Yancey House Construction

Everyone always asks us why we don't move back to Boston. Both of our families are there, not just our parents, but our extended families. It is true we miss them all terribly and it would be nice to have our families be a more significant part of the children's lives. It is also true that we have an amazing community.

Since we bought our house and moved in (December 2001) Ron has been working on the house. At first it was little things, but from the time Talya was born in 2003 the work got progressively more significant. At this point in time, every room in the house but one has been completely remodelled. The projects have included insulating all the rooms, rewiring, putting in new windows and light fixtures, completely gutting the bathroom and the kitchen, increasing the size of the kitchen and reconfiguring it, putting in a pantry and carving out a workspace area, bringing in gas, putting in copper pipes, framing out a new dining room and the list goes on and on.

Ron has been amazing and has done incredible work, but in the last 6 months, our family has really felt the strain. Living for extended periods of time in a house under construction is tough on a family, his down time has been negligible as all his spare time is spent working on the house and it has been hard on me too, as I don't get much of a break.

Over the years, many have asked Ron if he has needed help with the work. He has always turned everyone down. But as things have gotten more difficult and thanks to the inspiration of a dear friend, we finally put out the call. And as soon as the call went out, our community came. Friends came to work on the house, sanding, taping, painting, etc. They brought food with them and supplies. They helped with the kids so that I could work too. And, in two weeks time, our bedroom and living room were completed, the work space area is minutes from completion and the stalled dining room project progressed tremendously. I can almost say, the end is in sight (note the use of the word almost, there is still lots to be done, but the task list is much more manageable).

Here are some shots of our work parties, in the next couple of weeks, as we meet the timeline for work, I will post more photos of the finished products. In the mean time, THANK YOU to all those who have helped us make our house a home. May our home be a place where all our dear friends and our community (and our extended family too) will find hospitality.