BUILDING TRADES HOME FOR SALE; OPEN HOUSE WILL BE THIS WEEKEND AT 1962 DAVID

When the building trades class at Cape Girardeau Area Vocational-Technical School winds up for the year, instructor Bud Thompson sells the classroom.

The classroom, a quad-level house at 1962 David, is being built by students in the program during this academic year.

Finishing work is still being done, but Thompson said the structure will be ready for an open house Saturday and Sunday from 1-4 p.m. each day.

Sealed bids will be accepted through June 14 at the Cape Girardeau school office, 61 N. Clark. The minimum bid is $77,000.

"This is a classroom," Thompson said, as high school students wielded hammers and drills all around him.

"At the beginning of the year, we have a vacant lot," he explained. "The kids come out, survey the lot and decide how they want to place the house on the lot."

"The first three or four weeks we are in the classroom," Thompson said. "Most students are familiar with hand tools, but we go over the tools to make sure. And we talk about safety."

Then the work begins. Students participate in all stages of construction from pouring concrete to hanging doors.

The program is called building trades, Thompson said, so students learn a little about carpentry, wiring, plumbing and other trades.

Throughout the year, students are divided into groups and given assignments, like setting the footings on one section of the house.

"We follow a typical construction pattern," he said.

And as with many contractors, some things are subcontracted, like the brick work and siding. Students have a chance to work with the subcontractors.

Thompson has been building houses with high school students for 14 years. This house is the first completed in just one school year. In the past, houses have been built over two years.

"We decided if we built one in a year, we could build another next year. That way, students could be exposed twice," Thompson said. "Maybe they didn't get to set a door the first year. Next year, they can have that chance."

Other vocational courses add expertise to the house: heating and air conditioning, horticulture, drafting, graphic arts.

Now, the finished product will be sold.

"I would put this house up against any similar spec house," Thompson said. "I think we would come out favorably."

Students do the job right or they do it again, Thompson said. For example, one post on the deck was not quite level. On Tuesday, a student fixed that post.

"These are things that a contractor would see and would make them do again," he said.

Some students come out of the program ready to begin work. In fact, four students are working in on-the-job training programs for local contractors. "Instead of coming here," Thompson said. "They are going to work. It lets the employers preview the students and gives students a look at the real world."

While building trades students get lots of hands-on training, Thompson admitted contractors don't work with 20 helpers.

"This is our classroom," he said. "Now we're ready to get rid of it."