Here's your chance to help build a house

MOVING HOUSE: Brittons shift the UCOL Wairarapa student-built charity house out of its construction compound at the campus in Masterton. Pictured (from back left) are Hayden Savii, Darryl Russell, Graeme Smith and Russell Britton, and (from front left) Wairarapa UCOL carpentry tutor Peter Van der Veen and Brett Tickner, Wairarapa UCOL programme co-ordinator. PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

The door has been thrown open yet again for prospective Wairarapa carpentry students to help build a three-bedroom home for charity while learning the trade.

Wairarapa UCOL programme co-ordinator Brett Tickner said there was space for another five students in the Hands On Carpentry Programme (certificate in carpentry level 4), which starts early next week.

He said a three-bedroom house students built last year sold at auction for $150,000 and yielded a donation of $15,000 each to Wairarapa Plunket and Life Flight Trust through the Upper Hutt-based Dugdale Charitable Trust and Masterton Mitre 10 Mega.

The house was yesterday lifted from its construction base at the UCOL Wairarapa campus in Masterton, ready for an early morning shift to Greytown today, he said.

Mr Tickner said carpentry students would have the opportunity to build another three-bedroom, twin-bathroom charity home as they learned the trade, and "we are taking all-comers, 15 to 50, male or female".

A 58-year-old woman completed the course in 2009, he said, and the wide range of experience and ages among students was a benefit to the class.

"We have room for as many as we can get but to get a good team together we need another four or five students. We take any age and any stage, and we can tailor classes to suit students who are parents as well."

He said several former students had landed work in Christchurch and graduates had over the past few years moved on to full-time work.

Prospective Wairarapa students call 06 946 2301 or 0800 GO UCOL or go online to www.ucol.ac.nz for more information.