Habitat for Humanity of Archuleta County kicked off its 2024 build season last month, pouring concrete for three foundations and preparing for the highly anticipated “Crane Day,” in which the three modular homes are transferred to their foundations.
Partner families, volunteers and construction staff are busy on-site unpackaging houses.
This involves removing packaging and installing temporary jacks for the roofs to be raised in addition to working with subcontractors to pour concrete foundations before the homes arrive.
When the homes are on the way to Archuleta County from Bayfield they are in two pieces to allow for transport.
“Crane Day is a masterpiece of coordination,” frequent Habitat volunteer Larry Parks said. “Half of a house is lifted from a trailer by a highly skilled crane operator and placed on a concrete foundation. Each half a house is suspended 30 feet in the air by cables and lifted onto their permanent foundations.”
Once placed, staff and volunteers check to ensure the modules landed precisely on the foundations and begin unbolting the house from the crane.
Each half of the house is prepared at the Pagosa Lakes Property Owners Association’s brush collection site and trailered to their permanent residence, Parks explained.
This year, Crane Day will take place on June 6 and 7. The event is an all-hands-on-deck affair.
Habitat Construction Project Manager Madeline Bergon explained she expects two houses to be placed on the first day and the third house placed on the second day, when the Habitat volunteer crew will stitch them together permanently.
“If volunteers are around, we’ll need open communication across the lines and helping control traffic control in the area,” Bergon said.
Parks added, “We could not do this without the generosity of local construction contractors.”
“We’ll be hard at work all summer after Crane Day, so there are plenty of opportunities for volunteers to get involved,” Bergon noted.
Habitat Archuleta invites you to join us on our build sites. Construction staff, local subcontractors and volunteers are on-site Tuesday through Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
New this year, your business or organization is invited to make a “Cameo Appearance” on a consecutive Friday and Saturday throughout the build season. If your business or organization is interested in joining us, please contact us at office@habitatarchuleta.org or call (970) 264-6960.
