First-year carpentry students at Riverland Community College are getting a real feel for the business.

Students are finishing construction on a 1,280 square-foot house, which will be purchased by Mower County for relocation to Lyle.

A large house has been annual project for the second-year students, but this is the first time a project of this sort has been arranged for first-year students. Carpentry instructor Tom Wilker said the house helps with the transition between years. Previously, the students have always done more simple work, like sheds.

"We wanted a kind of stepping stone between the sheds we work on and the second-years' house," he said.

The second-years' house is about 4,000 square feet and includes things like a staircase and deck, which will be the next level in the learning process.

In the classroom, Wilker starts the students off with smaller projects. For example they constructed 20 sheds to learn about erecting frames and a number of smaller-scale sections for sheet rock. After they got the hang of it, he sent them outside to work on the real thing.

"It's great," Bryan Carlin, a carpentry student, said. "You learn a lot from the ground up. We built everything from the floor to the roof."

He said he has learned a lot from the experience. For example he did not realize how much coordination was necessary between the carpenters working on the floor and the plumbers. Also, he did not know how quickly a team could put together a house. He said the walls and roof went up in about three days.

"You can get a lot done in a day," Carlin said. "It's pretty amazing."

The house will be purchased by Mower County once all the costs are finalized. It will be moved to Lyle, where it will be auctioned off. Wilker said it is for lower-income families, and whoever buys it will probably get a good deal because the college did not charge for labor. Everyone involved -- students, the county, Lyle and the person or people that eventually purchase the house -- will benefit from the project.

"In the future, if it works out, we'd like to do something like this again," said Mike Carlson, executive director of the Mower County Housing and Redevelopment Authority. "It's been a great experience with them."

Charlie Ekly, president of the Lyle Economic Development Authority, said the house will be a positive addition for the city.

"You're always hoping to keep things available that look decent, and this is one of those things," he said.

Wilker said he has seen a difference in his students.

"The motivation level is much higher," he said. "This is for a worthy cause. It's something that's realistic, and it's getting them out of the shop."

People interested in purchasing a house for next year should contact Amy Wangen at 433-0341. The deadline for applying is June 30.

Matt Merritt can be reached at 434-2214 or by email at matt.merritt@austindailyherald.com