Building Reuse and Restoration Grants Program

We've applied for a grant from the NC Rural Economic Development Center.  This grant is intended to help fund the renovation of buildings that have been vacant for over 90 days.  It's open to anyone in New Bern or in an area that is considered rural.  I don't really consider New Bern "rural" but it fits their criteria as a tier 3 area.  They offer $8,000 for each job created to be put toward the renovation. Visit the website to see the particulars.

We're hoping to use the grant to make some upgrades, including LED lighting throughout, and adding some more insulation and a thousand small things that we are hoping to pack into the renovation.

I LOVE the Finished Jambs for Valentine's Day

Evie shows off the finished window jambs!  It should only take a couple of weeks for the windows to be installed now that the jambs are finished.  The building will be painted when we're done.

Wonder twin power!

Max shows off the back wall.  It's a single wythe concrete masonry wall which we'll furr out with a new interior wall so we can insulate the wall.

Waiting for the Brick...still

It's hard to sit and wait for the brick to arrive to finish the window jambs.  We found out today that it has to be gotten from Virginia because it is not a common brick size, but a "utility" brick which measures 3 5/8" x 3 5/8" x 11 5/8".  We will reuse the brick we've cleaned, but we still need more to finish the job. We could go with a common brick since the exterior will be painted, but for design purposes I'd prefer to have the brick matching.

Our interest only construction period clock is ticking and making me anxious to get the building enclosed.  The windows should be in within a week of the jambs being done and that's good news!