Building a home, finding a career: Students get real-world education from the foundation up – The Livingston County News

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Tyler Ziegenfuss of York thought he might want to become a cop after high school.

Then, he found the Building Trades program at the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership.

And I absolutely love this, said Tyler, who was among dozens of students that helped build a two-story home this past school year in a heavily wooded lot off Route 63 in Piffard.

The students, from GVEPs Charles G. May Center in Mount Morris, began work on the project the second day of school in September when the site had only a foundation and piles of tree limbs that had been hand-cut by the homeowner, Minhhang Huynh, and her friends and family.

I liked seeing how we built this from the ground up, said Tyler, a senior who also worked on last years home-build in Geneseo. When you see the finished project like this, theres a strong feeling inside that you did this. And the best experience is again seeing the homeowner smile.

Like a family

Huynh, a petite woman no taller than the students working on the house, was known to jump in and learn alongside the students.

She made it very personal for the kids, Jared Cali, one of three Building Trades instructors, said of Huynh. Shed blend right in; it was as if she was one of them.

Huynh who the students came to know as Min finished doing the drywall while students were on break watching YouTube videos to understand the mudding process, which uses tape and joint compound to make the seams in the drywall disappear. She also took pieces of remnant tile and turned them in to a mosaic that she installed at the entrance to the home and in a bathroom.

It gave me the confidence to do anything, Huynh said. When the teacher showed them how to do the floor, I said I wanted to learn, too. Being with the students up on the roof, was so fun.

Huynh made videos and photo collage posters showing the construction of her home and the students roles.

Theyve been here the last nine months, so its become like a big family, she said. They were not here to build my house, they were here to build my future. I wanted to do something for them. It was as if God gave me these 65 kids.

Huynh hopes to use her home to teach artistic programs for children. She designed it to have large open spaces and smaller functional spaces.

She also wanted the home to mirror the Abbey of the Genesee in its look. If viewed from above, the house has the appearance of a cross.

Inside, the top trim on the doors is a little bit longer, while the trim above the windows is flush with side mimicking appearances in the Abbey.

The Abbey is my spiritual home, says Huynh, an artist who has been studying and teaching at the Abbey since graduating from SUNY Geneseo about 20 years ago.

A unique feature of the home is its sanctuary with a 12-foot ceiling and two stained glass windows provided by Huynhs friend, Sue Shady of Fairport. A wall cutout on the second floor looks down in to the sanctuary.

Hands-on learning

The Building Trades Program got its start at the Mount Morris campus in the late-1960s or early-1970s when students used to build two small ranch houses every year.

Beyond a trade, they learn life skills, how to work a job site and how to take pride in their work, said Cali.

Potential homeowners submit applications to be considered for the home build. By February, a homeowner and location are chosen for the next year. The homeowner must then have the foundation completed by summer. Homeowners are also required to install pay for materials and final finishing costs. The labor to construct the home comes from the students.

The students get their hands into everything; they become well versed in what they do, said Vincent McKeown, who oversaw the carpentry students.

This years project was somewhat unusual in that it was a two-story home.

The footprint was so small, we were able to tackle it as a two story, said Cali.

Even with the smaller footprint, the chestnut-colored home has about the same square footage 1,500 to 1,800 square feet as a typical ranch house. What the two-story did mean was more doors, more windows and two sets of stairs.

But the more time students can do something, the more the process clicks and it can become permanent to them, Cali said.

Students did about 90 percent of the work on the home. They did rough framing, siding, roofing, electric, plumbing, heating, drywall installation, insulation, finish carpentry and custom cabinets. This year they installed a skylight and complete hardwood floors using a layered flooring system for the first time.

Finding solutions

The students began by setting scaffolding on the second-day of school in September. The first big push on the project was to get the roof on and have the building weather-tight by winter.

Last year, it was 90 degrees when we were working on the roof, this year it was more like 9, Ziegenfuss said.

Through the winter they worked on the inside, doing rough-framing a process that included some repetition when Huynh made changes to the plans such as wall locations or additional storage and progressing in to finish work and small details.

As for the homeowners changes, the students simply went with the flow, McKeown said.

Wed explain why we were doing it and the motivation. It took a little longer, but the students could see the challenges and get experience, and then have the reward of finding a solution, he said.

Spring rains brought additional challenges such as keeping mud under control and out of the house, and frequently checking scaffolding in case it settled in the soft ground, said Richard Wilson, an instructor.

Meeting a milestone

Each year, the Building Trades Program students build a house for a homeowner.

The juniors, who are in the first year of the program, do simpler tasks driving nails, running wires and drilling holes.

I didnt expect it to be so hands on, said Antonio Daniels of Dalton, a junior at Keshequa Central School.

But this really drew my interest, its what I might want to do, he said, noting a grandfather and uncle who work in the profession.

Seniors are encouraged to take on leadership roles as they tackle more complex tasks ranging from designing the layout of the home to installing electrical boxes.

Last year, it was a much bigger house and it seemed like we were worrying if wed finish, said Trevor Taft of York. This year, it wasnt, even when snow came early when we were putting on the roof.

By end of school year, theyve built a home even as juniors acknowledged some doubts it would happen.

I did wonder whether it would pull together in time, but it all came through, said Jared Boss of Dalton, who gave a tour of the home to his mother, Christina, during an open house this month. It started with the foundation and we did our thing. There was a journey and we meet the milestone.

Steps to a career

The project gives the students an opportunity to see a lot of different trades, said Wilson, an instructor.

From there, they may go straight into the workforce or take the knowledge theyve gained to college and grow and nurture it into something more grandiose, Wilson said.

Quintin Bronecki, a senior from Livonia, wasnt sure what he wanted to do when he entered the program two years ago so he took Metal Trades and later Building Trades.

I wanted to get skills because they cant take your skills away, he said, noting that he found carpentry to be more my thing; I felt more in change

With graduation approaching he hopes to go straight into the trades; I hope to be a finishing carpenter.

And for Jared, a junior at Keshequa Central School, hes also thinking about becoming a carpenter.

This, he said, is a stepping stone.

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Building a home, finding a career: Students get real-world education from the foundation up - The Livingston County News