dewalt tools : Lowe's join to educate women about construction

Irene Gomez placed her weight on a yellow Dewalt nail gun, pushed down and pulled the trigger.

Once. Twice. Three times she tried. The nail didn't budge.

Then Nancy Johnston stepped in, having Gomez step aside while she demonstrated. Johnston has an advantage: She works at Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse.

"Not as much on the trigger," Johnston told Gomez. Then she handed it back for Gomez to try.

Gomez was among about 75 women who came to a free building clinic sponsored by Habitat for Humanity and Lowe's on July 20. Of those, only about 15 to 20 were brave enough to get their hands on a nail gun or drill.

Gomez tried two more times before she got the nail through the block of wood.

"This is not as easy as it looks," she said to onlooking friends who teased her.

She's used drills before, the 42-year-old postal worker said. "I'm just nervous."

Gomez showed up to the first building class for women after her husband, who volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, told her about it.

Clinics are held every Thursday through the end of August to give women a taste of the kind of work they would do for an upcoming Women Build project.

Only women will be building Kelly Galindo's new house at 7415 Sam Bowen Court N.W. That means no husbands or boyfriends.

Even Galindo, who attended the first clinic, must put 500 hours of work into the project.

"My goal is not to have any men on the build site - except for crew leaders," said Val Shulfer, job captain of Women Build.

Shulfer is the only female crew leader working for Habitat for Humanity. Habitat officials hope more women will step into leadership positions, like crew leader, as part of the project, said Joe Martinez, director of programs for the Greater Albuquerque Habitat for Humanity.

Men won't be turned away from clinics, but the classes are meant for women who may not have much experience working with power tools or roofing, Martinez said.

Melissa Goldman came because she's interested in volunteering for Habitat. She grew up around tools, but thought she could use "the basics again."

Topics include framing, painting, insulation installation and use of power Dewalt tools, among others.

At the first clinic, Shulfer and Johnston covered safety, cutting drywall, the proper way to swing a hammer and how to use a nail gun and drill.

"A lot of this stuff women could do on their own. they just need someone to show them," Shulfer said.

Men have the advantage, she said, because they grow up learning building and construction skills.

She said giving women a chance to be part of a building project gives them a sense of empowerment.

"They're the ones building it," Shulfer said. "They'll swing the hammer, and they'll lift the trusses when we do the roof. When all is said and done, they've built a house for someone to live in."

A Women Build project and clinic was attempted about two years back but wasn't successful, Shulfer said. Women stopped building after about three weeks.

"We are bound and determined to keep women from start to finish," Shulfer said.

Martinez, who joked he was the only man at the clinic, was pleasantly surprised by the turnout at the first seminar.

"We were ready for a big crowd," he said. "But that was impressive."

Not only did a lot of women show up for the clinic, but more than 200 have signed up just to be part of Women Build, he said.

So many have signed up that Women Build may have another project in the near future, Martinez said.

"I don't think women know what they are capable of until they get out there," Gomez said. "It's such a male-dominated field."

She'll be practicing her nail gun skills at home.

By Rivkela Brodsky