This week, the ring of hammers and the whir of saws are filling the air on Vernon Street in Grayson Valley in East Birmingham. Those are the sounds of volunteers from the Alabama Power Service Organization (APSO) Magic City Chapter furiously working to build a home in only five days.

“The trick is keeping people from working on top of each other,” said Troy Sanderson, line clearing specialist, Patton Chapel Crew Headquarters, and house leader for this project. “To do that, you have to have someone in charge who is assertive and can make sure people are working on the tasks that need to be completed by the end of each day.”

Sanderson is keeping the APSO Magic City volunteers on track as they build their 22^nd Habitat for Humanity home. Sanderson is well-equipped for the job, having helped construct 10 Habitat homes.

More than 100 APSO Magic City members and their families are working together to build the 1,100-square-foot home – a project that will climax with a dedication ceremony at noon on June 6. When completed, it will be certified as an EarthCents home with many energy-efficient and environmentally friendly features.

“This house is such a blessing,” said the new owner, Rayonna Dorsey, who will begin moving into her home following the dedication, along with her two daughters, nine-year-old Elizabeth and 17-month-old Chloe. “I thank God every day for allowing Alabama Power to build a house for me. You don’t often find organizations that want to do things like that for other people.”

The Dorsey family can look forward to lower utility bills, thanks to several features being incorporated into their home. They include energy-efficient Rheem heating and cooling, a General Electric heat pump water heater, energy-efficient lighting and controls, and Energy Star appliances. Airtight ductwork, insulation, low-flow shower heads, faucets and toilets are also being installed. Additionally, no volatile organic paints, glues, stains, caulking or other chemicals will be used, which will help with air quality inside the home.

Outside the home, elements in the garden will help reduce water usage. These include a rain-harvesting system for irrigation, and drought-tolerant plants and grasses.

“We want our customers to have a comfortable, affordable and energy efficient home that, at the same time, helps protect our state’s natural resources,” said Robin White, a green building specialist at Alabama Power. “These features will not only be cost-effective and have a positive payback for the Dorseys, they make sense for homes of all sizes.”

Adam Swafford said the project is moving ahead smoothly because of the Magic City Chapter’s close partnership with Habitat for Humanity Greater Birmingham.

“The Habitat guys had all the materials laid out when we got here to start the project,” said Swafford, Power Delivery Contract Services engineer and the Habitat project chairperson. “They marked the foundation to show where the walls and studs should be. They showed us on the walls where the windows and doors should go. All we had to do was stand up the walls. There was no guesswork.”

He said  teamwork has been the key to building the home so quickly. He said several Alabama Power organizations, including Power Delivery Contract Services, Power Delivery Engineering Distribution Services and Corporate Marketing, as well as employees from Southern Nuclear and SouthernLINC Wireless have joined with Magic City APSO volunteers, sending employees to work on the site for a day as part of teambuilding efforts.

Because the project is taking place at the start of summer vacation, many employees are even bringing their children along to lend a hand, Swafford said.

The Magic City Chapter and Habitat for Humanity Greater Birmingham have worked side by side since APSO built its first home in 1998. Habitat for Humanity Greater Birmingham is a nonprofit Christian organization that builds affordable, “green,” quality homes for underprivileged families.

“Partners are crucial to Habitat’s ability to serve the housing needs in our community, said Charles Moore, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Greater Birmingham. “Our long-standing relationship with Alabama Power, as demonstrated in this week’s build of the Dorsey’s home, is a prime example of partnership in action.”

The Grayson Valley build is not the only Habitat project in which Alabama Power employees have been involved in recent weeks. The company’s Birmingham Division partnered with Habitat, various suppliers, home builders and contractors for this year’s Home Builders Blitz in nearby Clay. During the blitz, 13 homes were built in the community’s Winchester Hills subdivision. Please see below a photo gallery from the Builders Blitz.