Franklin Habitat Thrift Store Damaged By Rain, Wind

It could be a couple of more weeks before the Franklin County Habitat for Humanity Thrift store is open again.

The store on SR17 in Lavonia has been closed for the pasts two weeks after the building lost its roof in a rain storm according to Habitat Executive Director Cathy Wood.

“A couple of weeks ago when we had that severe wind and rain, it pulled up our new metal roof,” Wood said. “The roofers didn’t get to it and when it rained again last weekend, we had about as much rain inside the store as we had outside the store.” 

Wood said she wasn’t able to find tarps for the roof in time so they tried to put up plastic on the ceilings before last weekend’s storm hit. However, she said it was not enough to hold back the enormous amount of water that gushed in.

Last year, Habitat replaced the old flat roof with a new pitched metal roof.  Wood said the insurance company has signed off on the repairs, determining the strong winds were the cause of the damage and the roof has since been fixed.  But the damage to inside of the store has been extensive and for the past week, crews from ServePro have been there daily working.

“They’re taking up carpet, bugging through walls, getting all the moisture out so we have no mold or bad smells. They’re making sure everything is dried up the way it’s supposed to be dried up,” Wood said. 

Most of the damage was done in the back half of the front showroom, the Christmas room, and in the back of the store.   Employees and volunteers have been working every day to move store items and sort through what can be salvaged and what cannot.

Wood said while store is closed, they are still taking donations.

“The only reason we are closed, of course, is because of safety,” Wood said. “We don’t want our customers to be in any danger. We also have the blowers going to dry out the floor, but we are still accepting donations.” 

Wood said they hope to have the store re-opened by the end of the month.