C.E.T. students erect house
Yesterday we brought you the story of a housing construction scheme that gives Centre for Employment Training students hands on experience in building. Today those students experienced the satisfaction of a job well done as they assembled their house at its permanent location. News Five’s Patrick Jones and George Tillett waded through the mud to bring you the finished product.
The trainees of the Centre for Employment Training were eager to add the finishing touches to the project they started late last week. One thing was very evident early into the assembly process: the students know how to follow instructions.
Hubert Sterling, Trainee, C.E.T.
“You start, it could be siding first, then you go to the flooring.”
Q: “So just siding and flooring makes a house?”
Hubert Sterling
“No, the top; you put on the roof.”
Q: “What kind of roof will you put on this house?”
Hubert Sterling
“Flat top roof.”
Q: “Are those the best kind of roofing for houses in Belize?”
Hubert Sterling
“No sir.”
Q: “Then why are you putting a roof like that on this house?”
Hubert Sterling
“Because that’s the way the instructor want the house.”
According to Gregory Moreira, moving the house from the drawing board to the yard is not a very difficult process at all, that is if everyone shoulders their share of the load.
Gregory Moreira, Trainee, C.E.T.
“From the time we started building this building at the C.E.T., before we brought it over here, we make sure that we get the lumbers together and we fix it up, put the sides together, the both sides and the flooring. And when it comes on the site we know exactly where the other side will be going and where the other side will be going.”
But making sure that everything fits neatly is not always easy, especially when there are so many workmen walking around with tools in their hands.
Gregory Moreira
“Well they’re going to lift it up and after they lift up, they will be having someone who is going to punch the nails. They are going to have someone who is going to see that it’s level, so they can put in all the nails that they need to put in.”
Patrick Jones
“According to the instructor, the hardest part of the job was getting to the construction site to erect the small wooden building which is part of an innovative program to provide low cost housing for needy families.”
Karl Myvette, Instructor, C.E.T.
“A building of this sort cost right in the vicinity of about three thousand, three thousand five hundred.”
Q: “And what is included in that cost?”
Karl Myvette
“Basically you have your four walls, the door and windows dem and just your basic electricity.”
Water and plumbing will be the responsibility of the homeowner. Myvette says that while the initial houses will only come with the bare basics, future ones will have a few more facilities.
Karl Myvette
“We will be, we will try to get all the classes involved in the houses we build eventually. As a matter of fact the bigger houses will be having burglar bars, the welding class will come in then and the houses that have bathroom in them, the plumbing class will play their role. So everybody will be involved in the houses before too long.”
And involvement is what the students enjoy most about being part of the experimental housing project, which will continue for the rest of the school year. And some of them were more than willing to share with us how they are going to use the experience they gained.
Stacy Thurton, Trainee, C.E.T.
“I really like working hard and I just decided to take carpentry because I feel like it’s a nice thing for me to do.”
Q: “How will what you learned from this class help you in the future?”
Stacy Thurton
“Well, I will build my own construction work and just get around more easier by myself.”
Devon Usher, Trainee, C.E.T
“You need Math because you have to know how to do measuring and leveling and how to cut boards and setting them up. I will be helpful to build a lot of houses for people in my future because I am a very workful man.”
Hubert Sterling
“That how when I graduate that I can build my own house.”
Q: “So that’s your dream, you’re going to build your own house?”
Hubert Sterling
“Yes sir.”
Although the project is being funded by the Housing and Planning Department, it is not a part of the promised ten thousand homes the government pledged to build over the next five years. The owner of this particular house will have a spectacular view of the nearby waterway; and not have to worry about whether or not their tiny dwelling will be able to withstand the elements.
Karl Myvette
“One of the advantages that we have is that this is a small house and it’s not that heavyweight. As you noticed we carried the whole flooring already put together, which is about the heaviest part of the house. And as far as the filling up we have here, this will stand quite a good big weight, it will settle a bit but not enough to affect the house.”
Myvette says that the way the house is constructed makes it easy for the owner to expand if they so desire.
Karl Myvette
“We will just have a flat roof on this because it’s so small and we don’t want to have to join the zinc or anything, so we just use one length of zinc going right down. They will have absolutely no problem because the kind of roof for one, you could just knock out one wall and just extend it on either side; it doesn’t make a difference.”
The real difference will come later this month, when the C.E.T. trainees begin the construction of the two bedroom houses. Patrick Jones for News Five.
News Five was told that the house belonged to Rhonda Usher of a George Street address, but the woman we met at the given address says she knows nothing about getting a house from the housing department. If the real Rhonda Usher is out there and waiting for her house, we’d like you to give us a call.
