Student-built homes for sale at the Huot center prepare kids for their future

LACONIA — At the Huot Career and Technical Center at Laconia High School, the building construction and plumbing programs are working together to build houses. After finishing them, they are sold to provide a home to someone in the community.

For the past eight years, the two programs have been working on houses, first starting with tiny homes on wheels, and in the past couple of years have started working on modular homes. During the two years that junior and senior students are a part of the program, they learn how to construct these homes.

The modular homes being constructed are 12 feet wide by 36 feet long with 430 square feet of living space. There are two houses currently for sale, starting at $85,000. Once the houses are sold, all that money goes back into the programs at Huot to continue bringing new generations of skilled labor workers into trades.

For comparison, according to realtor.com, the median sold home price in Belknap County is over $392,000, and the median listing price is $535,000. The average price of a modular home in Belknap County is $70-$85 per square foot, according to ManufacturedHomes.com, while the Huot homes are priced at $197 per square foot.

Bob Glassett, treasurer for the Lakes Region Home Builders and Remodelers Association, thinks the Huot homes are priced fairly for the quality they offer. He says they have the highest quality materials and appliances, but in a smaller home. So relative to other modular homes, they're expensive, but not compared to the highest quality homes on the market. Glassett remembered one couple who bought a home from the program.

“One couple that bought one of those early houses said to us, ‘You know, we could probably save a little bit more money if we went and bought it someplace else.' But she said it wouldn't be the same quality, and 'We're helping support a program that is in desperate need of attention.’”

Some of the specifications, according to the Huot House 2023 Fact Sheet, include radiant heated floors, closed cell spray foam insulation in walls and ceiling, vinyl plank flooring and appliances like an electric stove, refrigerator, washer/dryer and microwave. Things buyers are responsible for are the foundation, utilities like water, septic and electric, on-site connections and site work preparations.

But why would technical programs like the ones at Huot build homes? Homes are a complicated puzzle to put together, especially for students in high school new to construction and plumbing. Glassett said building a house allows them to get experience in real-world projects.

“It's easy for a student and the teacher to just build a picnic table. It takes a few pieces of wood. It takes measuring, which are all basics that they need to know. But it doesn't go beyond and into the real world,” he said. “We're trying to get them into the real world as far as what the work is going to be like."

Educating high school students is also important because trades are struggling to keep up with the current demand. The construction industry will need to attract an estimated 546,000 additional workers on top of the normal hiring pace to properly meet demand for labor, according to a proprietary model by the Associated Builders and Contractors in 2023. This shortage has made hiring difficult for general contracting firms looking for more employees.

Contractor Ed Scribner with Clason Remodeling Company said Huot has made the search for employees easier. They hired 21-year-old Tyler Poire shortly after he graduated from the Huot Building Construction program. Scribner believes the students at Huot are the perfect people to hire.

“When I can get people that have some experience that have gone through a program, I'm better off with that type of person than I am just anybody off the street,” he said. “If I could pick anybody, I'd pick people from Huot first, because I know I can grow them.”

Hiring Huot graduates is a common practice for contractors in the area. Sam Guyer, who graduated from the program in 2017, went to work for Hayward and Company the same year as a carpenter. During his time working there, he attended Lakes Region Community College to earn his business degree, and since graduating has been promoted to project coordinator at the company. He is now working on nine to 10 home-building projects at once.

High school is also the time when students are figuring out what they want to do after graduation. The program has provided clarity to a lot of students who didn’t know what they wanted to do. Hutch Haskins, a 17-year-old senior, talked about how the plumbing program had an impact on him.

“When I first got into the program, I had no clue what I wanted to do after high school. But our teacher really opened up my eyes to plumbing,” Haskins said. “Out of high school, I want to get my associate in business, just for when I do become a plumber in the future, I can get my business and actually start my own company.”

Glassett is optimistic that Huot will sell the homes, emphasizing all the money goes back into the program to help set students up for their future. While a trade career will make students financially stable, it’s most important they are set up to freely make the decisions on how to live their lives.

“Not every student in high school goes on to college, so let's prepare them for their future.” He said. “And this is a step towards that. Let's get them into a good field where they can make a good living and have a family and be comfortable.”

To learn more about buying one of the homes, call the Lakes Region Home Builders and Remodelers Association at 603-387-1817.

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