Tippie Build 2010 (Tippie Build 3, but who's counting!)
Tippie Build 2010 will be built in southeast Iowa City for a Habitat for Humanity Partner Family consisting of a mom, dad, and three children. Tippie Build 2010 will made it possible for this family to live in a safe and decent home.
Our Partner Family
To escape the violence in their homeland in Republic of Guinea, Alpha, Fatoumata,
and their children moved to Mali, Africa. Eventually, they were granted political asylum in the
U.S. and moved to Iowa City. Alpha and Fatoumata have been working diligently to complete the
500 “sweat equity hours” they must invest as part of purchasing their Habitat home. Alpha and
Fatoumata are working to provide a place for their children to grow.
“They won’t have to search for a place to live like I have to and move,” Alpha said.
“They’ll be better than me, and that’s good.”
Groundbreaking
Groundbreaking for our home took place on September 25, 2009. Building will start the end of
October. During Fall Semester, we'll
construct the walls, build the roof, and wrap the house for winter. In Spring Semester, we'll complete the inside work on the house
and the landscaping. We plan to dedicate our house the week before final exams - one last celebration before buckling down to study.
Tippie Build 3 will be an energy efficient, "green" home. Among its "green" features will be:
- Super-insulated exterior walls which can withstand tornado winds
- A tankless water heater to save on gas costs
- 50% more insulation in the attic to reduce utility costs
- New building materials utilizing recycled materials in the floor coverings, counter tops, and sheetrock
- Dual flush toilets to reduce water consumption by 25%
- A heat-recovery air handling system to assure good air quality while reducing heating costs
- South-facing orientation with increased window glazing to increase solar heating gain
- Landscaping to keep rainwater from running away and to minimize lawn care
- Water conserving plumbing in all sinks and showers
- Extra insulation in the foundation to reduce utility bills
- High-efficiency lighting to reduce electrical consumption
- Very high efficiency heating/cooling units to cut utility costs by 10%-20%
- Efficient design/layout to reduce construction waste (lumber and sheetrock) by +30%
- Sufficient overhangs to shade the home during the summer and allow in sunlight during the winter
- Shortened runs of ductwork to increase the efficiency of the heating/cooling system and to reduce construction costs
Ten percent of the money we raised will be tithed to Habitat International. This money will be used to help build Habitat homes in another country. Because homebuilding is much cheaper in the countries we choose, our contribution should build at least two homes there.
To see how we've been fundraising for our build, visit our events pages.
Habitat homes are a hand-up, not a hand-out. To learn why, visit our Hand-Up webpage.