When we asked senior Donald Muench about his experience in Advanced Woods, he immediately replied, “It’s fun. We get to break stuff and tear things apart!” Apparently, one of the feelings you can’t get in the class is boredom. This class specializes in creating small scales of houses and rooms, helping Muench, along with fellow seniors Danny Norris and Anthony Felix, fuse architecture with their ability to use tools.
            Using tools isn’t an easy task; they can be very hazardous for someone without experience. There might be times when your parents have tried to teach you, but it’s still safer to understand how to properly utilize certain tools.

On a regular day, East Industrial Technology teacher Mr. Lindemann will help the students with obstacles that they might face in the real world. There are certain rules you have to abide by if you want to keep all your limbs. At each station, students will deal with power tools that are hard to handle. Anything can go wrong if you’re goofing off, and because of that, Mr. Lindemann always keeps a close eye on the students.

So how do you begin to build your own house? “Before you grab a hammer and some wood, you need cement blocks to set your foundation. Then from scratch, you begin to build your way up first by building a floor. You need walls that have to be made from 2 by 4s. Then you will have to measure space to fit windows, but first, safety features have to be installed so that the walls don’t collapse. Roofing is next, which is created by building a ceiling followed by the installation of shingles. Windows are put in before the siding, which is a plastic that prevents wind and water from entering. Once you’ve finished building, the electric system is put in, and this is dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. Dry walls are made, and then floors are finished, and before you know it, you have a house,” Muench explained. He made it seem easy, but it has taken them a semester’s work to get to the point where they can set up the dry walls.