Tobeyville resident turns to tried-and-true construction crew: Marble Falls students
Marble Falls High School building trades students place a wooden panel on the outer wall of the water house for Tobeyville resident Billy Inman. The students have been working on the water house for six days and were hours away from finishing Dec. 3. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
STAFF WRITER JENNIFER FIERRO
Thanks to the Marble Falls High School buildings trade program, Tobeyville resident Billy Inman won’t have to worry about frozen water during the cold winter.
The students built him an insulated water house on a 10-foot-by-10-foot concrete slab, a structure they were finishing Dec. 3 after spending five Saturdays at Inman’s home.
“There’s not a slacker in this bunch,” Inman said. “They all respect (teacher Shawn Reed).”
The students saved Inman about $2,000 in labor, he said.
This isn’t the first time Marble Falls students have helped at the Inmans’ residence. In fact, the students assisted Inman’s dad with building the home in the 1970s. When he was looking at constructing a water house, Billy Inman did the same thing his dad did decades before: He went to the Marble Falls High School building trades class.
Marble Falls Independent School District Assistant Superintendent Wes Cunningham was at the residence observing the students as they worked and appreciated Inman’s foresight in approaching the class to tackle the project.
“He’s allowed the kids the opportunity to experience this,” Cunningham said. “These kids are getting a tremendous amount of practice. He’s been exceptionally supportive of the construction program. These kids get to do something they don’t normally get to do. This is real life skills.”
Indeed.
Reed reminded the students of safety precautions, helped them measure and mark before they used a saw, and ensured the materials were used properly. Teacher and students talked in quiet tones as they walked around the structure, studied, and measured before they moved a piece of wood to the house and picked up a nail gun.
Inman, a Marble Falls alumnus, noted the students pre-framed the water house in their workshop on campus before installing it on site.
He was pleased with the work and the attitude of the students, who took the project seriously. He knows the structure is of the highest quality, and he won’t have to worry about not having water at his home now that Old Man Winter is fast approaching.