An architects most useful tools are an eraser at the drafting board, and a wrecking bar at the site. (Wright)

Last week was pretty productive from my perspective. Another 5th year student and I went to a few businesses in Shreveport to introduce the HabiTech10 project and petition for donations. When visiting Bobby L. Greene Plumbing previously, I was asked to visit again once we had plans and a tentative schedule. So, that was our first stop. After presenting our plans and informing Mr. Greene that a local Ruston plumber had agreed to donate the labor for plumbing, they agreed to donate the plumbing materials. I spoke with them about Mr. Tim Kennedy and they contacted him to coordinate
needed supplies. They also gave me a sample piece of each type of piping and explained the differences between them. I was very please with the outcome of that visit. That is one more thing that is taken care of and we do not have to worry about now.
Our next stop on this outreach trip was Allen Millwork. We spoke with Mr. Tommy Kelly. Again, we introduced our project and reviewed our plans. He agreed to do take-offs and also agreed to speak to James Hardy for a possible donation of Hardy siding. He was familiar with the Habitat for Humanity projects and seemed to be willing to help in any way that he could.
Next, we visited Custom Built. We repeated the routine again there, and were unable to get anything definitive. We were asked to follow up later with Mr. Will Lee. They were unable to talk with us very long because they had a meeting to attend. Politely we thanked them and left our business cards and project plans with them.
And our final stop was B&J Flooring. There, I spoke with Mr. Andy Juneau. He too was familiar with Habitat for Humanity projects. He was interested in LaTech Architecture's partnering with Habitat, and again I reviewed our permit set plans with him. After a fairly extensive visit, he agreed to donate all of the flooring for our project, as well as labor. I did explain to him they we, the architecture students, would also be physically building the house and that we would be doing the flooring work too. So, I told him I wasn't sure if much labor on his part would be required. He said, in that case, he would be glad to join us and supervise where we needed. I was especially pleased with the success of that visit. A donation of that scale is not easy to come by.
Also this week, I made arrangements for the delivery of the 10-Interior doors that were donated by Mr. Larry Clevenger of Marshall Mobile Homes.

This week in the studio, we have been trying to make final decisions on design. The roof has been a topic of debate and a decision on that had to made quickly. There were many meetings to discuss the pros and cons of each design and it came down to a vote on three different proposals. We finally made a decision. Though, we can not make everyone happy, I believe that we all agreed to disagree on personal preferences. After all, this project is a group effort and we will all have to relinquish our egos at one point or another.