When Robert Weed Plywood in Bristol contacted us to assist with a innovative building project they were spearheading for Habit of Humanity in Elkhart County, we jumped at the chance to be a part of it.
Habitat for Humanity frequently does “panel builds” at commercial sites utilizing volunteers to construct home walls which are then loaded on a trailer and taken to be erected on the actual home site. Unique to this particular build however was that Robert Weed employees not only built all the walls for the home, but also raised them onsite, essentially doing a trial build of the home itself right in the corporate parking lot!
It was a gorgeous early morning in Bristol, IN at the Robert Weed headquarters, and DJ Sticky Boots was on hand to provide motivating music (the donuts from Das Dutchman Essenhaus, and lunch from Subway Sandwiches didn’t hurt either) to the two shifts of employees who constructed the walls, with Habitat officials supervising the plans and safety.
Even though many employees had little to no experience in swinging a hammer, they made VERY quick work of the tasks and the walls were up by 11:00am. The family receiving the finished home was also onsite to lend their hands, and by noon the walls were on the truck and ready to head for final construction in the Jimtown area of Elkhart. Sticky Boots played a continuous mix of both house music and classic rock to keep the morning energy flowing, and provided a wireless microphone for announcements and instructions to the volunteers. A great time was had by all, and most importantly, a deserving family will have an awesome new place to live soon!