Chehalis-based Safecover Roofing LLC donated 2,600 square feet of roofing and roughly 40 hours of labor on Thursday morning to help the Greater Lewis County Habitat for Humanity continue construction of a house along 11th Street.
The project has seen delays due to the coronavirus pandemic. Safecover’s donation is one of many generous community gestures moving the project along to completion.
But the pandemic — and the community at large, over the last three and a half years — has been kind to Safecover Roofing, said owner Tyler Collins. Despite weathering shutdowns, his business stayed busy with work requested by the community.
The idea to get involved with Greater Lewis County Habitat for Humanity started about three months ago, he said. He was talking with his aunt, Amy Graber, an employee at the Port of Centralia, about how he could give back to the community that has been so generous to him.
“We were kicking around ways to give back to the community,” Collins said, and they “kind of threw this all together.”
“We feel it’s our duty, because we’ve done so well, to give back — and we’re happy to do that,” he added.
On an overcast yet warm Thursday morning, Collins and foreman Filo Bastian rounded up their team and started work on roofing the three-bedroom, two-bath house as the sound of nail guns and construction peppered the sleepy neighborhood south of the downtown area.
The roofing was complete by that afternoon.
“Now that we have the roof on, we’ll be able to work, rain or not, and we’ll be able to pick up our pace,” said Jay Myhre, Greater Lewis County Habitat for Humanity’s board president.
Myhre said they’re hoping to have the house, which they started building in 2019, fully complete by the end of the year. State health mandates put a damper on the work early on in the pandemic, but Myhre counts Habitat for Humanity lucky since it’s pulling building materials from a stockpile the local nonprofit has.
During a regular year, Greater Lewis County Habitat for Humanity can build up to two houses. But there are some challenges that come with the process.
“One of our biggest challenges is finding a place to build a home,” Myhre said.
Another challenge is the cost to build homes. Over the last two years, the cost has gone up around 40%, Myhre estimated, though their labor, volunteers and material donations usually absorb most of the costs.
Richard Tausch, board vice president, said the following companies also assisted with materials or major donations: Ace Hardware, Cal Portland Cement, Foresight Surveying, Grocery Outlet, Interior Design Center, Lincoln Creek Lumber, Lowes, Pacific Mobile Leasing, Palmer Lumber, Sierra Pacific, Breen Crushing, the TRUSS Co. and Weyerhaeuser Wood Products.
For more information, or to donate, visit Greater Lewis County Habitat for Humanity’s website atglchabitat.org.
More information on Safecover Roofing LLC can be found online at www.safecoverroofing.com. Their business is located at 250 SW Riverside Dr. in Chehalis.
