A group of seven High School students at the Archbishop Denis O’Connor High School in Ajax, Durham know what construction is all about. All have been part of Alex Ladouceur’s Construction Technology program where students are taught the basics to advanced levels of construction knowledge with ambitions of continuing on into the construction industry.
Their final assignment was to build a number of animal shelters which were donated to the Animal North Network https://animalnorthnetwork.ca/, a division of the Ontario SPCA. One of this organization’s roles is to provide shelter for animals in Indigenous Communities in Ontario and now that they are completed, they are housing some happy dogs on Manitoulin Island.
The project began in mid-April, when the students were first tasked with learning to read and understand the construction drawings, then establishing a work schedule for how they were going to complete the project on time. Construction began with the students learning the theory of traditional wood frame construction, then they began building a floor, wall, and roof system for the doghouse. After the walls were insulated with 1 1/2″ foamboard and the exterior is wrapped with an air barrier and weatherproof cladding. The doghouses were finished with trim that the students made themselves from rough stock pine.
With the generous financial support of Dunpar Homes’ John Zanini Foundation, the students were able to take on this outstanding learning experience and leading them to the next step in becoming one of the highly sought after members of the construction industry.
