Wawasee Building Trades instructor Aaron McKinley, right, works with students Connor Hawkins, left, and Caden Welty. McKinley was taking measurements for a doorway.

By Tim Ashley
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — Wawasee Building Trades is back to doing what it has a long history of — building houses. Last year’s project of renovating the former central office building of the school corporation was more commercial oriented and involved steel instead of wood framing.

This year’s project is a ranch style home being built in the Whitetail Run subdivision near Camelot Lake. It will be 1,416 square feet in size with three bedrooms and two bathrooms and a basement, though the basement won’t be finished due to the higher cost of construction materials preventing it from being budgeted.

The house will also be “farmhouse style” on the inside as requested by the couple, said Aaron McKinley, building trades instructor.

“We like working with wood and framing is probably the most fun part of the job,” McKinley said.

Pioneer Masonry did the foundation work and it proved to be a challenge, he noted. “The lot is located on a steep slope and the foundation had to be built three feet higher on the east side,” he said.

COVID has created numerous problems such as disrupting the supply chain. McKinley noted, though, getting materials has not been a problem yet with the exception of a long wait for I-joists, so instead 2 x 10 floor joists are being used.

Lumber is often mentioned as a costly material, but the price has gone down recently, he said.

After framing is completed, the roof will be put on and shingled then the windows installed. “Our goal is to have the house enclosed by fall break,” McKinley said.

Inside work will include plumbing and electrical. Cabinets will be installed and the drywall hung.

There are 30 students in building trades this year — 15 in the morning and 15 in the afternoon — and all but one Columbia City student are Wawasee students.

Future customers are being sought for building trades projects. For more information contact McKinley by email at [email protected] or call (574) 457-3147 and ask for building trades.

Aaron McKinley, left, holds a header for a doorway as Connor Hawkins operates the saw to cut it.