Raising a wall sounds like putting an obstacle in someone’s path. In our case, it’s removing an obstacle – and bringing a vulnerable family closer to its first real family home.
Volunteers in the Global Builders team led by Peter Sexton have completely installed the exterior OSB that cover the frame of the walls they had previously raised.
Oriented-strand boards (OSB) are a type of engineered wood with surprisingly good qualities for thermal and noise insulation. However, the future homes won’t solely rely on OSB. A rigid structure is creating using numerous studs and braces, walls are joined by top boards, while insulation will mainly be provided by the mineral wool to be later placed inside the walls and the exterior layer of polystyrene.
Volunteers have carefully measured every board in order to cut to the right size, and cover the structure of the walls in the most effective manner; converting instructions from centimeters into inches and back has been a great past time through the build days. Boards are placed in such a manner that seams do not overlap, that the ends rest on different studs, all while using the least amount of cuts in order to minimize losses of material.
Why help build homes in Cluj?
Cluj is Romania’s most expensive real estate market, with prices of homes and even rent going through the roof for more than a decade. While major private investment has seen many new housing units being built, these are geared towards medium-to-high income groups.
For years, there has been a distinct lack of social housing projects, while the market increase in the prices of construction materials and overall inflation make affordable housing even harder to find. The most vulnerable families in the community are being left behind, and end up living in sub-standard conditions that include massive overcrowding or lack of basic amenities.