Local 'Makeover' project nears completion in Sergeant Bluff
By Tim Gallagher, Journal staff writer | Posted: Monday, July 28, 2008
Karlee Tobias, 3, sits next to Tony Lukken as Billy Lukken chats with his best friend Sarah Denker during a “Thank You” picnic at Lukken home in Sergeant Bluff. (Staff photo by Jim Lee)
SERGEANT BLUFF -- Mike Beavers ran his own business for years. He's worked as a labor foreman overseeing large construction projects for W.A. Klinger LLC for years.
But he never lost sleep over a job until this spring. That's when his son Mike Jr., a Lawton-Bronson High School student, approached him about renovating the home of Brad and Lori Lukken in Sergeant Bluff. The Lukkens' sons Tony, 25, and Billy, 17, have Duchenne muscular dystrophy and are confined to wheelchairs.
The Lukkens sent tapes of their family's housing situation to the TV show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" twice. They were turned down both times.
Beavers couldn't let his son down. Or the two Lukkens, who have become like his own.
"They'd been let down two times before," said Beavers. "I had to be sure I didn't let it happen again."
He didn't. Beavers, his wife Wendy and their son Michael hosted a picnic with the Lukkens Sunday evening, a feast for all who helped see this $70,000 project to fruition. Between bites, those who came saw the new roof, the new siding, the new windows, the new carpet, the new paint, the new ramp, the new fences, the new landscaping, the new central air conditioning, the new wiring and the new three-season porch.
They also noticed the new smiles sported by Billy and Tony.
"The porch is my favorite part," said Billy Lukken, 17. "Now I can see everything outside."
The porch, a gift from Screenbuilders of Cherokee, Iowa, withstood winds of 80 miles per hour one week ago. Tony had prepared himself to be disappointed after the storm. Thankfully, he wasn't. The porch, like the commitment from his network of friends, stood rock solid.
"Tony loves the fall," his mother said. "He's already making plans to bring our space heater downstairs and put it in the three-season porch so he can sit out there."
The porch was also a hit for sister Emily Lukken, who invited her parents to her graduation this spring from a graphic design school in Omaha.
"They came to Omaha for my graduation and when they went back home to Sergeant Bluff they had a three-season porch," she said.
The best part of the construction project? It pieced together friends, not just brick and mortar.
"We've pretty much adopted Mike Bare (General Siding), Mike and Wendy Beavers, Michael Beavers and his Lawton-Bronson football teammates," said Lori Lukken. "But not only them, we had so many people helping.
"This was better than TV," she said, referencing the "Extreme Makeover" program. "We became friends with all of these people this summer."
And while Mike Beavers didn't sleep the best part of the past couple of months, it will be a summer he'll remember for a long, long time.
"Not in my wildest dreams did I think the project would turn into something like this," the elder Beavers said.
This wild dream is just about done. Maybe now one builder can sleep soundly at night.
But he never lost sleep over a job until this spring. That's when his son Mike Jr., a Lawton-Bronson High School student, approached him about renovating the home of Brad and Lori Lukken in Sergeant Bluff. The Lukkens' sons Tony, 25, and Billy, 17, have Duchenne muscular dystrophy and are confined to wheelchairs.
The Lukkens sent tapes of their family's housing situation to the TV show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" twice. They were turned down both times.
Beavers couldn't let his son down. Or the two Lukkens, who have become like his own.
"They'd been let down two times before," said Beavers. "I had to be sure I didn't let it happen again."
He didn't. Beavers, his wife Wendy and their son Michael hosted a picnic with the Lukkens Sunday evening, a feast for all who helped see this $70,000 project to fruition. Between bites, those who came saw the new roof, the new siding, the new windows, the new carpet, the new paint, the new ramp, the new fences, the new landscaping, the new central air conditioning, the new wiring and the new three-season porch.
They also noticed the new smiles sported by Billy and Tony.
"The porch is my favorite part," said Billy Lukken, 17. "Now I can see everything outside."
The porch, a gift from Screenbuilders of Cherokee, Iowa, withstood winds of 80 miles per hour one week ago. Tony had prepared himself to be disappointed after the storm. Thankfully, he wasn't. The porch, like the commitment from his network of friends, stood rock solid.
"Tony loves the fall," his mother said. "He's already making plans to bring our space heater downstairs and put it in the three-season porch so he can sit out there."
The porch was also a hit for sister Emily Lukken, who invited her parents to her graduation this spring from a graphic design school in Omaha.
"They came to Omaha for my graduation and when they went back home to Sergeant Bluff they had a three-season porch," she said.
The best part of the construction project? It pieced together friends, not just brick and mortar.
"We've pretty much adopted Mike Bare (General Siding), Mike and Wendy Beavers, Michael Beavers and his Lawton-Bronson football teammates," said Lori Lukken. "But not only them, we had so many people helping.
"This was better than TV," she said, referencing the "Extreme Makeover" program. "We became friends with all of these people this summer."
And while Mike Beavers didn't sleep the best part of the past couple of months, it will be a summer he'll remember for a long, long time.
"Not in my wildest dreams did I think the project would turn into something like this," the elder Beavers said.
This wild dream is just about done. Maybe now one builder can sleep soundly at night.
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Great job wrote on Jul 28, 2008 8:42 AM: