Quad-City students help build house with 'wow' factors

A partnership involving Quad-City Realtors, home builders, skilled trades contractors and high school students has produced the 13th student-built home in northwest Davenport, replete with hardwood and ceramic flooring, granite countertops and a 10 1/2-foot-long kitchen pantry.

The 2,800-square-foot home at 6214 Fillmore St. was built over the past year by 13 students from the three Davenport public high schools and North Scott High School under the direction of Kirk Hakanson, an employee of Scott Community College.

Two classes of students worked on the house for a total of about six hours a day. Students were involved in every aspect of construction, and did the framing, roofing, siding, trim work and laying of the wood floor essentially by themselves, said Jon Yocum, the Quad-City Area Realtor Association representative.

The students worked alongside skilled tradespeople for the plumbing, electrical, insulation, ceramic, carpet-laying, drywall, masonry, painting and concrete work. That is either because the work must be performed by someone with a license or because it is extremely tricky for beginners to get right working entirely on their own, Yocum said.

For North Scott students Alex Grunder and Garth Larson, framing was the most memorable part of the build.

“You could see the whole house just stand up within just a couple of weeks,” Larson said.

He took the class because, beginning with his freshman year, he heard what an incredible experience it would be and how the knowledge he gained would help him in the future. So far, that has proven to be true, he said.

He hopes to build his own house someday and will begin classes in June at Scott/Western Illinois University in pursuit of a degree in mechanical engineering.

“Everybody should sign up,” he said of the class. “It’s a blast.”

Grunder will put his knowledge into practice immediately by working this summer for a home builder. He took the class because he wanted to “learn more about how the business works and how contractors get everything organized,” he said.

For him, the most challenging aspects were the trim and finish details — and not getting upset when things didn’t go right.

One striking feature of the home is the vaulted ceiling in the first-floor living room that connects to the ceiling of the second-floor family room, which has a balcony overlooking the first floor.

“That was a little bit of a higher difficulty factor,” Hakanson said of the vaulting. “It’s an attractive feature, (but) there is a lot more working at height. You have to be careful to do it safely all the time.”

Another “wow” factor is the open kitchen, with its dark, espresso-finish cabinets, tumbled marble backsplash, 10 1/2-foot-long granite-topped island and large-size ceramic tile floor. On one side of the kitchen is a hearth room with a fireplace, plus a dining room on the other side.

The Realtors and the Quad-Cities Homebuilders Association provide financing for the lot, materials and skilled trades contractors. The money comes from a revolving fund that is replenished when the homes are sold each year. This year, the Homebuilders also provided a $2,000 scholarship for students to continue their education.