TFS Students Put Skills to Work on Habitat for Humanity’s House 84

House 84 sits in a line of four houses on Rockford Creek Road in Clarkesville. They are Habitat for Humanity houses. Each one is an affordable home for a family. From the road, the house stands out from the rest, unfinished, but on Thursday, April 23, a crew of 17 Tallulah Falls School students moved it toward completion. 

Engineering instructor Scott Davis knew it would be a great way for his students to practice what they had learned throughout the year, and to give back to the community at the same time. 

Freshman Sean Forbes of Nassau, Bahamas, helped build the bottom of the windows (cripple studs). “We measured the distance over where all four go, divided the distance by four – usually 16 inches,” he said. For Forbes, this project was meaningful because his father builds and owns apartments in the Bahamas, and now he knows he can help him.

Sophomore Desi Newkirk of Cornelia also built the cripple studs. “I had to learn and understand how to properly use a nail gun to secure planks,” he said. “I also got the opportunity to use a miter saw to cut boards to specific lengths, which required an understanding of how the width of the saw impacts the final length of the boards.

Freshman Baylin Cumberland of Locust Grove measured a 2x4 using a crow’s foot, “which is a triangle without a bottom,” she said. “Once I had done that, I used a speed square to draw a line down the middle of the crow’s foot.”         

Sophomore Sophia Alderfer of Mount Airy explained that they built the wall frame. “Once we were done, we lifted it up, and just one wall made it look like a house,” she said. 

Junior Cody Loonubon of Demorest expressed gratitude at the chance to impact a family’s life.  “We signed the frames before we left. The family will see we helped give them a home.”

For Cumberland, the project was quite meaningful. “I was able to help out a family in need. As a Christian, I find this very important because I want to be an example of Jesus Christ,” she explained.

Senior Mitchell McGahee of Clarkesville spoke on behalf of several students, explaining that he didn’t think they would let them do that much. “It was a big deal that they trusted us to do what we did. It was cool to see the progress that day,” he said. 

And just as House 84 marked the end of the day’s work for the crew, it will soon mark a new start for a family moving in, completing the line of houses on Rockford Creek Road, where four homes now stand, each built with the shared purpose of turning effort into opportunity and structure into a place to belong.