By SARAH PLUMMER
The Register-Herald
OAK HILL, W.Va. — Santa’s elves aren’t the only people hard at work.
Students at Fayette Institute of Technology are building a miniature house to provide warmth and shelter for a family displaced by the June 23 flood.
(Photo by Chris Jackson)
Dr. Kathy D’Antoni, state assistant superintendent of schools and chief officer of career and technical education for the state Department of Education, said 12 career and technical centers across the state are building 15 homes.
Most houses are between 100 to 400 square feet, but each one has been constructed uniquely to serve the needs of a specific family.
Students at the Fayette Institute of Technology have had just five weeks to design, construct and finish their home, which has two loft bedrooms.
Principal Barry Crist said the students would have been working on their full-sized home they construct and sell every two years, but the Tiny House Project gives them an opportunity to practice their skills while helping someone else.
“This project has turned into a competition, and the school that builds the best tiny house will be given an award. We have some tricks up our sleeve on how to make ours the best, and every program in the building is involved — from nursing to business. They are all taking part by providing sheets and bedding or working to furnish the home,” he said.
On Wednesday Ken Eades’ carpentry students were preparing to install the loft bedrooms, sending sparks flying as they cut sections of pipe and worked with headlamps inside the house.
“It makes me feel good knowing I’m able to help those in need,” said junior Dillion Bragg of Powellton. “I know what it is like to be without, so I’m proud to know that right now I can help give someone without something they need.”
Junior Meleea Miller of Pax said the project also makes her feel proud. As her first design project, it has given her a chance to really learn the different types of wall studs, she explained, pointing out which ones were load-bearing on the home’s exterior.
Plumbing instructor Denton Pennington was discussing a challenging aspect of a shower installation with his students: “This size house has offered a lot of challenges. It is more like building a camping trailer, so everything has to be really compact,” he explained.
Pennington said the group has made its own shower fitting by splicing two together, but he won’t install it without doing a pressure test. A standard shower was too tall for the home and had to be cut down by 2 inches.
Once completed, other programs at Fayette Institute of Technology will help furnish and decorate the home for the holidays. It will be delivered to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin on Dec. 20, and long-term recovery committees in flood impacted areas have determined which survivors need the homes.
Each home has been built with a $20,000 grant through the West Virginia Department of Education.
Once complete they will be taken to the Air National Guard base in Charleston and keys turned over to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin.
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