Tippie Build 4—The Dream Continues

We want to do everything in our power to give our children the best possible lives.
We are looking forward living in a quiet and safe neighboorhood.
—Esad Kraina, Tippie Build 4 Partner Family—

Groundbreaking for our home took place on August 30, 2010. Building started the beginning of October. During the fall semester, we constructed the walls, built the roof, and wrapped the house for winter. In the spring, we completed the inside work on the house and the landscaping. We dedicated our house on May 7, 2011, the Saturday before final exam week. A perfect way to finish our semester!

—Tippie Build 4 Fundraising Events—

In 1999, Esad met with the U.S. Embassy and moved to the United States to seek peace. He was one of the hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the Kosovo War. Five years later, he became a U.S. citizen. A proud citizen of a new country, Esad brough his wife, Mika, and his young son, Denis, to Iowa. He was working for McComas-Lacina on a Habitat home when he learned that he, too, was eligible to become a Habitat Partner Family.

Esad and Mika worked hard to complete the 500 “sweat equity hours” they must invest as part of purchasing their Habitat home. Esad tells us that being able to give his children a better life than he had means everything to him. His family is looking forward to living in their new home in a quiet, safe neighborhood in Iowa City.

Tippie Build 4 was also an energy-efficient, "green" home. Among the "green" features included in this home were:

• Super-insulated exterior walls which can withstand tornado winds
• A tankless water heater to save on gas costs
• 50% more insulation in the attic to reduce utility costs
• New building materials utilizing recycled materials in the floor coverings, counter tops, and sheetrock
• Dual flush toilets to reduce water consumption by 25%
• A heat-recovery air handling system to assure good air quality while reducing heating costs
• South-facing orientation with increased window glazing to increase solar heating gain
• Landscaping to keep rainwater from running away and to minimize lawn care
• Water-conserving plumbing in all sinks and showers
• Extra insulation in the foundation to reduce utility bills
• High-efficiency lighting to reduce electrical consumption
• Very high-efficiency heating/cooling units to cut utility costs by 10%-20%
• Efficient design/layout to reduce construction waste (lumber and sheetrock) by +30%
• Sufficient overhangs to shade the home during the summer and allow in sunlight during the winter
• Shortened runs of ductwork to increase the efficiency of the heating/cooling system and to reduce construction costs

Habitat homes are a hand-up, not a hand-out. To learn why, visit our Hand-Up webpage.

You can be part of making this dream come true for another family. Help us raise the funds we need to build our next house by making a donation. If you are a Tippie student who would like to work on the construction, sign up to build the house.