As the school year comes to an end, the building trades class, introduced at Park Rapids Area High School this year for juniors and seniors, has something to be proud of.
This class has been working toward completing a house they built this year, and which will be sold at auction in June.
The house is a 52- by 28-foot ranch style with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a laundry room as well as kitchen and living space. The living area and dining room are finished with pine v-groove ceiling.
The students did all the work themselves except for the plumbing and electrical.
Before it is sold the students will hang all the doors and the trim will be on. The house will still need to be painted, carpeted and have light fixtures installed.
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"It went really good," said instructor Jeff Dravis, referring to the overall project this year.
According to Dravis, the students showed knowledge of what they learned. Those who were leery about working on something new at the beginning of the year learned to try and if they made a mistake, they would just fix it.
"Its good experience for these kids," said Dravis. "Even if they don't go into the field."
This year's juniors who will be taking the class again as seniors will be a great help next year with the experience they have gained, Dravis explained.
"Next year we will be building cabinets," Dravis added.
In the fall, the next house will be framed and the outside will be worked on while the weather is still nice. The inside of the house and the cabinets will be worked on in the shop during the winter.
"So when it gets real cold, that is what we are planning to do," explained Dravis.
Next year the house will be the same design as this year since it is already approved by the state of Minnesota.
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"Everything on the house is built at a certain height so it can travel down the road and you don't have to move electrical wires," said Dravis.
The house is inspected during the year so construction meets building codes.
An open house to view the students' house is scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. Thursday, May 24. It is located on the north side of the high school.
Students will be present at the open house to answer questions.
"They'll be able to tell people what parts they built and stuff like that," said Dravis.
The auction for the house is expected to be the first week of June at the high school and will be open to the public.
