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Chatham Habitat for Humanity sets a brisk pace

Posted on March 29, 2007March 30, 2007 by Staff

habitat1.jpg

Colin Rumbley, a UNC student from Charlotte, operates the cutting station on the job site of Chatham County Habitat for Humanity’s new energy saving home project.

Chatham Habitat for Humanity sets a brisk pace

Home Store doing well, but the group needs more volunteers for projects

By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

PITTSBORO — In a little neighborhood not far from George Moses Horton Middle School, the sounds of the weekend include hammers and circular saws. Last weekend there also were the sounds of music, speeches and cheers.

That’s because Chatham County Habitat for Humanity turned the keys over to new homeowners Javier and Alma Benítez. There were balloons for the kids, plenty of food on the grill and a lot of smiles. And around the corner the work kept going.

The Cornwallis Road neighborhood off of U.S. 15-501 has been one of Chatham Habitat’s longest running efforts. The organization has dedicated more than a dozen homes there in the last decade.

Bob Ligett, a Habitat board member and construction volunteer, said the organization fills a growing need in Chatham County that might not be so apparent at first glance.

“People see all these new developments coming along and they don’t realize that you don’t have to get very far away from it to see real pockets of need here,” he said.

Ligett said Habitat’s store, perhaps the most public face of the organization, has been a real success, combining a home-furnishing store with another that specializes in recycling construction materials. Earlier this month, the store moved more than $12,000 in carpet tiles on Ebay in one day; the tiles had been salvaged from an RTP refurbishment.

“The store’s doing pretty well,” Ligett said. “What we really need are volunteers.”

The Chatham branch of Habitat—the organization is organized by county—has a little more trouble tapping the poll of university volunteers than its neighbor in Orange County, he said. “We have to work a little bit harder.”

More volunteers would mean a shorter building cycle.

UNC student Colin Rumbley, who signed up to help through a campus bible study group, said adding to the crews would help. It’s rewarding work and it gets you outside.

“It’s a nice day to be out here,” he said during a break at the sawing station.

Rumbley was one of a handful working on Chatham Habitat’s model sustainable home. The house, designed by N.C. State graduate students, won state and national competitions for energy efficiency.

Brennan Less, an AmeriCorps worker assigned to the project, said the design should help make the home even more affordable. The design features a bank of south-facing windows, stained concrete floors and solid concrete-block interior walls to absorb heat. As the project takes shape, Less said he is constantly impressed by the design.

“They used a 25-inch overhang,” he said. He motioned to the base of an interior wall near the row of windows facing south. “That means in the summer, when the sun is at it’s highest, it only comes up to here.”

Chatham Co. Habitat for Humanity

Phone: 542-0794 (office)542-0788 (Store)
Web: www.chathamhabitat.org
The Home Store and Home Store Too is located at 467 West St. in Pittsboro. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Note: One of the common misconceptions about Habitat is that it gives houses away. Under the Habitat model, owners must provide sweat equity. The houses are purchased at cost with an additional second mortgage that makes up the difference between appraised value and cost due at sale should the owners decide to eventually sell the house.

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