Forget the birdhouses; P.E.I. high school carpentry students are building homes for people

When Zach Lapointe signed up for carpentry class, he assumed he would be working on smaller projects — he is in high school, after all. 

But the project list was different this year. 

"Building a full-scale house — I mean, that was a surprise," he said. "But a welcome one and it's pretty fun."

The carpentry program at Three Oaks Senior High in Summerside is building a tiny home. Plans call for it to be 16 by 20 feet, modern-looking, with a bathroom and solar panels. 

"Most of them are really buying into this and are really enjoying this experience," said Robert Corkum, the carpentry instructor at the school.

"The students basically do everything here."

The materials arrived back in November. Then the students got to work, nail by nail and board by board. 

"I had no initial idea on how to do it, but Corkum came through and taught me," said Grade 12 student Brayden Doucette.

"I was expecting to build, like, little shelves and stuff and not expecting to build these big buildings. But to be honest, it's been an amazing experience."

So far, the students have nearly completed the base of the house. On Thursday afternoon, they were back at it — measuring, levelling and hammering pieces of the home together. 

"We just did [the] subfloor not too long ago… and then we started doing the ends for the insulation board," said Devin Cormier, who is in Grade 11. 

"It's quite interesting. I haven't really been a part of something this big before, so it's neat."

Cormier was interested in culinary career before joining this class, but now his thoughts have turned to a future in carpentry. 

"I can't sit at a desk for very long, so anything to get me outside and doing work is a bonus," he said.