Stepping Up Heidi Street Makeover: Pavers Are Latest Addition to Project

Six months after launching the Heidi Street Makeover project, Garry Puda and neighbors are still shy of their goal of remodeling the former eyesore home owned by Roger and Sandra Moses.

In February, Puda—who lives across the street from the Moseses—launched a neighborhood effort to remake a home that had fallen into such disrepair that it brought legal action from the city of La Mesa.

The original target date for completion was March.  Then it was June. Now it might be March 2012, Puda says.

The first course of retainer block was laid Friday, Puda said, and “we have a contractor to do the torch-on roofing at cost. We will install sod in the yard behind the retainer wall. Synthetic Lawn Supply will install artificial turf for the entire parkway.”

And the eves and facia will be repainted when the roof is finished, he said.

Donations are still being sought—especially trees and sod for the front yard to complete the landscaping. Puda would like a 48-gallon American beech and two 36-gallon red sunset maples.

Roger Moses has told Puda that he wants wants to replace the plywood on the roof himself, and it is 15 percent done, Puda said.

Why has the work stretched out into late summer?

“We have had a number of volunteers, including myself, take trips and vacations,” he said.

Among the unexpected challenges was having to replace a leaking main water line from the street and sewage line—and the Moseses changing their minds about aspects of the original plan.

“The upside is the family is taking ownership of the project by planning additional improvements on their own,” Puda said.

“This project has taken much longer than anticipated, but the goal has not changed.”