Habitat for Humanity crews build homes in Eleele

ELEELE — A lot of places were closed Tuesday in honor of King Kamehameha.

But a dozen volunteers from Layton Construction and its partners were hard at work alongside Kauai Habitat for Humanity homeowners, staff, and volunteers in the hot Eleele sunshine at Habitat’s Eleele Iluna, Phase II project.

“This is a union holiday,” said Mia Checkley of Layton Construction. “All of our active jobsites are closed because of Kamehameha Day. We’ve been thinking of doing this for a while, and this holiday was the perfect opportunity to volunteer. We’ve tried several times, but this time we were able to get this community work day off the ground.”

Kauai Habitat spokesman Chris Young came out to lend his elbow grease and support of the Layton volunteers.

“Driving to work, I sometimes just spin off the road to drive through here and admire the beauty of the homes coming up,” he said.

“When we found out Layton Construction was coming, I switched my days so I could help them,” Young added.

Volunteer Jeanie Tavares was working alongside Habitat homeowner Paulina Rita in priming flooring panels.

“Normally we’re working in the office,” Tavares said. “This is a nice change.”

Homeowner Shan Amulacion was working alongside Checkley, using sanders on studs and patio beams.

“Her house is the framed one in the background,” Checkley said. “But she’s helping get other homes built. It’s wonderful that Layton Construction can help make the dream of home ownership a reality for deserving individuals and families on Kauai. We’ll need to do this more, just so we can order Mark’s Place food.”