Construction Classes

Construction Classes for Women Scheduled for Summer 2009

Hey, ladies! Are you tired of having to call a contractor to fix every little thing in your house? Are you intimidated by power tools? Do you want to know how your house is put together? Now is your chance to learn some basic construction skills taught by women in a class for women!

Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia's Women Build will be holding a series of construction classes for women from July 11th - August 1st. This is an eight-session course, but it being offered this summer in a slightly different format than previous classes. Instead of eight half days, the class will be condensed into four full Saturdays from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM with a lunch break. Classes will be held at our North Philadelphia warehouse and cost $295 for all four weeks or $45 per class. Space is limited.

Skills you will learn include the basics of hand tools, power tools, framing, roofing, sheathing and siding, insulation, drywall and painting, flooring and finish carpentry. Each class includes some lecture followed by hands-on practice. This is the kind of class where you will get to try everything out - you won't just be watching the instructor do it.

Since these are full-day classes, participants should be comfortable standing for a couple hours at a time and should know that parts of the class will take place in our un-air conditioned warehouse. Participants will be responsible for their own lunches.

You can register on-line by going to out "Donate" page and selecting "Women Build Construction Classes" and entering $295 for the full series, or by sending a check made out to Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia, 1829 N. 19th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19121, Attn: Shelly Halloran.

For more information, visit www.habitatphiladelphia.org or call Shelly at 215-765-6000 ext. 13.

Click here for our Women Build Construction Classes Brochure

Women Build Class Schedule (all classes run from 9am-4pm with a one hour lunch break from noon-1pm)

      • July 11- AM: Intro, Hand Tools
      • July 11- PM: Power Tools
      • July 18- AM: Framing Basics
      • July 18- PM: Roofing
      • July 25- AM: Sheathing, house wrap and siding
      • July 25- PM: Insulation, drywall, and painting
      • August 1- AM: Flooring (prep, tile, and vinyl)
      • August 1- PM: Finish carpentry (trim, hanging doors)
       
      All full course attendees are invited to build on site on special women only days to be announced after the completion of the courses. Attendees must be 18 years of age or older.  Cancellations made after the start of the first class are non-refundable. Register Here  For other ways to get involved visit our Women Build page.


      Here are some testimonials of class attendees:

      Diane Howard
      Diane Howard owns a 100 year-old home in southwest Philadelphia that she and her husband have been rehabilitating. After a bad contracting experience, she heard about the Women's Build training course and thought, "Why not learn something for myself? I like hands-on work. I want to learn how to tile my kitchen and bathroom myself!" Diane, at 52 years old, promptly joined the class and is now thankful for the confidence she has gained to help with rehabbing her own property. "I had a mantelpiece sitting out from the wall. I wanted the wall to be flat. I went home and knocked it down!"

      Catherine McCann
      Also in her early 50s, Catherine McCann from Broomall, PA came to the classes with a background in managing new construction housing projects. Currently, she manages the maintenance of 2.2 million electric meters and gas modules for PECO. When asked what motivated her to attend the classes, she says, "I would like to say that it was some overpowering need to help out, but it wasn't. I have always liked construction work and have always helped my husband with projects. I thought it would be fun to get together with women and learn. I manage men all day long and look forward to those things I can do with women." Catherine is taking the course with her grade-school friend Anne, and the two have talked about using their new-found skills in helping to build a Habitat home.

      Simone Cartwright
      Simone Cartwright, a home inspector from Philadelphia confesses, "I love homes and building them and understanding what's going on behind the walls. I'm also a Habitat Philadelphia volunteer so this training helps me to be more of an asset." And yet? "The simplest thing tended to be the hardest! Using the cat's crawl to put out a nail? It looks so simple, and yet I had the roughest time doing it."

      Simone, 42, and her husband buy properties and renovate them to sell. They work with contractors often, and so she decided to take the construction course to help her understand how to do more herself. "I think all women should take these classes because when it comes to contractors, women need to know what's going on so they're getting things done. You don't need to hire anyone - just do it yourself. I'm also able to tell someone who wants to buy my property what they can do themselves and when to hire professional."

      Sister Frankie Vaughan
      Not every woman who participates in the course, however, has a background or comfort with typical housing construction. Sister Frankie's Medical Missions Sisters are a Society of Catholic Medical Missionaries, most of whom are trained doctors, nurses, midwives, and other medical personnel serving developing countries. Sister Frankie herself spent 13 years in Ghana, West Africa until a bout with malaria in 1991 sent her home. While in Ghana, she helped make mud bricks for rudimentary dwellings. When Katrina first hit New Orleans, she was hoping and wishing with her sisters that she could go down to assist, but it was just not possible due to her leadership position. "We're not as young as we used to be - I have gray hair."

      One of her employees, however, was able to travel down to help with the rebuilding efforts, heard of Habitat Philadelphia there, and told Sister Frankie of the Women's Build classes. "In the long range, after my leadership service is over," says Sister Frankie. "I'm trying to get to New Orleans to help. If not, then maybe Mississippi, I don't care where I go, I just want to help with the rebuild."

      When asked what stands out the most to her about the class, she does not hesitate. "Framing, roofing, hand tools - all being taught by women. That makes it really easy to ask questions that in another setting would be much more difficult to express without editing," Sister Frankie affirms. "I have very much appreciated these very young teachers - they are able to handle themselves in heavy-duty construction without being muscle-bound - it's using your head."

      As for putting her new skills to use in the near future, Sister Frankie says, "I might try to see if I can find a way to do a build sometime in Philly. I was always impressed with Habitat. Damn, I wish I did this 40 years ago."