NEW ORLEANS - The sound of pounding hammers breaks the morning calm in the Upper Ninth Ward.
At the corner of Mazant and North Rocheblave streets, a new home is rising in the middle of the ruins left by Hurricane Katrina.
While much of the Upper Ninth Ward consists of block after block of destroyed and vacant housing, Barriere Construction Co. is helping bring the area back to life by building a home at 2344 Mazant St.
Last Saturday, roughly 25 Barriere employees braved chilly temperatures to help Habitat for Humanity build the four-bedroom home, which eventually will house New Orleans resident Lionel Thomas and his five children.
Bert Wilson, senior vice president of Barriere, said his company gave Habitat $55,000 last year to cover the cost of materials to build a Habitat home.
Barriere began construction on the home the first weekend in December.
"It's such a small piece of the need. My hope is that we can lead by example and that other people will join the Habitat momentum," said David Mayer, Barriere head of business development.
Barriere is not alone on the job site. Habitat workers are there as well as out-of-town volunteers who come to the city to help rebuild.
"One interesting group that we met last weekend was a middle-aged couple that was getting married, and they told all their wedding party, 'We don't want any gifts. Just come a couple days early and we're going to go work on a house,'" Wilson said.
Barriere found volunteers within the company through notices in employee paychecks.
Some Barriere crew members did not lose their homes. So, building a home for someone else feels good, they said.
"I think after seeing the devastating right after the hurricane, it just gives you a sense of pride that you're doing something worthwhile to help somebody that's a little less fortunate, " said Mitch Wicker, a 24-year Barriere employee.
Wicker, who lives in Mandeville, had no damage at his home.
Barriere specializes in road construction such as paving, and is more at home using a jackhammer than a hammer. The company is rehabilitating and adding a turning lane to Peters Road on the West Bank of Jefferson Parish.
"I've never done anything like this in my life," Wilson said with a chuckle.
Some Barriere employees such as Wicker have built homes in the past. Their experience comes in handy at the Habitat site.
"This will be my third actual home that I've built," Wicker said. "Half of the guys have built something before in their life. I guess it's just in our nature to build stuff. It don't take much training for somebody to know what the finished product's supposed to look like.
"But we have some guys that've never grabbed a hammer, too."
Barriere, which temporarily moved its corporate offices from the Warehouse District to the Galleria building in Metairie, is a third generation company.
Founded in 1954, Barriere is run by three brothers. George Wilson is president. Bert Wilson and Peter Wilson are senior vice presidents.
Habitat paid a subcontractor to build the house's foundation before Barriere came on board.
Zac Margolies, Habitat's construction supervisor, praised the Barriere crew.
"Barriere is one of the most enthusiastic teams I've gotten so far," he said. "I gave them about a minute of instruction before they already jumped to it. They don't necessarily know how to build a house but I think they're quicker studies than most groups because they are used to building."
Habitat buys the lots and builds homes on them with volunteer materials and labor.
"We do buy some of our materials but ultimately it's through donations from companies like Barriere," Margolies said.
Habitat homes cost roughly $75,000 for materials and the lot, he said.
The homeowner pays a $500, interest-free monthly mortgage for 20 years, he said.
There is no down payment but the family must put in 350 hours of "sweat equity," which means volunteer labor for Habitat projects, before moving into their home.
The homeowner must perform 250 hours of labor on other Habitat homes with the remaining 100 hours on their own home, he said.
The Thomas home likely take three months to finish. Barriere will work on Saturdays to get the job done.
