Katrina – Bay St. Louis, Mississippi Trip

It’s hard to believe that it’s been four years since we set out for Bay St. Louis, Mississippi to help with post Katrina reconstruction. We met some great people while we were there that were doing some amazing work. Although we were only there a week we feel that we made an impact on a select number of lives.

On February 11, 2007 Neil & Joel traveled to Mississippi with about a dozen members of the Chicagoland NARI Chapter.  While there we worked with a religious organization, City Team, that responds to natural disasters around the world.  There were about fifty volunteers there that week all living in a tent city on a baseball diamond about four blocks from the Gulf.  We took cold showers, ate great food prepared by local volunteers and learned a lot about people.  How they come together from a tragedy and how they truly care and help each other.

Over the week we split up and worked on three different homes.  We met the homeowners that were still living in their FEMA trailers almost two years later.  The conditions even that far out were still a mess.  It was great to be able to finish three homes the week we were there and see the owners get their lives back.

To remember and reflect we wanted to share some of our photos from that trip.

Joel Is Mentioned In A Daily Herald Article

Joel got a nice mention in a recent article from the Daily Herald.  The story chronicles a charity project that the Chicago chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) took on earlier this year for a family in Elk Grove Village.  Find the complete article here.  Thanks to all of those at NARI that allowed us to be a part of this important project.

NARI To The Rescue Project

Crimson Design & Construction is a proud member of NARI, the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, specifically the Greater Chicagoland Chapter, which headquarters is in Des Plaines, IL.

Crimson Design & Construction is a proud member of NARI, the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, specifically the Greater Chicagoland Chapter, which headquarters is in Des Plaines, IL.

Recently Joel Kristianson, A.I.A., and co-owner of Crimson Design and Construction, was asked to participate in a community service project led by Tony Tripp, of Tripp Builders, and his committee NARI to the Rescue.

NARIGC is active in a wide array of community service activities to help families in need of remodeling assistance for any number of reasons.  Contractors are asked to donate time, services and/or materials on a project.

Tony found a family in need of assistance remodeling their outdated 1960s home, a small 3 bedroom ranch in Elk Grove Village. With its narrow doorways and hallways, 2 very small bathrooms and a small kitchen area, Mr. and Mrs. Evans were looking to update their home to better accommodate their special needs children.

NARI to the Rescue wanted to help the Evans’ family by making their home more accessible for their 16-year-old handicapped daughter who was diagnosed with a severe form of Cerebral Palsy.  The family’s most important need was for a handicap accessible bathroom in order to give Ms. Evans the privacy and independence a teenage girl needs at this time and in the future.  Currently Mr. and Mrs. Evans have to physically lift their daughter in and out of the bathtub to bathe her because the small bathroom has a traditional step-in bathtub/shower.  A proper toilet support system also must be installed as well as opening the narrow hallways and doorways to allow Ms. Evans wheelchair to easily move from room-to-room.

Joel was asked to volunteer his time and expertise to this project by designing architectural drawings for a fully accessible bathroom, complete with a handicap accessible shower which would allow Ms. Evans to roll her wheelchair in and out of the shower base without assistance.  Joel enlarged the new bathroom space by approximately two feet by taking two feet from the rarely used dining room.  The hallways and doorways were enlarged to allow Ms. Evans wheelchair to fit through, giving her the freedom to move about the house on her own.  The plumbing system also needed to be updated to maintain the handicap accessible toilet system.

“I chose to participate in this project because I believe that NARI to the Rescue is a good way to give back to the community.  This story especially touched me, and then, after visiting with the family, I was thrilled to have been a part of such a worthwhile cause.  The Evans family is a very kind and special family,” Joel said.

Joel started by first meeting with the Evans family to discuss their needs and wants.  He then came up with a concept that would best incorporate their goals for the project while keeping within the allotted building codes and housing limitations.  Joel then created the drawings and met with the client and the committee to discuss the changes.  Lastly, the permit drawings were turned over to the Village of Elk Grove for final approval.  Once the drawings were approved by the Village, the materials were ordered and the subcontractors began demolition on this exciting project.

The Greater Chicagoland Chapter of NARI is a not-for-profit trade association committed exclusively to the service of the professional remodeling industry; representing professional remodeling contractors, product manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, trade and consumer publications, utilities and lending institutions. NARI represents the spokesgroup of the industry and an ally to the nation’s homeowners .

Crimson Design and Construction is proud to be a supporter of community service projects and other national philanthropic organizations.

Crimson Wins NARI Awards

Joel & I recently attended the Chicago NARI(National Association of the Remodeling Industry) presentation of the 2008 Remodeling Excellence Awards. We won three awards!