photo by Brie Cohen

Volunteers load Albert Lea Area Schools buses outside the DeVries home for the taping of the “Braveheart” scene Wednesday morning. This is when all of the volunteers in blue shirts run and cheer into a doughnut-shaped huddle in front of the DeVrieses’ home.

Volunteers really get into the fun

People also can go watch from spectator area

Staff

Published Friday, October 3, 2008

Building is officially under way for the new DeVries home in rural Hayward.

With the construction site up and running under the direction of local builder Larson Contracting, floods of volunteers — both skilled and unskilled — are working under a time frame of just 106 hours to complete the gift of a new home for the family.

Dirk and Susan DeVries and their three children were selected by “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” for the project. They are on vacation to Niagara Falls, N.Y., as the home is built. They will return Tuesday to see their new home for the first time.

Albert Lea Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Susie Petersen, who has helped organize the volunteer efforts for the home makeover, said at any given time there will be at least 300 volunteers on site.

Most unskilled workers will have no predetermined jobs coming into their shifts but will be assigned to tasks as needed, Petersen said. They will be perform tasks such as taking water to production crews, picking up trash or doing anything else the production staff needs. Others who have already been assigned tasks will complete those tasks.

When volunteers go in for their scheduled time, they will first sign a liability release and a media release form. They will be held at the check-in point until their scheduled time, she said.

The check-in tent will be just around the curb of the DeVrieses driveway, and security will direct them where they need to go.

Security will guide both volunteers and spectators to their proper places as they approach the house from Freeborn County Road 30. People will be parking in a harvested corn field right next to the house, and everyone — whether volunteer or spectator — will have “a great view of the building,” Petersen said. Spectator viewing is on the grass right in front of the parking behind barricades.

ABC is providing breakfast and lunch for the skilled workers and production staff, and then various places from around the community are providing meals at 6 p.m., 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. each day.

Al Larson, owner of Larson Contracting, said demolition of the old house was set to be completed by 4 p.m. Thursday. Right after that, skilled volunteer crews would be digging footings for the house, and then by 6 p.m. workers would pour the footings. At 9 p.m. Thursday, they would set the foundation wall, and then at 10 p.m., they’d drill the well.

At 1 a.m. Friday, crews would start setting the floor system, and at 3 a.m. they would start tying in the sewer and water lines, Larson said. At 4 a.m. Friday, skilled volunteers would start setting the walls in, and at 7 a.m. they would set the trusses for the roof. Work will continue throughout the weekend, and by noon Monday Larson is scheduled to be completely finished. That includes paint on the walls.

After that, the DeVrieses new furniture will be brought in, and pictures will be hung on the walls.

The big “move that bus” scene, when the family will see it’s new home for the first time, is scheduled for the afternoon of the next day.

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