When Bob Jewett told his Columbia Career Center construction students this fall that they’d build a house by the end of school, some were skeptical.

Jenna Isaacson photo

Final touch Bob Jewett, a teacher with the Columbia Career Center, hammers away Wednesday at siding on a newly built house on Sixth Street as students watch. Students from the center worked this year on the home to gain hands-on experience. The house sold today.

G.J. McCarthy photo

Students from the Columbia Career Center built this three-bedroom, three-bath house on Sixth Street. Money from the $110,000 sale, which was to close today, pays for the lot and building materials. Below, from left, Columbia Career Center student Renzo Meneses, instructor Bob Jewett and students Darrell Hickem and Tom Rewerts look around the front room of the house they built at 707 N. Sixth St.

Jenna Isaacson photo

"I was kind of overwhelmed," junior Tom Rewerts said. "I didn’t think we were going to get this far."

"I thought he was joking," junior Darrell Hickem added.

It took a school year’s worth of the three-hour block class, plus evenings, some weekends and cooperation from Mother Nature, but the students finished the house at 707 N. Sixth St. It’s being sold today to Mike McGuire.

The house is the 17th built by career center students in partnership with the Columbia Community Development Corp. Money from the sale, $110,000, is used to reimburse the corporation for the lot and materials. If the buyer meets certain requirements, grants will cover up to $24,500 of the cost.

Jewett’s class built the frame, hung the drywall, siding and roof, laid tile and built a shed in the back yard. Other career center classes wired the house and landscaped the front yard. Professionals were called in for insulation, cabinetry and carpeting.

At the house Wednesday, students expressed pride in the finished product, a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home with a laundry room and pantry with a built-in spice rack.

"I’m amazed," Tom said. "It’s a really nice house."

Jewett praised the students for the home’s extra touches.

"I like all of the extra tile we’ve done," he said. "I like that these guys did more than usual."

The kids stay motivated because they learn skills they’re interested in through hands-on experiences, Jewett said. "This is what they’re going to be doing," he said. "There’s no way we could teach these skills in a shop room."

Tom said he enjoyed the class because "it gets me out of school, and I wasn’t stuck in a classroom. It drives me nuts when I’m stuck in a classroom."

"I like art and being able to create," Darrell said. "This class leaves you a lot of leeway to see something form."

Teaching on a construction site and not inside a room poses plenty of challenges, Jewett said. It’s stressful work, and weather conditions aren’t always ideal, forcing the students to learn teamwork and work safety.

"The hardest part was the roof ’cause I’m a little afraid of heights," Darrell said.

Getting along with everybody was junior Renzo Meneses’ favorite part of the project.

"We had our ups and downs," he said.

Tom will apply the lessons he’s learned to his summer construction job. The others aren’t sure if they will pursue a career in construction, but the class got them thinking about the possibilities.

"They can’t outsource this," Jewett said, referring to construction work. "If they’re ever homeowners, they can save a lot of money or earn a lot of spare change as a side job."