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Local Builders Complete 20th Fast Built with Style
The 20th Fast Built house is a Fast Built like no other. Volunteer members of the Home Builders Association of Greater Kalamazoo joined forces with Kalamazoo Valley Habitat for Humanity to re-build a 61-year old house at 923 Fairbanks Ave. on Kalamazoo's east side. The house was purchased by Habitat for $1 from the Kalamazoo County Land Bank.
Instead of starting a new house built from the foundation up, as in previous years, this year's project starts with exterior walls and roof in place. HBA members will re-build the home -- electrical, HVAC, and plumbing, windows and doors, insulation, drywall, trim, painting, shingling, and landscaping. Habitat for Humanity subcontractors and volunteers have already abated lead-based paint, damp proofed the basement, installed radon tubing, and repaired termite damage and brick work. Original hardwood floors will be refinished after the Fast Built is completed.
The Fast Built house was built in partnership with a qualified Habitat for Humanity home buyer family who has contributed more than 300 volunteer sweat equity hours to Kalamazoo Valley Habitat for Humanity projects including the Fast Built house. To purchase this home, the home buyer demonstrated a need for better housing, a willingness to partner with Habitat, and the necessary income to repay the no-interest mortgage Habitat provides. The Habitat home buyer believes owning a home will provide a secure and healthy environment for her family.
Energy Efficient & Adaptable: Like all Habitat homes, the Fast Built house will be energy efficient and utilize the latest building innovations. The volunteers built the home using spray foam insulation, upgraded heating and ventilation equipment, and many other materials and methods that will waste less material, improve energy efficiency and durability, and maintain a healthy indoor environment. To maximize energy-efficiency, the house will include an Energy Star refrigerator and range donated by the Whirlpool Corporation, a tankless water heater, energy-efficient lighting fixtures, and improved wall and attic insulation. Low VOC paints, stains, and sealants, and a heat recovery ventilator were used to improve indoor air quality. The house is adaptable for persons with mobility issues. "Habitat builds all of our homes to be affordable to maintain as energy prices rise, and to be safe and healthy places to live in for a lifetime or more" said Habitat Executive Director Don Jones.
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