Our plans fell apart with the convergence of temporary Covid quarantines of several of our families and harvest season that left us short-handed on a number of weekends. Tragically, it was fire season that began in August that was the final blow.
It’s time for a little drama at Brenkle Court. The trusses for each unit’s roof were delivered a week ago. Trusses are a structural framework that will bridge the space above rooms and provide support for the roof. The trusses will be spaced at regular intervals across the top of each unit.
The Brenkle Court crew has been proud of our ability to stay on schedule despite COVID. We’ve been short-handed, as many of our homeowners work for wineries and have been working long hours in the grape harvest. We’ve also lost time to the tragic fire and dangerous air quality.
Getting the roof finished remains a priority
It’s been our goal to finish the roof before the rainy season. With the roof over our heads, we can continue to work through the winter without interruption.
We’re a much more practiced group now, and we’re working as a team. We’re able to anticipate the next move, so there’s much less wasted time. Much more efficient, we’re spread out across the eight-unit complex, working on different jobs
Our Brenkle Court team has celebrated many victories since we began digging trenches in 90+ degree heat in July 2019. Some may seem insignificant, but when you’re trying to put together a seasoned crew of carpenters from a bunch of novices, you learn to celebrate the small things. Many of Read more…
As of March 24, 2020, the following are Our Town St. Helena’s operations policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please note that these policies could change as new information and restrictions become available in the coming days and weeks. Administration All board and staff will work from home using conference calling for meetings Read more…
It’s been more than seven months since we began working on the Brenkle Court project. Those first few months were spent creating infrastructure—digging trenches in some of the hottest days of the summer. Pouring concrete and laying the foundation. And now we’re finishing up the first-floor framing In a few Read more…
Our Brenkle Court construction crew is learning on the job, becoming more comfortable with each new skill they master. Each construction lesson marks a milestone. The photo to the left captures the crew’s progress building walls. It illustrates four stages of wall construction. They lay out the 2×4’s in the Read more…
Last weekend, Brenkle Court homeowners reviewed basic carpenter skills and safety precautions. One woman confessed to a few sleepless nights worrying about what she’d gotten herself into when it took her two minutes of concentrated effort just to pound in one nail. Yet our crew gathered on another sunny but Read more…
Brenkle Court homeowners kicked off a cool October morning with shovels and wheelbarrows, distributing gravel around sewer pipes and what will be their driveways. Larry reviewed basic skills and safety precautions Project manager Larry Vermeulen planned the rest of the morning as a carpentry tutorial session to review basic skills and Read more…
The hottest weather of the summer, and our families were trenching for waste plumbing! Thankfully, this was the last digging project that we had to do. We used electric jackhammers to break the soil for the trenches. Because we still don’t have electricity, we used two generators, though we assured Read more…