After months of stop-and-go work, Habitat for Humanity of Covington County President Dale Pancake said the organization hopes to put the finishing touches on its second house in the upcoming days.

“We expect to close by the end of the month,” he said. “We’ll meet on Tuesday night and hopefully decide on a date for the dedication.”

Pancake said Habitat’s second project in Covington County has taken much longer to build than the first home the group built last spring in Opp.

“There have been a lot of delays with the weather, rain and cold,” he said. “We started construction in November. The house in Opp we started at the end of April and it was completed by mid to end-of July.”

The newest house is on Bagley Street just across the road from Northside Baptist Church, and is a four-bedroom house and just a “tad” more than 1,200 square feet.

The house is being built for Bessie Marshall and her family, and Pancake said the family has put in about 300 hours to help build the home.

“As with all Habitat homes, the families help us build and they have a small mortgage,” he said. “The price of the house is affordable. We will be the mortgage holder at no interest.”

Marshall’s family includes her daughter, and the daughter’s children, a teenage boy and 9-year-old twins – one boy and one girl.

Throughout the process, Pancake said there have been more than 100 volunteers and more than 75 community organizations who have helped with the cause.

“I would really like to thank Glen Greathouse of Greathouse floors,” he said. “He donated all of the interior paint and installed the carpet and other flooring.”