Hammers are pounding and saws are buzzing at 1127 Northwestern Ave., as Blitz Build 2000 nears its Friday completion goal.

With the help of the Story County Habitat for Humanity chapter and the planning efforts of the 2000 Homecoming Central Committee, Greek chapters, student organizations and other ISU students began working Monday and will continue through Friday to finish the exterior construction of a house for Andrew Smith of Ames and his two children, Alesha, 8, and Alex, 4.

Construction will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, and consists of three shifts that last three hours each, said Cheryl Zimmerman, community service coordinator for the 2000 Homecoming Committee.

Bob Behal, site supervisor for Story County Habitat for Humanity, said everything was running smoothly Monday. He said the first floor and its floor walls were framed in by 4 p.m., and the crew had begun work framing the second floor.

Behal said more than 50 percent of the work on the house will be completed during Blitz Build Week, which is strictly for students. Following the week, individual volunteers and volunteers from community and church groups will do the remainder of the labor every day until the home is completed.

“This is all the fun part anyway,” Behal said.

Because Behal has been with Habitat for Humanity several years, he said the positive response from students does not surprise him.

“I’ve been doing this for years, and the students always come out in crowds,” he said.

The majority of Monday afternoon’s crew consisted of members of Alpha Delta Pi sorority, 2125 Greeley St., Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, 228 Gray Ave., and Delta Upsilon fraternity, 117 Ash Ave.

Krista Polking, member of Alpha Delta Pi, said her sorority usually does lawn decorations for their required community-service work, but they decided helping to construct the house “would give back to the community more.”

“This is for a good cause,” said Polking, senior in communication studies. “It gives somebody a house to live in.”

Also lending a hand Monday afternoon were members of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. Andy Boeckman, junior in mechanical engineering, said the organization does not require its members to do community service.

“It makes me feel good that they’re going to have a house to live in,” he said.

David Smith, father and grandfather of the future tenants, said they feel good about their new home.

“They’re thrilled,” Smith said. “[The kids] were running around here. We had a hard time keeping them under control.”

Smith said he and his son will be helping out all week, as the family is required to do 500 hours of work on the house.

“There’s a lot of people here. You kind of get in people’s way, but it’s a fun experience,” he said.

Andrew Smith, who currently resides in a trailer court on South 16th Street, is looking forward to moving into a house, David Smith said. He said that without the assistance of Habitat for Humanity, his son would not have been able to purchase a home as a single father.

Blitz Build is sponsored by business and private donations and is made possible through both the Story County Habitat for Humanity chapter and the United Way, Zimmerman said.