TRU carpentry students gain real-world experience building 2027 Training House, future Y Dream Home

Although these Thompson Rivers University students are already well beyond their blueprints.

“It means like everything, it’s invaluable experience,” says Finn Burrill, one of the carpentry students involved in this years building. “We’re actually out here, we’re off campus [and] we’re getting real work experience.”

The students are now pouring their theoretical classroom knowledge into the foundation, gaining real industry experience and then framing the home until it reaches lock up.

The TRU carpentry students who are building the house can be seen on-site, the day of the kick-off (Image Credit: Jeremy Russo / CFJC Today)

For the youngest member of the class, even a single wall can become a lasting signature.

“I’m really proud about, just the walls. Every single wall I built, I feel, you know, has my own name name to it.” added Burrill.

But the build is leaving its mark on more than one student.

Inside the Training Home, the foundation and shell can be seen already ahead of plans. (Image Credit: Jeremy Russo / CFJC Today)

Kacey Lambert-Welch, another participating student expresses that the experience is a gift. For her, climbing the ladder has also meant climbing past a personal fear.

“Definitely ladders. I was not a ladder girl, but being on the ladders [has] definitely like boosted my confidence for being able to do things like carpentry where you’re going to need to go high.” adds Lambert-Welch.

The confidence comes with experience, and experience sometimes comes from a crooked cut. Tate Laursen, a TRU carpentry student says the lesson is not to fear a mistake, but to build from it.

“It’s kind of fun making mistakes because you know, you live and you learn and you understood ‘Okay, I messed up on my part. Well, now what can I do better next time?'” says Laursen.

There is little room for error in the finished product.

Project coordinator Clayton Cooper of Fulcrum Developments says the job is to balance the building schedule with safety, quality and the time students need to learn the work properly.

“You want to have a quick timeline, but also we want to have the safety of the students doing it properly and also learning how to do it properly. Anyone can build a good product, but if it’s not done properly, it’s not a good product,” Cooper told the CFJC Today team Thursday (Aug. 20).

This is the 37th training house built through the partnership between Thompson Rivers University (TRU) and the Canadian Home Builders Association (CHBA). Once it’s finished, it is expected to become the grand prize in the 2027 Dream Home Lottery, turning the students work into support for local programs.

“This project turns into the grand prize in a class A charitable lottery. So assuming we get a license, for next year’s Dream Home Lottery, this will be the grand prize. Somebody will win this house,” says Colin Reid, the vice-president of B.C.’s Y.M.C.A.

But before the keys are cut, the students get something of their own…

A finished home they can drive past and say they’ve helped build. For Brendan Elliott — another participating carpentry student from TRU — that makes every hour on site worth it.

“I’m very proud of it,” says Elliott. “I never thought that the house would come up so quickly and look so good, so fast. Seeing these houses is very cool and how fast they come up, and I’m really proud of it.”

For these students, the real prize is already taking shape with every wall they raise and lesson they learn.

While one lucky winner will eventually call this house home, the crew will always be able to call it their first build.

by Jeremy Russo

TRU carpentry students gain real-world experience building 2027 Training House, future Y Dream Home

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