If you walk by the amphitheater before 3 p.m. today, you will see something other than the usual mud-pits and people studying. You will see the beginnings of a house.
Starting at 8 a.m. yesterday and finishing at noon today, the University chapter of Habitat for Humanity is holding a Blitz Build, in which various University groups and individuals work together to build the interior and exterior walls of a home.
The event, which is sponsored by the radio station WUVA 92.7 and the Commerce School, will raise money for future Habitat endeavors. The walls will be transported to a house in the Habitat community in Esmont, about 30 minutes south of Charlottesville.
Fourth-year Commerce student Mike Shafer, the president of the University chapter of Habitat for Humanity, said the build is an opportunity for people to get involved.
"The goal has been to provide a fun opportunity to the University community, and to educate people about Habitat for Humanity," Shafer said. "We have lots of groups who have already signed up, including sororities, fraternities and dorms."
Groups could sign up ahead of time to work a shift on the house, or Habitat also took walk-up volunteers.
"It takes about an hour to build each little 12-foot section, so groups that had an hour were able to sign up in advance," Shafer said.
According to Shafer, this project is a little different from most Habitat houses, due to the fragmented building flow of groups working in shifts.
"The walls are being built in abbreviated wall segments to allow different groups to work on it," he said.
Once completed at the University, the walls will be transported to their final location where they will be tacked together, so that the end product will be the same as a more traditionally constructed house.
Shafer said the volunteers chiefly are using hammers and nails, with a few supervised skilled people using saws.
"Mostly they're following the blueprints," he said.
As of 3 p.m. yesterday, 85 people had worked on the house, causing it to go up much more quickly than anticipated.
"It's the first time we've tried anything like this on Grounds," Shafer said. "We tried to overestimate how long it would take a little, but I think we overestimated a lot"
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