DOTY ISLAND, Wis. (WFRV) – When Mark Steine retired from Neenah Foundry seven years ago, his wife told him he needed to find more work to do.

“She said I operated at a too high level of intensity to be around all the time,” he said.

So she got him started volunteering at the Greater Fox Cities Area Habitat for Humanity, where she had already been volunteering. With two home remodels and plenty of other construction projects under his belt, it was the perfect fit.

“I’ve built a sauna, I’ve built garages. You kind of just learn stuff as you go along,” he said. “We teach exterior door installation, window installation, interior door installation, use of hand tools, use of power tools.”

Steine teaches new volunteers and homeowners construction and maintenance skills through courses offered by Habitat for Humanity.

He is putting those skills on display for the Greater Fox Cities Area Habitat for Humanity’s Rock the Block event on Doty Island, in which volunteers will work on 40 home improvement projects from Thursday until Saturday.

“We’ll be busy,” Steine said.

The projects vary in nature, but mostly have to do with maintenance, health, safety, and repairs.

“The repairs are everything from fixing porches to fixing roofs, adding windows and interior plumbing and electrical issues,” Greater Fox Cities Area Habitat for Humanity CEO John Weyenberg said. “We’re addressing it all and making sure that the families have a safe place to live.”

Steine was working on a front porch Thursday morning, carefully measuring and cutting the railing and balusters surrounding the porch to make sure that they fit, and got started at 7 a.m.

“I can’t believe it, I’ve never experienced anything like this before,” the homeowner Yolanda Brant said.

Steine said that he is motivated by the appreciation of the recipients, and added that they are the most appreciative people he has met.

“Every day I show up, I know I’m making a difference for somebody here,” he said.