On Saturday, April 30, 2011 MetLife teamed with Rebuilding Together St. Louis for Rebuilding Day in North St. Louis City, where 13 homes were repaired and renovated by hardworking volunteers. The photo above shows the group who worked on a home on Athlon in the 21^st ward.

Mosby Building Arts project manager Kevin Howard (above left) is a veteran Rebuilding Together volunteer, and served as House Captain for the renovations to the home of Hortense (above middle).

Repairs to her home included windows, the front porch, interior painting and doing something about the back porch, shown above.

Kevin recruited several Mosby employees to help on Rebuilding Day. Rhonda Frentzel and her daughter Laura were wielding paint brushes inside, while Ken Ware did some window repairs. Members of the Mosby construction crew demolished the old back porch and began building a new set of steps. In the photo above, James Milton (left) and Justin Lane (right) are cutting the new boards for those steps. Justin’s brother, Ryan – also a Mosby carpenter – helped with the project.

The guys made great progress, with Mosby project lead Doug McCauley (standing on the porch) and his son building at record speed. Fellow Mosby carpenter Brian Brocco also contributed to this backyard project.

And here’s the new porch at the end of a busy day! Kevin learned a few days later that a city building inspector called Rebuilding Together to say he was very impressed with Kevin’s performance as a house captain and that all the work was done perfectly.

Rebuilding Together Day was covered that evening on KSDK news. Click to see the report.

We’re very proud of the Mosby employees who continually take part in Rebuilding Together projects and support their vision of a safe and healthy home for every person.

Mosby Project Manager Rick Henson (left) begins cutting down the lumber to frame the bedroom.

On September 11, 2010, members of the Mosby production crew teamed with Ian Forber-Pratt of the Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition for a building project in St. Peters, MO. This was the second time Ian and Mosby worked together on a project that helps loving families remodel their home so a child can leave the foster care system to begin a secure and productive new life.

Sam Cluff (son of Mosby Production Manager, Tyler) & Mosby Lead Carpenter Doug McCauley break up the concrete.

This family was in need of an extra bedroom for their teenage foster son. Armed with architectural drawings and all the materials to build a bedroom in the basement, they were searching for “the hands” to build the parts of the project outside their scope of experience. 4 members of Mosby Building Arts production crew (along with 2 of their teenage sons) stepped in to supply the skilled labor to bring the project to life. During the project, connections were immediate and the friendships will be long lasting.

Tyler Cluff and his son Colton (left) erect the boards to create the bedroom walls.

Everyone in the family worked side by side with the Mosby crew to cut boards, break up the concrete for plumbing lines, frame the room and paint the basement walls. In 6 hours time (including a bountiful lunch – thank you!), a 9-man crew framed and prepped a bedroom and play area for drywall and plumbing. It was a gratifying and life-affirming experience to provide an assist to a family who had already accomplished so much.

On September 25, 2010, members of the Mosby team were among the volunteers helping Rebuilding Together St. Louis build an outdoor classroom for the Lift for Life Academy. This South Side neighborhood revitalization project was made possible by a generous grant from Pepsi Beverages Company, and over 60 Pepsi volunteers were also on hand to help the educational green space magically appear.

Dozens of Lift for Life students worked side by side with the volunteers in creating a fishpond, patio and vegetable gardens for life sciences, biology and horticulture classes.

Mosby Building Arts’ Project Manager Rick Henson and Carpenters Doug McCauley and Ryan Lane were happy to build picnic benches and tables, while Mosby Project Manager Kevin Howard – a veteran Rebuilding Together member – served as the overall project coordinator.

It is a gratifying feeling to work with others toward making a positive difference in the communities we live in. It was a true pleasure to work alongside all of you on these two projects, and thank you for enriching our lives with your spirit of giving.

Join us this Saturday, November 21^st from 7 – 11 p.m. at the Third Degree Glass Factory for the 3^rd annual Art Fix auction and party. Help us support Rebuilding Together’s mission to revitalize neighborhoods in partnership with the community by rehabilitating the houses of low-income, elderly and disabled homeowners so they may continue to live independently in comfort and safety.

Scott Mosby returns as emcee for this unique ReBuilding Together event. You can participate in the bidding of donated original works of 29 artists, sample food and libations from 7 local restaurants and dance to music by the Matt Rowland Band, all for $35 in advance, $40 the day of the event.  All proceeds will go directly to helping bring volunteers and communities together to improve the homes and lives of fellow St. Louisans.

Click here for all the details about this popular fall party, and we look forward to seeing you there.

(l-r) HGTV's Monica Pedersen, homeowner Hence Forland and Scott Mosby at the kick-off to the remodeling project in June 2009.

This Veteran’s Day, Wednesday, November 11^th, please join us at the Moolah Theatre for a viewing party of a special HGTV episode of Change the World: American Heroes.

We joined with ReBuilding Together St. Louis, hundreds of local volunteers and HGTV to remodel the home of Hence Forland, and now we all come together once more to see the final results of our collaboration.  Hence is a Desert Storm veteran who opens his home to homeless veterans, so it is appropriate that on Veteran’s Day we honor his dedication with the ultimate gift of transformation.

The Moolah Theatre doors open for this free event at 6 pm.  The special will be broadcast on the big movie screen promptly at 7 pm.  Celebrate with us and all the volunteers, veterans, and recipients involved in the restoration of the Windsor Transitional Home.  This effort was a year in the making, and you can experience the first viewing of “the reveal” on HGTV with all of us.  Click here for more viewing party details.

Here are two trailers for this episode of HGTV.

And here’s a recap of the events from this past June.

This was one of the most inspiring projects we’ve been involved with, and the sense of community pride it created remains with us always.  Come share the energy and celebration at the Moolah Theatre on November 11^th.

L-R: Mosby Building Arts' Scott Mosby and Rich Layton with HGTV's Carter Oosterhouse worked together on the veteran's home job site.

Mosby Building Arts, Rebuilding Together St. Louis, and HGTV Change the World joined together to repair and remodel Hence Forland’s home. The retired 27-year veteran is dedicated to helping homeless veterans get back on their feet by giving them a temporary place to live and support their efforts in finding work. His home required extensive repairs and remodeling and the community came together to make his dream come true. His specific and meaningful goal was to create a home atmosphere of motivation and inspiration to those who deserve a better life after serving their country.

Our volunteer staff from Mosby Building Arts worked alongside nearly a hundred volunteers focused on making needed improvements to the 109-year old house. During the filming weekend of June 18 – 22, 2009 we shared in every task imaginable. Tune in to the HGTV broadcast on Veteran’s Day to see the added design features that will elevate and inspire the men Hence Forland is mentoring.

Rebuilding Together, a national organization, excels at rehabilitating the houses of low-income homeowners. It was a magical fit with HGTV as they were able to provide a large bank of committed volunteers to this project. The HGTV production crew was genuinely overwhelmed and impressed with the large numbers of people who worked tirelessly for 4 days in the higher than normal temperatures. There were times the heat index raised to over 105!

Members of the HGTV crew who made this such a successful and memorable project (L-R): Loren Ruch, Haven Wertz, Sandi Ionelli, Monica Pedersen and Rich Belz.

The HGTV crew was also delighted by enthusiastic citizens of St. Louis and their consistent contributions of services, food, materials and money to the project.

Scott Mosby hosted his show as a live KMOX broadcast from the job site. He interviewed multiple members of HGTV and Rebuilding Together St. Louis, as well as the stars, Monica Pederson and Carter Oosterhouse. You can listen to the interviews here. For 3 hours, the story of dedication and generosity unfolded. Some listeners were inspired by the work and contributions to drive to the site and donate to the cause. A sense of genuine compassion and action helped all of us create the reality of Hence Forland’s vision.

Although the HGTV event is complete, there are many veterans in the St. Louis area that would appreciate any help, from a job to a smile. If you are interested, contact the Veterans Affairs for ways you can help a veteran.

Please mark your calendar and tune in to see the results of this project when the episode of The Veteran’s Day special episode of Change the World. Start at Home airs on November 11, 2009 at 8 p.m. on HGTV. Stay connected through our newsletter to get more details as we draw closer to the broadcast date. We hope to share more stories and the ripple effects of the gifts of time and action.

Closer to the airing of the episode, we will share our own stories of the people who touched our hearts and made miracles happen. For now, we share with you:

HGTV St. Louis Event Photos

Focus on Vision of Helping Veterans

Rebuilding Hope. Restoring Dreams

At the Windsor Transitional Home, brick tuckpointing is now finished.

Mosby Building Arts is dedicated to more than enhancing homes. We enhance the way people live. Although each of our client’s home projects receives the highest priority of our attention, there has probably never been a house assignment more important than the Windsor Transitional Home which will serve the needs of honorable St. Louis veterans. Mosby professionals have been hard at work in preparation for the HGTV crew on June 19th to begin filming. The project is scheduled to be complete on June 21, 2009.

Click here for “before” photos” of the Windsor Transitional home so you can how far we’ve come already.

In the backyard, the fence has been removed and the old sidewalk and porch have been removed. Big plans for the backyard!

We take pride in the fact that our service approach is unique to our industry, and our “do-whatever-it-takes” attitude has helped us to quickly and accurately measure and photograph the Windsor Transitional Home to create floor plans that will assist Rebuilding Together St. Louis, as well as HGTV representatives and the volunteer trade partners participating in this important refurbishing and renovation project.

The painting of walls and trim in the first floor living room is done. Morning sunlight through the stained glass is a beautiful sight.

For over 60 years, people in the St. Louis area have turned to Mosby Building Arts for home enhancement answers. Now our own Scott Mosby has utilized his experience supervising remodeling jobs to create an organizational system on the veteran’s home job site that will enhance the productivity and efficiency of hundreds of volunteers.

The kitchen is now ready for paint, flooring, appliances and cabinetry. This room will magically transform over the weekend!

Scott defined the structure and responsibility so each room had a captain. Captains are responsible for monitoring progress in their rooms, from scheduling to construction to punch list. This organizational structure helps to create a sense of order and helps to divide this large project into manageable segments, while each Captain provides helpful guidance and direction to the volunteers within their room.

A Rebuilding Together volunteer installing wood paneling to one of the ground floor rooms.

All of the first- and second-floor interior walls have been patched and prepared for painting. Some rooms that have been without ceilings now have drywall installed, along with new connections for light fixtures.

A volunteer doing last minute prep work as the new flooring was being unloaded from the truck. The new floors will be protected while HGTV filming goes on this weekend.

As we took these photos of the progress at the home, volunteers were finishing up last-minute prep work as new flooring was unloaded from a delivery truck.

The second floor is patched and prepped for painting. Here you can see some of the new thermal windows already installed in every room of the veteran's home.

New thermal windows were donated for the project, and all of them are now installed. This will contribute greatly to the energy efficiency of this 109-year old home.

The second floor had been without a ceiling for some time, so it is gratifying to have this completed. Loving the original fireplace surround.

Even before the final construction push begins on Friday morning, the house is a beehive of activity, with a wide variety of tradespeople working concurrently.

Spirits are high on the job site and there is a very positive energy. Everyone we spoke with is intensely focused on doing their best work as a way of giving back to a man who has dedicated his home and life to helping homeless veterans.

Hence Forland, Jr., the man who has dedicated his home and life to helping homeless veterans. That smile is always on his face, and his spirit is infectious.

And the happiest man on the job site? That would be Hence Forland, Jr. He has been working side by side with us to realize his vision of helping those who have served our country. The feelings of joy and gratitude that radiate from him are both infectious and inspirational.

The Windsor Transitional Home has already come a long way in a short period of time. This weekend, hundreds of volunteers and the HGTV crew will work together with Mosby professionals to help Hence Forland realize his vision of helping worthy veterans to discover “the art of living” well.

Listen to The KMOX Home Improvement Show with Scott Mosby on Saturday, June 21^st, from 11 am – 2 pm. Scott will be broadcasting live from the job site and will interview the people who are helping to make the dream of the Windsor Transitional Home a reality.

And for regular updates and photos of the progress at the veteran’s home, follow Scott Mosby on Twitter.

RELATED

HGTV Is Coming To St. Louis

Rebuilding Hope. Restoring Dreams

HGTV St. Louis Event Photos

The Windsor Transitional Home being prepped for tuckpointing.

Mosby Building Arts has always been dedicated to the art of home enhancement and the positive effects it has on people’s lives. So when we had the unique opportunity to partner with Rebuilding Together St. Louis and HGTV to help repair and transform the Windsor Transitional Home to make it a first-class facility for some of our war veterans, we were honored to volunteer our time, plus our design and constructive expertise to this worthy endeavor.

You may have read in our earlier blog post that HGTV will be in town on Friday, June 19^th to begin the project. Let’s take a closer look at the work that we have completed thus far with Rebuilding Together St. Louis and HGTV in preparation for the renovation of the Windsor Transitional Home owned by retired First Sergeant Hence Forland, Jr.

Rear of the home at 3837 Windsor Place, before the rebuild begins.

When Forland purchased the 109-year-old house at 3837 Windsor Place nearly two decades ago, little did he know the positive impact it would create. Inspired by the homeless veterans he met through the nearby John Cochran VA Medical Center, Forland was determined to provide a safe haven for these honorable servicemen. In 2007, he opened his doors to veterans and officially created the Windsor Transitional Home.

The back stoop is in bad shape. Mosby Building Arts has designed a new porch and patio for this area.

Forland invested his time, energy and money into the home to make the house safe and inhabitable, but it is an ongoing struggle. In early 2009, Rebuilding Together St. Louis entered Forland’s home into HGTV’s “Change the World. Start at Home” competition, and with the support of an overwhelming number of St. Louisans voting online, this veteran’s home was selected to receive $40,000 for repairs and updates.

The proposed design for the Windsor Transitional Home's new back porch, designed by Mosby Building Arts.

In April, Mosby Building Arts was proud to partner with Rebuilding Together and HGTV to inspect and evaluate the challenges facing the home, and to develop floorplan drawings. We are excited to have been asked to design a new back porch and patio for the facility and look forward to working with HGTV and Carter Oosterhouse on completing this project during filming on July 19^th through the 21^st.

Through his dedication, Forland installed a new roof and upgraded furnace to provide a warm and cozy atmosphere for the deserving veterans, but virtually everything else in the home needs to be repaired, updated and remodeled.

The front hallway and the stairs leading to the 2nd floor.

In preparation for the filming of the HGTV show beginning on June 19^th, volunteer crews have already initiated work on the house. As a starting point, lead paint in the home has been completely encapsulated.

Electricity for the home has recently been re-wired. Patching, prepping and painting the walls takes place the weekend of June 12th.

Plumbers and Pipefitters Local #562 has donated its time and supplies to update all of the plumbing, and IBEW Local #1 has completely rewired the electricity in the home, bringing light to rooms that have been dark since 1983.

The veteran's home kitchen before the remodel begins.

Area businesses have generously donated appliances to help update the kitchen, and these items will be installed during HGTV filming.

A 2nd floor bedroom before HGTV and the Rebuilding Together volunteers transform it on the weekend of June 19, 2009.

To ensure efficient climate control – and a beautiful view – new thermal windows for the entire house have been donated, and soon Bike & Build will help to replace the subfloors.

To help maintain a strong foundation, tuckpointing is being completed on the home’s brick exterior.

The basement will get new support columns.

During the weekend of June 12^th, volunteer crews will patch walls, install trim, and prepare all surfaces for painting.

A Mosby Building Arts planner with owner Hence Forland, Jr. (right) discussing some needed repairs.

Hence Forland, Jr. understands the basic human need for shelter, and has created safety and order for the veterans in his home. With this wonderful gift of repair and remodeling comes the opportunity to demonstrate how a sound, healthy and attractive home elevates the spirits and lifestyle of the people who live in it. This is the core belief of Scott Mosby and Mosby Building Arts, and we are honored to be a part of this effort.

Here’s your chance to contribute! Rebuilding Together is seeking skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled volunteers to assist with this project on June 12^th, 13^th, 19^th, 20^th and 21^st, 2009. As a volunteer, you must be able to work a full-day or half-day shift and you can indicate your availability. We encourage you to help make a positive difference now in your own city by contacting Rebuilding Together’s Jessie Connor at 314.918.9918, ext. 24, or by email at jconner@rebuildingtogether-stl.org.

Scott Mosby of Mosby Building Arts (left) and Lynn Rajani of Rebuilding Together St. Louis (center) going over design and construction plans on the front steps of the Windsor Transitional Home.

Please join Scott Mosby, Rebuilding Together and HGTV on June 19^th at 8:00 a.m. for the official project Kick-Off at 3837 Windsor Place in St. Louis City, 63113. Also, be sure to tune into KMOX 1120 AM on Saturday, June 20th from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for a live broadcast of The KMOX Home Improvement Show with Scott Mosby from the project site. Finally, you can read regular reports of events and progress on the home by following Scott Mosby on Twitter. Scott will “tweet” (provide online updates) regarding all phases of the project from its beginning through the finished project reveal on June 22^nd, plus provide details of when this project will be televised on HGTV. Follow Scott on Twitter now.

RELATED

HGTV Is Coming To St. Louis

Focus on Vision of Helping Veterans

HGTV St. Louis Event Photos

Rebuilding Together St. Louis has been selected to participate in HGTV’s Change The World Campaign. We are one of 8 cities competing for $40,000 to help repair a veterans’ transitional home.

Here is the St. Louis home needing repairs to help veterans transform their lives.

The two cities with the most votes on the HGTV website will win money for the home renovation, and this project will be televised on HGTV.

Cast your vote at this link!

You can vote once a day per computer until March 15^th. Bookmark the site, vote once a day and help us support Rebuilding Together St. Louis, our military veterans and our city.

Scott Mosby is on the Rebuilding Together St. Louis Advisory Council and serves as their special events spokesperson. His company, Mosby Building Arts, share with Rebuilding Together the goal to improve life one home at time.

Please vote early and often!