Two centuries ago, the kind of community effort under way to convert a 1790s Dutch colonial house in Waldwick into Cheryl Moore’s home would have been akin to a barn raising. A dozen or so volunteers Sunday busily cut, hammered and screwed Sheetrock to help renovate the property and prepare it for occupation by Moore and three other low- or moderate-income families – in much the same way Dutch farm communities of the past worked together to build barns.

The volunteers included two high school students, a New York City money manager, a police officer, a college freshman and the retired owner of a ski tour company. “It’s wonderful to help others,” said Neil Mutnick, 45, of Paramus, a salesman for an electronic goods manufacturer. “A great way to start the year.”And there was no mistaking the soon-to-owners’ appreciation.

“I’m the luckiest person in the world,” said Moore, 44, who will live in one of the four units with her daughters Rachel, 17, and Emily, 15. “It’s just amazing to think that people are investing in our lives to give us a better future.”

Habitat for Humanity of Bergen County is completing the year-old project, with the assistance of Paramus-based non-profit Bonim Builders, almost entirely with volunteer labor, except for the electrical and plumbing work. The four condominium units – two with two bedrooms, and one each with four and three bedrooms – are expected to ready later this year.

The other side of a partition wall from Moore, Tyrone Herrera and his wife, Patricia, both 35, were putting Sheetrock in the three-bedroom unit they will occupy with their children Henry, 17, Tara, 12, and Kelsey, 3.

Patricia, asked how she felt about the effort that will give her family its first home, said “There’s no way to put it … very lucky!”Herrera said he will buy his unit for about $95,000, with an interest free loan from Habitat for Humanity. Moore, a teachers assistant who works with autistic children at a school overlooking the house, said she expects her unit to cost about half that, because the value is calculated on the size of the unit and the buyer’s income.

The soon-to-be occupants are expected to put in 400 hours of volunteer work, sweat equity. Moore said she has already done 300 hours, working most weekends since August, when she learned she would be able to buy the unit. And she expects to continue volunteering even after her obligation is fulfilled. “I will probably be here every week,” she said, adding that the owners-to-be help out on each others units. “I love it.”