AB Tech Construction Science is Asheville’s Green Building School, offering an array of classes in carpentry (including comprehensive renewable energy and green building instruction) as well as construction management (teaching students how to start and manage a construction business) and cabinetry skills. Here are details on our programs:

 
 A-B Tech Construction Technology Program: Construction   Management

Construction usually accounts for more than 9% of the gross national product.  This means that $1 out of every $10 spent on goods and services in the U.S. is spent on construction. Our industry supports 6% of the private employment or around 5% of the total jobs which continues to make construction one of the nation's largest employers. The construction industry today is heterogeneous and complex.  It involves projects which differ from one another: housing, commercial, business, highway, utility and industrial, just to name a few.  Also, these project types are further divided into various specialites, such as civil, concrete, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, H.V.A.C., again only to name a few.  The size and specialty of the contractors vary, as well, due to the scope or nature of the projects.

     At A-B Tech, we begin to take the complexity of the construction industry and organize the concepts into manageable formats.  Constuction projects are managed by a team of people representing owners, designers and construction professionals.  These factions are tied together in many different ways, including by the project type, the owner's sophistication and time and budget concerns.  Our process examines the roles and reponsiblities of the different disciplines, the types of projects and the way professions work to manage all types of construction projects.  We build the management process by using terms and methods unique to construction.

     Graduates from our program usually qualify for entry management positions and, depending on their skills, advance into upward mobile positions.  Several of the students in our program have already obtained their Bachelor's Degree and are in the process of combining their areas of study to meet the requirements of the construction industry.  Others are working toward their Associate's Degree and are in the process of completing  their undergraduate degree in construction.  A student entering Construction Management Technology curriculum can either pursue a certificate or the Associate Degree in Applied Science.

For more detailed information regarding the Construction Management Technology program and specific areas of study, fill out our Enrollment Questionnaire.

 AB-Tech Carpentry Program:  The Science of Construction
The Carpentry program in Engineering & Applied Technology is designed to train students to construct residential structures using advanced framing techniques in conjunction with other methods in order to ensure optimal building performance.  Students will learn to build a residential building from the ground up including: site considerations, basic surveying, foundation options, framing and other structural materials, energy efficiency, roof framing, stair framing, finish carpentry, the relation of sub-trades, blueprint reading, estimating, and a host of other residential construction considerations.  The program introduces various forms of “green building” from natural building options such as “cob”,  “straw-bale”,  “earthship” and “rammed earth”  to more conventional methods of incorporating sustainability into everyday construction. 

A variety of teaching methods are used, including  lots of hands-on, lecture, live projects, multi-media, field trips and research.  The Carpentry program has a rich history of community collaboration with live projects that consist of:  an NC Healthy Built modular home, Bountiful Cities Project pavilion, community volunteer work for various groups such as Habitat For Humanity, kids’ play houses, renovations, campus pavilion, and a host of others. View our project photo gallery.

Graduates should qualify for employment in the residential construction field as rough carpenters and advanced framing carpenters with in-depth knowledge of this vast field of construction and how sub-fields are inter-related. 

AB Tech Cabinetry Program
The Cabinetry Program offers a Basic Cabinetry Certificate  (C35180L2).  Students learn the materials and methods required for modern & traditional cabinet-making skills.  Students also learn how to:  design, estimate, and build/install cabinets in various applications.  This class consists of mainly hands-on shop demonstrations and live-projects.  The Cabinetry Program promotes sustainability with the use of low VOC finishes, locally milled wood, and FSC Forest Products. 

Interested or want to know more? Find out if you're a good fit for our program by filling out our .">Enrollment Questionnaire.