PORT ANGELES — Sawdust swirls as building materials are whipped into shape by a construction crew building a new home Thursday on West 10th Street in Port Angeles.

It sounds, smells and looks like an ordinary work site.

But it’s not your typical construction crew.

Most of the workers are students at Peninsula College or the North Olympic Peninsula’s Skills Center who are members of the Future Builders program, sponsored by North Peninsula Building Association and the two schools.

While the students — about nine are enrolled in the program now — are learning skills that they can develop into a lifelong trade, they are also building a home from start to finish that will be sold on the market when it’s all done.

“This is the single largest house we’ve ever built,” said Mike Gooch, construction superintendent for Future Builders, on Thursday.

“Our main focus for the program is to give young people a feel for the trade, to see if it’s something they want to go into.”

Gooch, who’s been in the construction business for three decades, said the house that sits on West 10th Street between H and I streets is the fifth one being built from start to finish through the Future Builders program.

When completed it will feature three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an attached garage, a propane fireplace and Internet access in every room, Gooch said.

18 more future homes

While this house will be completed by the summer, it won’t be the last one students in the Future Builders program get to construct.

Recently, the North Peninsula Building Association acquired a five-acre lot — which will fit 18 homes — between West 10th and West 12th streets west of N Street.

“That’s how much faith the building association has in this program,” Gooch said, explaining that students build one house a year.

“We can have this program go on now for the next 18 years.”