Frame work began Saturday on the first of two Habitat for Humanity houses planned for a lot on Twin Beech Road. More than two dozen volunteers worked through cold weather to construct the frame and roof of the house, which until then had been a freestanding concrete shell.

The house is experimental for Habitat for Humanity, according to Construction Manager Alex Cary, in that it is being built to the standards of the “Fortified … for safer living” program of the Institute for Business and Home Safety. Habitat will monitor the costs of the home over time and compare them to a non-fortified, traditional home to determine if the initial expenses in material make a significant difference in cost of ownership.

Cary estimated the cost of a fortified home to be 15 percent more than one of traditional construction.

“Insurance companies are required to offer a discount for fortified homes,” Cary said, noting one potential benefit of the program.

According to IBHS, “The Fortified…for safer living program specifies construction, design and landscaping guidelines to increase a new home’s resistance to natural disaster from the ground up … it adds protection to windows and doors, provides better connections between the roof, walls and foundation, and the roof is thicker, stronger, and designed to stay drier.”

Cary said the concrete-walled house on Twin Beech Road was rated to sustain winds of more than 160 mph.

Homeowner Tchenaroyl Green, who was working at the site Saturday and has put in more than 200 volunteer hours on other Habitat projects, said she was excited about moving into the fortified home with her two children.

“Rent is expensive,” she said. “This will give us a place to call our own.”

The current Habitat for Humanity project is being underwritten by Traveler's Insurance and Thrivent Financial, among others. Construction will continue at 7799 Twin Beech Road in Fairhope every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday until the home is complete. Volunteers are welcome. For more information, call 251-943-7268.