I just submitted an online app to the local H for H for volunteer work at one of their construction sites.
As a carpenter/remodeler I can definitely help out and was wondering if anyone here had worked on one of these jobs.
Any input, positive or negative, would be appreciated.
My wife has volunteer with her AT&T coworkers several times.
She says:
Jim
When I was in high school I did a lot with Habitat for Humanity. The only thing I didn’t like about it was that there were often too many unskilled volunteers hanging around, which led to having little to do – and with gaps of time between doing it, while we found someone who knew what they were doing to tell us what to do next. However, I think that was just an issue with the particular group I volunteered with, and since you will be one of the skilled people you won’t have that problem … in fact, if anything you might get tired of being pestered by unskilled high school volunteers. 
When I wasn’t there on a day with too many other unskilled volunteers, I always enjoyed my experiences with H4H. Even on wet, cold days, there was something nice about working with my hands to help out people who needed a home. And it was especially cool when the family was there putting in their sweat equity: it was truly amazing to meet the people you were building the house for.
I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you for the replies so far.
It sounds like I would enjoy it, and having been in some rough times myself, giving something back to the community is always a good thing.
I hope they call.
I have had neutral experiences, that hopefully are limited to the local chapter.
Homeowners: I worked on 6 or 7 different houses, I met one homeowner who had a really good attitude about the whole thing. She’d already put in all the hours she was required to and was there to help out anyway. Some of the others were more along the lines of ‘this house is too small’ and ‘this stud has too many knotholes to be enclosed behind drywall in a non-loadbearing wall in my house’ and ‘this professional crew donating their Saturday to lift the trusses onto my house isn’t doing a good enough job.’
Other volunteers: Most are really nice and friendly and you meet some really neat people. Some are not. Being a professional, I would advise you to be encouraging and teach people how to do stuff. The last time I ever went to a build, they wouldn’t let me do anything that they actually had to tell me how to do. That pissed me off. The retired general contractor types were really hard to work with since I am A: young B:female and C:white collar. In their book, that qualifies me to fetch things, sweep, and occasionally paint or varnish.
Actual work: This was the best part for me. I have framed a house, built a staircase, installed windows, roofed, sided, lanscaped, and waterproofed. I used a bunch of tools I had never used before and learned some skills that came in handy now that I have my own place. The only down side of this for me was that since a new set of volunteers works at a site on a daily basis, there are alot of mistakes that end up having to be fixed by the next crew.
It has been a year since I have gone to a build. Partly because I have a chronic shoulder problem, partly because I can only go on Saturdays and they fill up fast, partly because it is kinda far away, partly because I am volunteering with a different group that is more fun and more closely affects me personally, partly because I know some people who have been trying to qualify for a H4H house and the criteria they use to select homeowners is ridiculous, partly for the reasons above. I know that serving is supposed to be for helping other people, but when I leave a volunteer opportunity all stressed out and wound up and pissed off, to me, it is time to move on to something I can do with a good attitude. I hope that your chapter is better and you have a great time.
Twice, a number of years ago though I wouldn’t mind doing it again.
I went with my Pathfinder group and they put us to work doing drywall, insulation, painting and siding. Lots of fun. I also found it amusing that we did a better job at the drywall than the group of police who came to help out the day before we were there…
I volunteered for a day last summer and hated it, but I’m a 23-year-old female with no construction experience whatsoever, so your time will no doubt be better spent than mine. My main complaint was that there were too many of us “unskilled workers” standing around and not enough people to tell us what to do or how to do it.
I also didn’t like the idea of the homeowners working alongside us as we framed the house. I think it’s a good idea for them to put in “sweat equity” so it won’t seem like so much of a handout, but I’d have felt more comfortable with the idea if they’d been able to work on their own time. We were building for an African-American woman and her two teenaged sons, and it seemed to me like she was hyper-aware of the impression she and her kids were making on us; it seemed like she couldn’t decide if she should work the kids harder, or just let them go hang out with their friends so they’d stop bitching. Also, we were a bunch of middle-class white people, and she and her kids stuck out like sore thumbs among our crew. I could tell she wasn’t comfortable wielding construction tools but felt she had to, just to make it seem like she wasn’t lazy. I also wondered if she was annoyed at all these “benevolent white folks” who so kindly worked and sweated for a day, more to feel good about themselves than to really help her out. (At least that’s how it seemed to me; I know I would’ve been annoyed if I were her.)
So for me, the Habitat experience was a waste of my day work-wise, but it brought up a lot of race/class issues I’d never thought about. But if you’ve got the skills, you might as well put them to good use. Personally, I’ve never heard anyone else complain about Habitat, so maybe I didn’t give it as much of a chance as I should have.
Shayna and I helped out with a housebuild a few months ago, and had a blast. Very well organized, very little time wasted and surprisingly good food. (The chapter we went with is called “Hollywood for Habitat for Humanity” and was a tad quirky in some respects - pink toolbelts ? - but they sure had some good catering contacts.)
I estimate there was 5 volunteers per skilled worker, which made for pretty effective use of time. (At any given time one would be goofing off, two would be swinging hammers and two would be fetching & measuring etc.) Tasks, materials & tools were handed out in minutes, the plan was laid out clearly and everybody just had at it. Fun stuff - recommended.
My company volunteers for HfH. I did it last in 2004 and had a ball, really. I have more than a little practical knowledge, and I think that helped. A lot of people really have no experience, so it’s up to the more “professional” volunteers to guide them. I happen to wield a mean caulking gun myself 
VCNJ~
I have volunteered a few times through my church. This was in Baltimore, rehabbing row houses in a neighborhood called Sandtown. The guy who organized our group is a professional cabinet maker, and our team was consisted of fairly skilled amateurs and their kids. The jobs we did included installing pre-hung interior doors, installing interior trim, and framing rooms. H4H provided materials and told us what houses to work on, we did the rest. It was fun and we got a lot done. We even went into a couple of houses in the same block and helped a few groups with some technical (lack of experience) issues. It was the most fulfilling and useful charity work I’ve done. I ride by the houses sometimes, it’s nice to see curtains in the windows and other signs of life.
Former Habitat crewleader checking in.
HfH is one of my favorite organizations, and one I promote every chance I get. I truly do think they provide a desperately needed service to communities all over the world. You’ll get to work with volunteers, Habitat employees, and the future homeowners themselves. At one Habitat I worked at, the homeowner’s entire family showed up to help build, including her elderly Jamaican mother, who got right in there hammering and did a damn good job, too. Every Habitat affiliate is different. Some have no volunteer base at all, others have to turn away volunteers daily. Of course no one wants to tell volunteers that their help isn’t needed, but a crowded workplace can be dangerous.