Mike's Site

I’m interested in learning how to build structures and improve my carpentry skills. So, I searched for “building classes near me” and found that North Alabama Homebuilding Academy was offering a residential construction course.

One stipulation for the class is that the student should go into the homebuilding industry. After talking to one of the administrators, telling her I intend to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity for some home builds, she told me it was fine for me to sign up for the course. I have also signed up with Habitat to work this Spring. I’ve worked with Habitat before through Trinity United Methodist Church. We built a house in north Huntsville and a house in El Salvador.

The building course is Monday-Thursday 2-5 PM for four weeks. I’ve had five classes now, including two three hour sessions on OSHA safety requirements and practices.

What I’ve learned so far has made me realize how crude my work has been on projects I’ve finished around my house. I’ve built benches, gates, a bed headboard, tables, trellises, water barrel stands and a pizza oven stand. I also put in butcher block countertops in my kitchen. I now see that most could have been done better. But, they’ll do.

Learning this building stuff is daunting. The big lessons so far are: plan well, measure and cut accurately, and of course, learn from your mistakes. And, if you do go into construction: Time is Money, but be careful and be safe.

Cheers