Students in the carpentry, air conditioning/heating/electrical, and building construction classes at Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School are using their production skills to build a camp that will be sold at an auction in June.

Community members who may be interested in buying the camp can contact the school at 724-282-0735 for the date and time of the sale.

The camp is under construction with the framing completed and the roof nearly done. The mild temperatures have allowed the 130 students involved in the project to move ahead at a record pace.

The design, assembly and construction skills of the building construction students are first tested with the 6-by-8-foot playhouses that are erected in the fall of every school year and are for sale to the public by making a call to the school. Many new concepts and methods are introduced to the students who attend the school for two hours each day.

Measuring, cutting, hammering, fastening, installing, dry walling and painting are some of the skills that are introduced in the first nine weeks of school.

Working in teams to accomplish a goal may be another new concept that students need to understand and apply.

The 6-by-8-foot playhouses are a mini-model of the camp and have vinyl siding, drywalled and painted interior, windows, and electrical outlets.

The design of the camp building was created by Brian McNany, the building construction teacher, with input from his students. The camp, although considered a non-residence, has all of the comforts associated with a smaller, family home.

The buyer of the 15-by-48-foot, two bedroom, one bath structure will be able to be move it with a flatbed truck. The camp can be placed on a foundation, piers or a crawl space.

The exterior of the camp will be vinyl-sided. The eight double-hung vinyl windows will all have screens.

The bedrooms open into the great room that includes a casual living space with a cathedral ceiling that contains the kitchen and eating area.

There is laminate flooring throughout the camp, and textured ceilings are used in each room of the camp.

The electrical, forced-air furnace will be installed by the air conditioning students and the 30 gallon electrical hot water tank will be installed by the building construction students.

The kitchen will have custom oak cabinets designed, built and installed by the carpentry students under the supervision of Scott McKee.

The air conditioning/heating/electrical students of Eric Collins will install the duct work. He anticipates that 95 percent of the duct work will be installed prior to the sale of the camp with the owner to install the remaining 5 percent once the camp is moved.

Students will install a 200 amp electrical panel and all electrical wiring.

The U.S. Department of Labor predicts 2.5 million new, skilled trade workers will be needed in the next eight years. The vocational-technical school offers students the opportunity to become skilled workers with earning potential increasing with the level of skills and the years of experience in the trade area.

Why wait? Build your future at Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School.