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I'm completing my first three months as a construction supervising intern at Asheville Habitat for Humanity; it doesn't get much better than this. Within the past 90~ days, my mentors/supervisors have welcomed me with open arms, shown grace and patience with my learning process, and supported me in finding confidence in leading volunteers on our new home construction site. I couldn't ask for a better entry-level position in a traditionally harsh industry.
In early November, I started working Mondays while finishing the semester. I spent about half of my time touching up wall, ceiling, trim, and door paint; I adore putting the finishing touches on a newly finished home. Attention to detail was a recurring theme when finding work for myself and assisting supervisors in closing out half a dozen homes in six weeks.
November gave me a glimpse into the time management this commute would require and the extent of my capabilities as a new member of the team. Once my fall semester came to a close, I began working as frequently as possible on the site and became enthralled with the Christmas spirit that enchanted the New Heights Neighborhood.
Asheville's Habitat for Humanity hosts an annual Christmas Jam Concert and fundraising event for a new home build. In a perfect coincidence, this home was the 100th house my first mentor figure, Kenny Busch, constructed.
I have only had the pleasure of learning from Kenny for around a year, but he has left a lasting impression on my heart. Kenny is a selfless, astoundingly patient, and dependable man; I feel blessed to share such a special day with him. The site was decorated with wreaths, stockings, bows, and trees, volunteers donated baked goods, and everyone had a special Christmas Jam lunch inside one of our in-progress homes.
December was a magical month filled with twinkling lights and new bonds with my incredible supervisors.
I began to find my stride while working 2-3 days a week in December. I quickly realized my organizational skills would be handy when doing a deep clean of the tool, office, and storage trailers. Each of these spaces took the better part of a workday, ~4 hours of attention. The first challenge was the tool shed, a 48'x8.5'x13.5' narrow trailer that holds all our power tools, screws, nails, cleaning supplies, and PPE. I realized it was the ideal opportunity to familiarize myself with our tool assortment and hardware categories.
The office trailer (2-5 in the gallery above) was by far the most fun to clean because I got to view every plan in habitat's last five years, create functional office spaces for supervisors, and improve the circulation & general energy of the trailer we spend our mornings in as a team. Taking the time to comb through every square inch of Habitat's administrative spaces on-site allowed me to digest the construction process in simple terms and work at my own pace.
I created a visual guide to display the tools and hardware I handled and organized:
We had a refreshing holiday break during the last week of December through the beginning of January; I came back more excited and eager than I was as a new hire.
Now that my boots had gained some character and I could somewhat hold a hammer, my supervisors started challenging me to attempt higher-skill tasks. Before the break, I was responsible for punch list items and final touches; I've since graduated into trusses, roof work, and hammer-to-nail activities.
My first day working on the roof with Johnny was intimidating, especially wielding a hammer, which is my worst skill. I had hundreds of questions and made too many mistakes to count, but, Habitat has created a safe and comfortable learning environment.
With Johnny's astounding patience, refined mentorship, and general easy-going spirit, I learned through errors and progressed toward high-skill craftsmanship. This first day on the roof was pivotal to understanding structural relationships in residential buildings. Even though I have studied and drawn all the wall, roof, and flooring components, I had never seen the interlocking connections between the principal elements as they were being constructed. Attaching sheathing, zip tape, guard rails, and toe holds displayed the inner workings of roofing and each measure taken to deflect heat, water, and other external forces acting against the home's construction.
The best day of my first 90 was easily TRUSS DAY! Like my first day on the roof, I was amazed by the process and began understanding the structural relationships between wall framing and trusses. Trusses are the 'bones' of the shelter; this component is delivered fully assembled and ready to install. Trusses are laid on the ground, measured, and marked to aid centering, then raised by a crane on top of the house and fastened using Simpson Ties to connect each truss and nails to attach the truss to the top of the house's frame. Even though I memorized those steps over a year ago, I couldn't explain them until my first truss day.
From that point on, everything about buildings has made so much more sense to me, and I feel well-equipped to supervise and explain various construction processes to our volunteers.
I've only worked a handful of times since then, but I was back on the roof as soon as possible. I sheathed, taped, and rolled over the storage compartment on the exterior of the duplex. Johnny was, again, incredibly patient and forgiving with my beginner skills.
The past three months of my life have been nothing short of phenomenal. I have enjoyed the beginning of this journey immensely and learned more than ever. I'm thrilled to continue messing up, correcting my mistakes, and connecting the dots in my head.
A special thank you to my mentors for the wisdom, grace, and joy you generously share with me.
Hopefully, I'll see you on-site soon!
A.J.Battle
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