance over our concrete form.  Let him stand as a metonym for us, the crew of NOLA 2011, now, also, seriously into concrete.  The other bloggers have mentioned the wonders of our work today, from painting to near-fainting, but I shall mention things otherly.

Here are some things we have learned.

All the new houses are up on blocks—at the exact height of Katrina’s standing water (about 4 feet here in the 7^th Ward).  The storm surge was more than double that.

The blocks are bolted to the foundation.  The rods are bolted into the blocks.  The frame is bolted into the rods.  This is so our house does not, at some point in the future, decide to unmoor and roam the inland sea.

In this part of town, the 7^th Ward, the housing is mixed.  The community has returned, and, though most people were at work while we were around, we saw some friendly faces in the surrounding homes, a smile and wave from drivers by.  Many have returned the to community, but many have not.  Some houses stand as they did just after Katrina, blasted and beat.

More to come from the whole crew… stay tuned!

Michael Heyman