Framework for Life : Oak View: A single father has been among the volunteers helping Habitat for Humanity build a new home for his family.

There’s no front door and the roof isn’t finished. Most of the walls are still just frames.

But it looks like home to Terry Wieser.

The 39-year-old computer teacher from Port Hueneme is the latest recipient of a house built by volunteers from Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County, a nonprofit group that provides homes for needy families.

“The kids are very excited,” Wieser said Thursday at the formal dedication of the four-bedroom home in Oak View. “They’ve been looking in the house, picking out their bedrooms and eyeing the neighborhood.”

Habitat officials planned to present the front-door keys to Wieser, a single father of four, at the ceremony. But delays in construction have pushed back the move-in date until late February.

It is a wait that does not bother Wieser, who has spent months with dozens of volunteers building the home from the ground up. “I’m going to know this house inside and out,” he said. “Every crack, every crevice.”

Habitat for Humanity is an international organization founded in 1976 that builds and repairs homes for low- to moderate-income families willing to perform 500 hours of “sweat equity.”

The participants, most of whom could never afford to buy a home without help, agree to pay the mortgage and donate time to other Habitat projects.

Using mostly donated materials and volunteer labor, the group has built thousands of homes across the country. Early next year, Wieser will move into the second house built by the county chapter of Habitat, although the group has rehabilitated dozens of others locally.

“One of the hardest things we do is select the families,” said Virgil Nelson, the executive director of the Ventura County chapter, who spent months sifting through dozens of applications before choosing the Wiesers.

Wieser first heard about the organization through a newspaper ad and applied for a house earlier this year. He worked on the Oak View home for weeks before finding out that he had been selected to buy it.

“Better than the best came true,” said Wieser, who has accumulated more than 200 volunteer hours so far. “I plan on giving back and doing the very same thing (for someone else).”

Land for the Mahoney Avenue home was donated by Charles Henderson, who last year was living in a trailer on one of his three Oak View lots.

Henderson agreed to donate two of his parcels to the organization if Habitat volunteers built him a three-bedroom house. Group volunteers early next year will break ground on a third home that will be built for Jose Flores and his family.

Inside the house Thursday, Chris Wieser, 14, and little sister, Jennifer, were looking forward to moving out of their grandparents’ house in Port Hueneme.

“It’s a pretty cool house,” said Chris, who has spent the last 10 Saturdays helping build the home. “I like it because I can see how it’s being built. We’ve been working real hard on it.”

Jennifer relishes the thought of having her own bedroom.

“This way my little sisters won’t always come into my room and go through my stuff,” the 12-year-old said. “I’m probably going to put my bed right by the window.”

Retired construction worker Al Baber spent Thursday sawing two-by-fours that will be used in the home’s interior walls.

“I’ve been doing it all my life and these people needed some help,” said Baber, 75. “I’ve built maybe 10,000 houses in the area, so I have a little experience at it. This one will be really nice when it’s finished.”

Nelson said he is working with the city of Oxnard to build 10 to 20 homes for other poor families.

“It’s kind of selfish,” he said. “There’s great joy in seeing people take responsibility for their lives.