PORT ANGELES — Hammers pounding, blades cutting and sawdust flying.
A passer-by might not notice anything special about the construction site of a new home at 1515 W. 10th St.
However, the entire crew is made up of 19 high school and Peninsula College students getting a hands-on feel for the world of construction, from start to finish, through the Future Builders program.
This is the sixth house students are building with the aid of professionals through the program sponsored by the North Peninsula Building Association
“These guys are getting a hands-on education in building quality homes,” said Jim Lierly, an inspector for the city of Port Angeles.
Because the homes built through Future Builders are custom-made, there’s no cookie-cutter print, and the students do it all — from pouring the foundation to electrical wiring.
An ‘edge’ for job-finding
“It gives you a little bit more of an edge when you go to apply for a job,” said Jeff Hudson, a Peninsula College student in the program.
Hudson, 35, has always wanted to work in construction, and he said Future Builders is making that dream a reality.
The hands-on experience Hudson and others in the program are getting is worth about $40,000 in training, said Mike Gooch, construction superintendent for the program.
Gooch, 62, has been with Future Builders for four years and said the “quality and caliber” of students has grown by leaps in bounds during that time.
Last year’s house sold for more than $300,000, and at 2,800 square feet is the largest home built through the program.
All of the money received from selling a house is either reinvested into the program, given as vocational grants or awarded as scholarships to students who have completed the program.
This year’s three-bedroom, two-bathroom house is also pretty large at a little more than 1,900 square feet.
The students are working feverishly, rain or shine, to finish the roof before Friday so the house can dry out over Christmas vacation.
