Four homes, built in a week.
As the Moore County Habitat for Humanity Building Blitz draws to a close, four homes stand where only foundations lay a week ago. The Blitz is a local version of Habitat's national effort to build more than 400 houses this week.
A dedication ceremony will be held Sunday from 1 to 2:30 p.m., to officially mark the end of the Blitz.
Elizabeth Cox, executive director of the Moore County Habitat for Humanity, said she can see the fruits of months of careful planning and hard work from the Habitat staff and volunteers involved in the project.
"I don't think it could've gone any better," Cox said in an interview at the building site.
The building crews and their subcontractors had completed most of the exterior work by Wednesday, when efforts shifted to the interior.
The builders moved inside to install electrical fixtures, cabinets and trim. Electricians, painters and plumbers contributed their skills to prepare for final inspection this (Friday) afternoon.
On Saturday, local garden clubs will help with landscaping, and four teams will build storage sheds for each of the houses.
Danny Adams of Daniel Adams Construction hopes to get the certificate of occupancy today. If all goes according to plan, he will be able to hand it over to Cassandra Harris, a medical technician at Tara Plantation and nursing student at Sandhills Community College.
Cox said Habitat and the homeowners hope to close on the houses Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.
While staying on schedule has claimed most of their focus, members of the building crews who have dedicated themselves to the Blitz have not lost the emotion of the week.
"It's the kind of stuff you see on TV, but I've never been a part of it," said Kevin Bartlett of Bartlett Construction, one of the six general contractors who volunteered his time and services.
The house built by Bartlett's crew will go to Terri Armstrong and her family. Armstrong worked her way out of a homeless shelter to qualify for a Habitat house.
With people such as Harris and Armstrong serving as reminders of what they're working toward, the builders agree that the spirit of the event has been very cooperative.
Moore County Habitat board member Tim Dwyer said competition has not come into play.
"What's been really special is there's more of a sense of camaraderie between builders," he said.
As an example, Dwyer said that on the first day of the Blitz, a truck carrying supplies for the house being built by Daniel Adams Construction broke down.
Instead of allowing the project to get off schedule, Pat Falvey, the Blitz project chairman who was working on another house, called in help. Steve Harris, president of the Moore County Home Builders Association, brought the needed materials and a crew to help.
Falvey, who has worked on several Habitat Blitzes, credited the subcontractors with success of the week.
"It's a cake walk," he said. "There are so many talented subcontractors. It's going very smoothly."
High spirits reigned at his house, built for Lupe and Veronica Palacios' family, where his company teamed with Hyman and Johnson Construction. Toby Johnson joked that there were no highlights from the week.
"No, nobody's gotten hurt," he said, laughing. He then clarified, "That's a highlight when you work that fast."
Typically, families moving into Habitat homes would help with the building, along with volunteers. But this week professional builders have done all the work.
Falvey said the families have been around helping as much as their work schedules would allow. Harris helped Adams by sweeping the house, for example. Jennie Barker, who will move into the house built by Dunagan Builders and Pinehurst Homes, has spent hours weeding her front yard.
Bartlett appreciated working with professional crews for this task. He imagined that constructing a house in a week a week while overseeing novice builders could have been difficult.
"I'd have my bottle of Tylenol in this pouch right here," he said, pointing to the pouch hanging on his tool belt.
Instead, Bartlett said, the volunteers and families supported the crews through a steady supply of food, drinks and company.
"Working with Habitat is a joy within itself," he said. "They just have so much positive energy."
The builders expressed their thanks and admiration of Habitat. Bartlett and Adams both said they hope the Blitz will help other builders realize the value of Habitat.
"My biggest thing is the misconception people have of Habitat, the few people that do," Bartlett said. He emphasized that Habitat is not a handout and the bottom line is that they are trying to help.
Adams said he thinks some builders, in particular, lose sight of the end product.
"I would like to stress that -- there are some builders that might not understand what goes on with Habitat," he said. "Sometimes they feel like they're competing with Habitat."
Instead, Adams said, Habitat sets homeowners up to be in a position where they can buy homes from other builders. Essentially, he said, Habitat is creating more business for local builders.
Perhaps Bartlett best summed up Habitat and what it means for those who have been involved in it.
"It's been a tough, long road," he said, "but it's worth it."
Kirsten Beattie, an intern from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, can be reached at (919) 619-4327.
