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Mobility returns as Langley repair project wraps up

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Carol Oldford is waiting for her water main to be repaired. But despite that unexpected hiccup which came Thursday, volunteers are almost finished stabilizing and transforming the exterior of her Langley home.

This year, Aldergrove’s Seventh Day Adventist church members decided to take on two smaller house remodels, instead of one of their grand Extreme Home Repairs.

While Tappers [see story above] will be the larger of the two projects, the Acts of Kindness team also decided to squeeze in some much needed leveling and re-roofing to Oldford’s 232nd Street mobile home.

“It looks fantastic,” the homeowner shared with the Langley Advance Sunday.

The 71-year-old woman, who has health mobility issues, was outside Saturday. Leaning on the arm of her son, she took a stroll and surveyed their work.

“They’ve done a great job,” Oldford said.

In addition to the water main repair, she believes the only outstanding jobs will be completion of the skirting and venting around the base of her manufactured double-wide home, and the replacement of eavestroughs.

The team leveled her trailer, which had sunk drastically in some sections and caused a domino effect of other problems inside and out.

They also replaced her roof, tore down her dilapidated carport, replaced her deck, and painted the exterior of the house.

“You’d be surprised what a coat of paint can do,” she said, noting several people in the complex have been stopping by asking questions.

“I’m so very pleased with it,” she said, adding how she’s been talking with her children about how she can now dare to dream about fixing up the inside of her home.

“I wish I knew about them years ago,” Oldford said, only partly joking that it could have saved her mountains of stress, tons of headaches, and a majority of the damage she’s been living with over the past few years.

Oldford’s deteriorating physical abilities in the past two years, compounded with the fact that her home is literally sinking, meant she didn’t have the strength necessary to open her front door.

The arrival of a team of workers on her sloped stoop earlier this month was a blessing that Oldford now believes can actually help restore some of her mobility and consequently her independence.

“I’m so very grateful,” she said, noting she’s been able to sit out on her deck and just breath in fresh air while watching and admiring those working on the transformation.

Oldford said the stress is finally subsiding after two years or more of hell, and she holds out great hopes that she will now be able to grow old in her home.

Garth Dauncey, a contractor who was heading up the project, said there were definitely some unexpected hurdles that arose, but nothing that patience and diligence wouldn't help them overcome.

"We'll get it done, and done right so they don't have to worry in the future," Garth said. "Sometimes it takes a little longer to do a good job, but that's what we have to do."