BLACKSBURG -- Holly Hirst hasn't seen her husband, except for brief moments on the Blacksburg set of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," since last weekend.

Jonathan Hirst, vice president of operations for Building Specialists Inc. of Roanoke, is running the four-day marathon home building project for Blacksburg ballerina Carol Crawford Smith and hasn't left the site since demolition began Tuesday, his wife said.

Smith, a single mother of two who struggles with multiple sclerosis and has trouble walking, was chosen by ABC television producers this fall from thousands of applicants to receive a new home to accommodate her disability.

She was sent on a weeklong vacation in La Jolla, Calif., by producers and is set to tour the new house today.

On Saturday, as the crew of more than 100 skilled works and unskilled volunteers scurried to overcome days of delay brought on by mechanical problems, snow, sleet and freezing temperatures, Holly Hirst stood across the street behind a security barricade holding a sign that told her husband and his company how proud she was of their work.

There were some problems early on when crews began digging a new foundation. It took a lot longer than anticipated, wasting about 12 hours from the 107 hours allotted for the project.

Then, it snowed one night. Then, sleet drove roofers off the building one night.

But Saturday afternoon, as concrete was poured for the driveway and bulldozers graded for landscaping, Amanda McCreary, a designer for Building Specialists dressed in a pink construction hat and polka-dotted Wellington boots, said she was confident "it's going to happen on time."

Building Specialists and other local contractors and suppliers have collectively contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars in labor and materials to the project.

Dozens of local construction workers also volunteered their skills to the project, often working alongside competing companies, said Joe Wheeler, the Virginia Tech architecture professor who helped with the design of the house.

One of those contractors was Buster Moser, owner of Moser Construction in Radford, who brought some of his workers to help. He said he didn't care about being on television or getting publicity for his company.

"I'm doing it just to be here," Moser said.

Smith's parents, Elizabeth and Thomas Crawford, were at the site Saturday.

"We just feel so blessed," Elizabeth Crawford said.

Their daughter and grandsons, Hunter and Garland, were due back in Blacksburg on Saturday.

The Crawfords spoke to their daughter this past week and said she felt overwhelmed but very grateful for the outpouring of support from the community.

Volunteers came in Friday and Saturday from across Virginia, including Sean Boden from Halifax County, who drove to Blacksburg on Friday, his 18th birthday, to work.

He wore the show's standard issue white hard hat, only his had been signed by the cast of "Extreme Makeover."

It was "the chance of a lifetime" to be in Blacksburg for the event, Boden said.

The stars of "Extreme Makeover" made cameo appearances this week. Some, like the show's frontman, Ty Pennington, traveled while the construction progressed.

Jeff Marvin, who works at Roanoke Regional Airport, said in a e-mail last week that passengers and airport employees have been excited to catch glimpses of the celebrities as they traveled.

Roanoke resident Chauncey Logan, along with hundreds of spectators, also came to the site Saturday.

Logan said he believed the show's arrival in Blacksburg "was tremendous for the entire region."

The Rev. Kris Kramer of Grace Episcopal Church in Radford came Saturday with two older daughters in tow and wearing one sleeping toddler draped over his head to keep his ears warm, he said.

"Extreme Makeover" is one of his favorite shows, he said, because it is about bringing people together in love. But he hopes the effect of the show will outlast the production.

"I wish people would realize that there are opportunities every day to volunteer. You don't have to wait for a TV production crew to show up to do some good. ... It doesn't take corporate money to make miracles happen," Kramer said.