Bill Wade, Post-Gazette Duquesne Light employees Cristin McMahon, Taryn Japalucci and Dianne James check out a bubble level at the Habitat for Humanity building area at the Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show.

The term "dream house" usually conjures up visions of such pie-in-the-sky luxuries as a granite-filled gourmet kitchen and sumptuous master baths with whirlpool tubs the size of a Volkswagen. The $350,000 National City Dream Home at last year's home show, for instance, was built by Heartland Homes and measured close to 3,000 square feet, including a home theater and that ubiquitous granite kitchen.

		About the display The Habitat for Humanity display is on the second level of the convention center, next to the Post-Gazette/Bidwell Dream Garden. For more information on the program or to make a donation, visit www.pittsburghhabitat.org or call 412-466-6719.

But for some, the dream is far more basic: simply to have a place to call their own.

With that thought in mind, show sponsor Duquesne Light -- which last year raised more than $10,000 in goods and services for local victims of Hurricane Ivan during the 10-day event -- decided to scale things back a bit, as well as make it more "real." This year, it has partnered with the nonprofit Pittsburgh Habitat for Humanity and will help frame-in three ranch-style houses that will later be given to deserving families right on the convention hall floor.

"Last year went off so well that we wanted to raise the bar," said Rich Sieber, manager of corporate relations at Duquesne Light. "So when we met with [show organizer] John DeSantis this summer, we asked: What can we do that's more visual and hands on?"

Habitat for Humanity, a world leader in addressing the issues of poverty housing, seemed a logical choice; since it was established in 1986, the Pittsburgh chapter has enabled 53 deserving families to move into new homes, including three last year on Rippey Street in East Liberty. And indeed, the nonprofit agency was delighted -- make that amazed -- by the proposal.

Disasters elsewhere in the world over the past few years, including the tsunami in South Asia in 2004 and last year's Hurricane Katrina, have funneled away local contributions, said Executive Director Maggie Withrow. So it needed something that would help raise awareness for the Duquesne-based organization, which serves financially distressed neighborhoods in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.

"It was a good opportunity to focus on our local mission," she said.

Each house takes about eight weeks to build, and some pre-assembly will take place off-site before the show. But organizers, who will be working some nine hours-a-day over the course of the show with a core group of about 125 volunteers, will still need plenty of help putting the one-story 1,100-square-foot homes together, said Mr. Sieber.

And that's where you come in: Organizers are hoping attendees will stop by the staging area sometime during their visit and lend a hand. The only requirement is that you be at least 16 years old.

All volunteers will receive a cotton utility belt as well as a photo of them working on site that they'll be able to display in a plastic sleeve worn around the neck.

But the real reward will be knowing that you're doing something good for a family in need.

"People like to see physically where their help is going," noted Matt Pitzarella, who works in media relations for Duquesne Light. "It makes them feel good about it."

Not particularly handy or intimidated by power tools? There will be plenty of supervision, of course. Construction supervisor Randy Brubaker, who's a home builder by trade, will instruct volunteers on the proper way to raise the walls and screw the various sections together. Just think of it as a really big jigsaw puzzle. All of the pieces are labeled and numbered and merely need to be put back together.

If you're too busy visiting all the exhibits but would still like to try your hand at construction, you can also register to volunteer at a later date (the group has plans to build a total of six houses in 2006). Or, simply make a donation.

The organization also is looking for potential candidates for a new home. To qualify for a Habitat house, families must meet three criteria. They have to currently be living in substandard housing, and they must have an income stream that will enable them to repay an interest-free mortgage loan based on the cost of the home. Applicants also have to be willing to commit 350 hours of their time to Habitat in the form of "sweat equity " labor at house construction sites.

Most low-income families can't afford a down payment, said Ms. Withrow. So in lieu of that installment, they're asked to invest their time in construction. But that's actually a good thing in that it teaches them a lot of fundamental home maintenance skills, such as painting, caulking, dry-walling and basic plumbing.

Just as important, she said, it fosters a sense of pride and accomplishment and ownership in their new community.

In years past, each home Pittsburgh Habitat completed cost about $100,000. This year, because it changed the mode of construction from two-story with full basement to slab on grade, the price has been lowered to about $60,000.

When the show is over, volunteers will take the three homes apart in large modules, then reassemble them on site with "a lot" of further construction, said Ms. Withrow. One house will end up in Etna and the other two will be in Duquesne. A family could be in the first house as early as the end of April.