Habitat for Humanity is a strategic and innovative organization.
Habitat for Humanity has been working with Sartell High School since 2019. Every year, they worked on a concrete slab just outside the school, then moved the final product to an off-campus site.
This year, they changed it up, and the house is being built on-site, off campus.
“It saves the homeowner $25,000,” said teacher Joe Schulte. This is because the homeowner pays for the materials and cost of moving the house. Normally the cost to move the house is about $20k. But because they built the house on a site close to the high school, they are saving the homeowner that money. The only thing the homeowner does not pay for is labor. That normal cost is around $100k. The labor is where the SabreCon students help the most.
It saves them a significant amount of money because it’s the cost of moving it down the road to where it will be placed permanently. Also, it’s safer.
On-site allows students to experience what it’s like to work on a real construction project. It is a way to experience the trades and see if it would be a future for the students. They develop skills and ideas of what the real trades would be like. They have to think about what they need and have it all fit in a trailer or two. They also have to have good time management skills because if they don’t have the outside tasks done before winter, they will have to work outside in the harsh Minnesota winter.
“It is easier not having to account for adjustments in movement,” said SHS student Michael Corbin.
The crew plans to get a roof and possibly windows in by Thanksgiving, which is nice because then they can work on the interior in an enclosed space, so when winter is here, they can work indoors and be warmer and avoid the snow.
Where they are at right now, they just got trusses on, and that was a big day for them. They rented a crane for $280 an hour from Landwehr Construction. They got a discount for Habitat for Humanity, and they had the crane for about 4 hours of rental time. The crane was running late because of a check engine light. Instead of being there at 11:00, it was closer to 11:30. But they were able to get all but a few trusses up on the roof and secured. To see pictures of the trusses going up and of the job site, check out this article.
