Utah Valley proved this week that it takes a whole community to raise a house. Nearly 250 people from around the county built a six-bedroom, two-story house in Springville in five days as part of the Homebuilders Blitz.

Steve Smith of Highland put his general contractor job on hold and dusted off his tool belt to help for the week. Byron Porter, a construction management student at BYU, skipped a couple of classes and volunteered about 15 hours more than what was required.

"The amount of people involved warms my soul," said Habitat for Humanity Utah County executive director Kena Jo Mathews, getting a little choked up. "It's truly amazing to me that people are so willing to help, especially to a family that is so deserving."

The 1800 square-foot home is the biggest one that the Utah County chapter of Habitat for Humanity has ever built. It was built for Carlos Reina, who applied as a single father of five children under the age of 8. Last month he married a woman with four children, two of whom are autistic and living at home. The couple and their seven children will move into the home Sept. 29.

"Seeing it happen is so different than hearing that it's going to be done in five days," said Reina, who never believed that it could really happen. "But they are really going to do it."

They kind of cheated, said Mathews, who admitted that the framers started working the Friday before in order to make sure that the home would be done by the end of the week.

For a Blitz, Habitat for Humanity and the Utah Valley Home Builders Association collaborate to sponsor and build a home within one week. It normally takes four to eight months to build a Habitat for Humanity home using volunteers on Thursdays and Saturdays. But for a Blitz, most of the help is from professional home builders, dry-wallers and construction workers.

For days, people moved quickly from room to room like ants, their tool belts clanking as they nailed boards, making walls in minutes. In a matter of hours the wooden skeleton began to look like a house. On Tuesday, the house had doors and windows. On Thursday the walls were painted and the house already had the smell of a new home. By Friday the house had side paneling and a roof.

Some of the rooms in the house have been personalized because of the needs of the family. One of the rooms will be padded for one of the autistic children and one room will have paneling. Before the family moves in, the rooms will be decorated in the colors and themes according to the kids' interests as part of Habitat for Humanity's Adopt-A-Room program.

"One of the great things about Habitat for Humanity is that you can see what you've done," said Mathews. "You can drive by and say 'I painted that.' "

Since June, Carlos Reina has been commuting from Heber City to Provo where he works at the MTC. And every day for the past couple of weeks on his way to and from work he's stopped by his new house to see the progress. He takes pictures with a huge grin on his face and brings the camera back to his family to show them.

"I wish I could show more excitement," Reina said. "But I feel like I'm in a dream and could wake up at any second."

SIDEBAR:

Two week ago: Poured foundation

Last week: Put in floor

Sept. 12: Framed the house

Monday: Finished framing. Put in electrical, HVAC and plumbing

Tuesday: Put in doors and windows. Wrapped house in Tyvek. Installed insulation and drywall. Started roof. Put mudding and taping on inside walls.

Wednesday: Finished drywall and mudding and taping. Worked on roof and siding. Finish work inside, such as moldings.

Thursday: Prep and paint inside and finish work

Friday: Lay laminate flooring

Saturday: Put in appliances, countertops, carpet, raingutter and landscaping.

Today: Finishing touches, such as lights, plumbing and mirrors.