First Build of the Semester
Half-used bags of fertilizer are scattered throughout the basement of the house, buried under almost a foot of rotting sheetrock and old styrofoam. One corner, right next to a window, contains mounds of potting soil. “The previous owners were growing something they shouldn’t have been,” said project manager Scott Rivers, as he knocks down an old beam with ease. Local Habitat for Humanity (HFH) volunteers shuffle around the construction site, trying to complete it before Christmas.
Outside, the house looks like a typical construction site: two storage units sit near a portable tool shed, a dumpster and a port-a-potty. The ground floor has the frame of several walls in place, looking brand new. The basement, however, still needs to be cleared out of its old remains.
St. Lawrence HFH volunteers arrive at their first build of the semester on Saturday morning, about an hour away from campus. There are 10 St. Lawrence students armed with gloves, shovels and determination. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is many volunteers’ first time being on an actual build site. “We usually only have six to eight people, so it was good to have a few extra hands,” said president of the St. Lawrence HFH chapter Carley Nolan ’22.
Several local volunteers are drilling away at the Clark Street location in Moira, with muffled voices overpowered by an electrical generator and various tools. The St. Lawrence students shuffle in, not noticed by the project managers until the power tools get turned off.
The house, originally built in 1958, still has a long way to go before being habitable. The new owner wants to move in by Christmas. “It’s going to be a stretch,” said project manager David Gokey.
The goal for the day is to clean the basement to get ready for spray foam. Sections of the wall fall with a light kick. “It’s been a process,” said Rivers. “The people who built it, I don’t know what they were doing.”
Nolan coordinates the build with the North Country Habitat for Humanity (NCHFH) chapter. “When I first walked in, I was like… they are trying to get this done by Christmas?” said Nolan. This is her first time working with NCHFH. “We used to work with the Raquette Valley branch, which is specific to St. Lawrence County,” she said. “They dissolved due to a lack of applicants for housing.”
Each build is a little different, and no one knows exactly what to expect. Different types of work are needed depending on the stage of the house. In the past, St. Lawrence students have done anything from installing roofing to sweeping floors. At first, there was the assumption that the build would only need a few finishing touches, especially with the Christmas-end goal coming up.
“I was expecting electrical work, but this was a nice surprise. It was a deeper workout than I thought,” said Autumn Nealis ’25. Other students share her surprise. Secretary and HFH house member, Morgan Hanaway ’23, also expected electrical work. It was the first build for both Nealis and Hanaway.
Each new house needs to be up to code, with energy-efficient choices made by the HFH organization. “If we can’t do it right, we don’t do it at all,” said Rivers. HFH project managers have plans for the Clark Street house’s heat source to be propane-based.
One goal of the HFH organization is to build sustainable houses, preventing the “heat or eat” dilemma that some low-income families face. Part of the HFH philosophy is to provide inexpensive heating solutions along with affordable housing.
Five hundred hours of volunteer work need to be put in by the future homeowners to receive the house. Volunteer work can include working on their own home or in HFH ReStores, which Nolan describes as thrift stores for building supplies.
Photos of the original house are passed around during the volunteers’ lunch break. The house is already unrecognizable from its original state. There are no more overgrown weeds, floral wallpaper or a side porch.
As the temperature creeps up and the basement empties, each student sheds a layer or two. The floor still has a thin dirt overlay, but now the dumpster is filled with trash instead of the basement. “My favorite thing was seeing the progression from an absolute mess to being perfectly clean,” said Hanaway.
The NCHFH members will continue to work on the Clark Street build every Thursday and Saturday. The St. Lawrence chapter members plan to volunteer at this site, with the next workday being on Nov. 13. Anyone is welcome to join the HFH builds, regardless of building experience. “Everyone should do it,” said Hanaway.
The Christmas deadline is still in the air. Gokey is a little more optimistic than earlier in the day. “It’s going to be close,” he said. “Very close.” There is still a lot of work to do. But after Saturday, the house is one step closer to being livable.