CW HOMETOWN TYPE

Eventually, plaster and paint will cover the initials, inscribed by hundreds of volunteers who with hammer, nails and plywood built the skeleton of Home No. 1 May 3 for the 1996 Habitat for Humanity 10-day Building Blitz.

``They call it the amateur home,'' said Dale Frincke, who, after hours of lifting wood to the rooftop, was drenched in sweat and covered with wood shavings. ``The professionals, who use cranes, don't get this kind of experience.''

Frincke's specialty is the roof. He and about six other volunteers worked together to lift the wood to the rooftop, while his wife, Judy Wingerd, balanced on a narrow wood beam, nailed the pieces together.

Wearing hard hats, hiking boots and weathered leather working gloves, this Hollywood couple look like they know what they're doing. And they do. Frincke and Wingerd have been building homes every Saturday since Hurricane Andrew.

``All you have to bring is a hammer and a hat and people out here will teach you as much as you want to learn,'' said Frincke, a computer network administrator for Broward County.

Like Frincke, most of the volunteers aren't professional builders. Wingerd is a cultural anthropologist. Elise Judy of Plantation is a retired schoolteacher and 14-year-old Mark Metcalf walked onto the site after his day at St. David Catholic School in Davie.

``All I know is that if I were poor and needed a home, I would want someone to do this for me,'' Mark said.

The building blitz continues through today, when six homes are expected to be completed. Learn more about the project -- and the people -- on Page 22.