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As we reported in our January Newsletter, Rick Hoehn came off of the retirement bench to help us with our plumbing.  Prior to retirement, Rick H. was a plumbing contractor who worked closely with Rick Millwee, now the owner of RM Plumbing Inc.  They ’got the band back together again’ to help us with the installation of our plumbing.  Rick M. donated plumbing materials and tools for our project, and the two of them, working together like a synchronized machine, installed the Drain-Waste-Vent (DWV) system in the cottage we are building for Wounded Warrior Homes.   They also taught a couple of [...]

The de Jong family is well known in San Diego County.  Their story is a classic tale of immigrants pursuing the American Dream, arriving from the Netherlands in the aftermath of World War II with little more than a strong work ethic and boundless faith in their adopted country.  The de Jongs have been instrumental in the development of North County.  Virtually every child in San Diego grew up drinking milk from the family’s Hollandia Dairy.  The de Longs are equally well known for their community spirit and generosity.  This generosity was on display on 25 February when Arie De Jong [...]

When I go into a business to ask for help for the Warrior Village Project, I never know what kind of response I will receive.  Businesses are inundated with requests for donations, and they can’t possibly accommodate every request, no matter how worthy the cause.  So, it is always nice when an Owner or Store Manager responds enthusiastically to my request.  That was the reception I received from Tony Sparrow, Branch Manager of Arizona Tile in San Marcos.  I had contacted him by email in advance, and he was anticipating my ‘elevator pitch’.  He was quick to donate tile products to [...]

Ferguson donated 2 beautiful vanities for our cottages.  However, one of them, with a granite top, was too big for our compact bathroom.  We could use the granite top on the other vanity if we could get it cut  to size and polished.  Project volunteer Bill Bradford talked to Juan Pacheco, owner of JPR Stone Surfaces.  When Bill explained to Juan that the granite was for the Warrior Village Project, Juan quickly volunteered to cut and polish the granite for free.  If you have ever paid for granite work, you know what a generous offer this was.  As a result, we [...]

Most of the calls I receive are ’robocalls’, so I usually do not answer my phone if I do not recognize the caller.  But, for some reason, when Greg Dettwiler called, I picked up the phone.  I was glad that I did.  Greg’s company, G.J. Gardner, had just completed the construction of a new home in Fallbrook.  They had 38 sheets of exterior OSB sheathing left over. Our friend, Jason Harper of Pine Tree Lumber in Fallbrook, suggested that G.J. Gardner donate the sheathing to the Warrior Village Project. We are grateful to Greg Dettwiler and the G.J. Gardner for their [...]

Stephanie Graham, Manager of the Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery in Vista, was quick to say “Yes” when we asked her to support the Warrior Village Project and San Marcos High School by donating plumbing fixtures for our cottages.  She donated kitchen sinks and bathroom vanities.  The sinks are top-of-the line, and the vanities are pretty fancy for our humble cottages.  But, I have confidence that our Interior Design student partners at Palomar College will be able to  make the rest of our cottages look as good as the plumbing fixtures! The next time you are shopping for top-of-the line [...]

Gary Warth, award winning reporter for The San Diego Union-Tribune, visited our build site at San Marcos High School on January 10.  He subsequently published a great article, ‘Students learning building skills by creating homes for veterans’ in the January 14th online edition of the Union-Tribune (January 15th hard copy edition).

Our cottages are being constructed in modules.  When the modules are set on a permanent foundation, they will be bolted together along the ‘marriage line’ where the two modules come together:  at the floor joists, at the end walls, and across the top at the ridge beams.  This requires large bolts that can withstand California earthquakes.  With four modules, and a marriage line length of about 70 feet for each cottage, we need a lot of bolts.  Our friends at Ababa Bolt gave us what we needed.  They gave us 80 5/8" x 5" bolts and 40 3/4" x 5" bolts, [...]

One of the core values of Harbor Freight is giving back to the great communities where they live, work and serve, with their philanthropy focused on K—12 Education, Veterans and Police & Fire. An associate at the Harbor Freight Tools store at 820 Civic Center Drive in Vista told us about Harbor Freight’s Giving Back program. Through this program, Harbor Freight donates Gift Cards to schools that can be used to buy tools at Harbor Freight Tools stores. We are grateful to Harbor Freight for the donation of a $100 Gift Card to SMHS. The Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize [...]

Our students will soon be installing a Water Supply system and a Drain- Waste-Vent (DWV) system (aka plumbing) in each of our cottages. The word plumbing comes from the Latin word for lead, plumbum, because the Romans used lead pipes to distribute water (before we knew that lead was toxic!). King Minos of Crete had the first flushing toilet over 2,800 years ago, but we weren’t aware of the importance of DWV systems until doctors made the connection between the filth of open sewers and the spread of plague. Ever since, plumbers have been making our lives more comfortable while saving [...]