Habitat for Humanity of Covington County hopes to begin construction of its seventh Habitat house in the spring, but is working now to complete the detail work on the sixth house.

Habitat organizer Dale Pancake told Rotarians on Tuesday, “We re in that slow part now. We’re doing baseboards and trim, and hanging doors this week. We hope to have the floor down next week and the cabinets in.”

Pancake said volunteers are welcome at the home, located on Opp Avenue, to help with the work.

Habitat for Humanity works to give families the dignity and pride of home ownership at an affordable cost.

“These are people who don’t qualify in most cases for other housing,” Pancake said.

Recipients are required to put sweat equity into other homes as well as their own. Habitat builds the homes as affordably as possible, then holds a 20-year, no-interest mortgage.

Pancake said Habitat strives to build energy-efficient homes that are well insulated.

“In our initial building blitz days, we use a house package, so walls and trusses are preformed,” Pancake said. “We rely on the ball team from LBW to help with the initial work, and that gives us a lot of muscle.

“We have a good contractor who helps us make sure the walls are lined up properly,” he said, adding that by the end of the day, volunteers will be putting decking on the roof.

“At end of third day, we’ll have all the all shingleson, and the doors and windows in, and the siding on. We can lock the house; it’s dried in in three days.”

But you can’t do that with a small crew, he said, and the more hands on deck, the merrier.

“Habitat is a beautiful opportunity for the community to come together in what we used to do with the old barn raising, to come and help our neighbors. We’re neighbors, helping neighbors; We’re helping good people.”

Pancake said Habitat gets many materials for cost, and others donated, some through agreements the national organization has in place. He estimates that most houses cost $50 to $55 thousand to build.

“We try to have 80 percent of the $55 thousand when we start,” Pancake said. “Sometimes that’s a holdup. Donations come in a little at a time.”

The seventh Habitat house will be built in Florala, Pancake said.