At 6:30 a.m. Saturday, a foundation slab lay bare in Statesboro Pointe. About 13 yours later, a fully finished home stood atop that very same foundation.
      In a plan conceived by Hardin Construction and executed by more than 100 volunteer workers, House #36 for Habitat for Humanity in Bulloch County was framed, wired, plumbed, drywalled, painted, insulated, sided and roofed in 13 hours. Landscaping around the house was even planted.
     "It's a remarkable achievement and a testament to the dedication of Hardin and so many others to bettering our community," said Bruce Waldron, executive director of Habitat in Bulloch. "I've never witnessed anything like it."
The speed building plan actually started slowly, said Russ Aldridge, a superintendent with Atlanta-based Hardin Construction. Hardin is the primary contractor for Georgia Southern University's newest student dormitory, Centennial Place.
    "We always like to give a little bit back to the communities where we're working," Aldridge said. "We were looking to give a couple of hours to a Habitat home. But then more and more people got involved,. When the framers told me they could get a frame up in two hours, we decided to give a one day build a shot."
Workers began gathering about 6 a.m. and the framers got started right at 6:30.
Floyd Futch, who helped wire most of the house with his crew from Southern Voice and Data, said the construction site was unlike anything he had seen before.
     "To see all these folks out here to lend a hand to someone they don't know ... that's inspiring," Futch said. "It's a tribute to our community."
Hardin began formulating how it would pull off the one-day build months ago, said J.D. Dunn, a board member with Bulloch Habitat.
     "Hardin had meetings outlining exactly what each crew would be doing down to the minute," Dunn said.
Aldridge said his workers took it as a challenge to build the house in one day. Hardin was founded in Atlanta in 1946 and now has offices in four states with projects in 28 states, the Caribbean and Mexico.
     "We're a big company," Aldridge said. "We may have done something like this before, but I've never heard of it. Building a house in one day - it's a first for us."
Dunn said he was amazed to watch the precision with which the crews worked.
     "The dry wallers are there waiting on the insulation guys to finish so they can get started," Duun said. "The mud guys are waiting on the dry wallers so they can get the walls ready for painting and so on. It's like nothing I've ever seen."
     Work continued all day Saturday and Habitat Home #36, which wasn't slated to be even started until January 2009, was finished by 7:30 p.m. Habitat requires homeowners to help build the house, and Waldron said the new owners will earn their "sweat equity" on another home in Statesboro Pointe.
"It was a day I'll nevr forget," Waldron said.