Students learn to build houses

On a cloudy Friday afternoon, Flathead High School senior Riley Leighty was busy running a circular saw at a job site at 125 Corporate Drive.

Behind Leighty was the class project he’ll be working on for the rest of the school year as part of a House Construction class — a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom house, which also features a powder room.

A trailer at the job site serves as a classroom for House Construction 1 and 2, where students learn the basics of operating power tools, framing and finishing and setting them up for potential apprenticeships and careers in the building trades. Flathead industrial arts and construction teacher Brock Anderson noted that a student who graduated in the program’s first year is now in a plumbing apprenticeship as result of his experience in the program.

This is the second house Leighty has helped build with classmates. Leighty is one of five returning students who signed up when the construction program began in the 2015-16 school year.

“I was in the class last year that built that house, right over there,” Leighty said pointing to a green house a couple blocks away.

Although Leighty has previous work experience in construction, he said the program has taught him that it’s challenging building an entire house from start to finish.

“There’s so many things you would think you know, but it’s a lot harder than someone would anticipate, from building stairs, to doing concrete, to putting on a roof,” Leighty said. “It sets you up to where you’re not set for one skill. You’re able to figure out what you really would want to do. So you get to learn all the different trades.”

That first house was completed in May and purchased by Heidi Escalante and Michael Hodges. Proceeds from the sale of home went toward purchasing the lot for the second student-built home. Since the school cannot profit from the sale of the home, a nonprofit — Kalispell Student-Built Homes — was established to create a fund that will make the program self-sufficient. While a loan was still needed to build the second home, Anderson expects the program to be self-sufficient in five years through house sales and donations.

“The support from the community is just incredible,” Anderson said.

A prerequisite for taking House Construction 1 is Woods 1 or Intro to Building Trades. Once the students complete House Construction 1, they have the opportunity to take House Construction 2.

Returning students like Leighty now essentially serve as foremen, a goal Anderson envisioned at the program’s inception.

“Having five students do this last year and then helping out this year has been phenomenal. They just have the knowledge, they have the foundation,” Anderson said.

Working closely with students alongside Anderson are volunteers Kirk Hammerquist and Tim McLean, who have decades of experience in the construction industry between them.

On Nov. 11, Hammerquist, who is co-founder of Hammerquist Casalegno and now retired, was on site helping students build a stairwell. Hammerquist said it was a “no-brainer” in volunteering his time and expertise.

“I’ve been in the trades for like 45 years,” Hammerquist said. After retiring he thought, “What do I do with everything I know?”

Hammerquist and Anderson said there is a desperate need for a qualified workforce in “middle-skill jobs.” Middle-skill jobs “require education beyond high school but not a four-year degree,” according to the National Skills Coalition. Fifty percent of job openings are predicted to require middle skills through 2022, according to the coalition.

“I’m still getting calls from contractors, ‘Hey do you have any kids that need jobs?’” Anderson said, especially since construction has taken off in the valley.

The goal of the House Construction program is to meet some of those needs.

“We’re tied in more with the Montana Department of Labor since all of the students received last year a 320-hour certification in pre-apprenticeship in carpentry. And it’s kind of been a flagship for Montana Department of Labor, they’re trying to get this program up and going in other schools,” Anderson said.

Sophomore Chase Hawk plans on becoming an electrician after high school and said being part of the construction program will give him insight into what that career looks like.

Students also learn the relevance of timelines and deadlines.

“When concrete is coming, the concrete is coming.” Anderson said. “You can’t ask for an extension on that homework.”

The learning experience often involves Anderson asking students how to do a task and why, to further understand what they are doing, Hawk said.

Hawk also spoke to the importance of doing a good job.

“Because that could be somebody’s life,” Hawk said.

Flathead Building Association, Flathead Electric Cooperative, Glacier Bank, Hammerquist Casalegno and Western Building Center are program partners.

For more information about the program, visit westernbuildingcenter.com/student-house.

Reporter Hilary Matheson can be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.