A few years ago the Friends of the Refuge was instrumental, both financially and with donated labor, in building a beautiful deck with a covered center pergola. The entire structure was built with treated lumber but unfortunately this decking lumber was treated at the time that the formula for treating lumber had been changed and some of the first runs were faulty. As a result the decking began to deteriorate prematurely. The manufacturer, Hixon Lumber, recognized this problem and graciously provided new lumber at no cost for the entire deck. In addition, they also provided $3200 for additional materials that would be needed such as screws, nails, additional lumber, etc. The Friends provided an additional $600. In addition to the decking replacement, the handicap ramp was widened, new banister and railings were built and a deck and stairs were built at the back door of the visitor center training building ( this was a safety hazard as there were no steps and anyone stepping out this door would have suffered about a six foot fall). Also, new signage was added, doors painted, motion sensors and smoke alarms installed and it was decided that gutters for the pergola and entries to the trailers were needed. The vendor, Lou’s Gutters, donated 10% of the cost of this project. Here is a final report of the costs and hours for this project.
Funds provided by vendor $3200.00
Funds provided by Friends 600.00
$3800.00
Total spent by volunteers – $3039.19
Returned to Friends $ 760.81
Gutters -$ 746.00
Returned to Friends account $ 14.81
This project could not have been completed without the approximately 510 volunteer hours provided by members of the Texas Master Naturalist, the Resident Refuge Volunteer and members of the Refuge staff. In particular, we would like to recognize the following men whose labor made this project possible.
Texas Master Naturalists: Ted Barrow, Herman Hazard and David Gilliland
Refuge resident volunteer: Todd Richardson
At $20 per hour for volunteered time, this would have amounted to $10,200. Our thanks to these individuals and all others who helped with this project.
Attached are some photos of the new deck.
Charles Gillis