By By Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Irene Daniels sat in a lawn chair and watched intently as roofers and vinyl siding installers worked hurriedly to nail down shingles and put the finishing touches to the vinyl trim under the roofline of her family’s new Habitat for Humanity house in Home Place Subdivision in Hartselle.
That was at 10 a.m. Monday. Twenty-nine hours earlier the only thing resembling a house on the vacant lot was a foundation and several stacks of lumber and other building materials.
That picture began to change in rapid-fire fashion at 5 a.m. Sunday, however, when approximately 20 carpenters arrived and began building the framework for the house. They had the building blacked in and ready for roofing and siding by 3 p.m. the same day. Electrical and plumbing work followed and was completed by midnight Sunday. Heating and air conditioning technicians were scheduled to complete their work Monday and sheetrock installation was scheduled to begin the same day.
Daniels and husband, Rich, and their four children are now living in a mobile home park in Somerville.
The seven-day building blitz is a product of Valley Home Builders and its co-owners, Jeremiah Frost and Jason Owens, working in cooperation with Habitat for Humanity in Morgan County. Several sub-contractors who work with them on a regular basis are also involved.
The project has also had good support from within the community. Churches and businesses have provided workers with three meals a day in addition to cool liquids to help ward off mid-90s temperatures.
Joe Ellis is serving as Habitat’s construction manager.