Theresa "Momi" Akana clasped her hands over her mouth at first sight of her new home in Kalihi Valley.

Where only a grassy lot had existed seven days ago, a dark-green, four-bedroom, 3,500-square-foot plantation-style house suddenly came into view.

The cameras rolled. The crowd went wild.

Akana turned, and was again overcome with emotion yesterday at the sight of a brand new community center of nearly the same proportions at the opposite end of the property.

The building, also constructed by volunteers in just one week, will house Keiki O Ka 'Aina, Akana's nonprofit organization that offers cultural programs to underprivileged Native Hawaiians.

The railings of the stairs leading up to the home's 1,000-square-foot lanai had been completed less than 12 hours earlier. A strand of maile was tied to the railings with bright blue ribbon, marking the place where Akana, her husband, Ben, and their four children would first enter their new home.

The Akanas' remarkable story will open the fifth season of the ABC-TV series "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" this fall. The enormous undertaking — two huge structures built from scratch in just seven days — marks the biggest project the show has completed.

"Extreme Makeover," Brookfield Homes Hawai'i and 3,000 volunteers helped with the effort, with 300 to 450 people showing up every day. The entire project — time, materials, equipment — was donated.

MUD, STEADY DRIZZLE

Without the volunteers and donations, the project likely would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, said Jeff Prostor, president of Brookfield Homes Hawai'i.

Thick, smelly mud and a steady drizzle didn't stop hundreds of volunteers and spectators from crowding behind a barrier across the yard from the house yesterday. Most had come prepared with blue "Extreme Makeover" T-shirts, digital or cell-phone cameras and shoes or slippers that were already caked in mud.

They flashed shakas to the camera crew and held signs that read "Move Da Bus" and "Congratulations Akana Ohana."

Some brought wrapped ti leaf offerings as gifts of thanks for the crew.

Devon D'Angelo, 16, was there to support the Akana family, whom she has known for 12 years. Now at Le Jardin Academy, D'Angelo was one of the first students to enroll in the Keiki O Ka 'Aina preschool program when Akana opened it more than a decade ago.

"They're like my second family," D'Angelo said, holding a "Move That Bus" sign. "I'm so happy for them. They deserve it."

D'Angelo said Akana is considering turning her old home into transitional housing for women and children.

'NO CORNERS CUT'

Jenny Biggers, 25, a 10th-grade teacher at Damien Memorial School, was watching the camera crew prepare for the Akanas' arrival with her Yorkshire terrier, Joey.

Biggers, who is from Pearl Harbor, spent four hours filling water coolers Monday and four hours collecting hundreds of donated toys for one of the children's bedrooms.

"It's incredible from the day before how far they came," she said. "To see hundreds and hundreds of people walking around and then to see it done is pretty surreal."

"It was awesome to see everyone working together around the clock to get it done," said Randy Viveiros, 43, of Kailua, who was standing nearby.

Viveiros, a finish carpenter for Agsalud Construction, worked on cabinets, base boards and hanging doors Saturday and Sunday.

Mike Germain, 50, from the North Shore, devoted 80 hours of his time to the deck and roofs of both structures. He and others from Sunrise Construction started on the deck at 9 p.m. Thursday and worked nonstop through the rain until 5 a.m. the next day.

"It's amazing, especially with the weather like this," said Germain, who is a supervisor with the company. "I've never seen so many people work so hard for free."

An additional 85 carpenters and seven or eight superintendents from Sunrise Construction also volunteered at the site. Germain said they spent 40 hours working on the house roof.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing," said Wesley Mericle, 29, of 'Ewa Beach, a carpenter with Sunrise Construction who spent 10 hours on Thursday and Friday working on the decks, posts and beams.

"There were no corners cut," Germain said. "They didn't skimp on anything. I'm really impressed."

"Extreme Makeover" host Ty Pennington and his design team surprised the family last Wednesday and sent them on a vacation to Canada.

IMPRESSED FRIEND

Cody Ishihara, 14, a freshman at Word of Life Academy, lives up the street from the Akanas and is a friend of Keahi, one of the sons.

When he next sees his friend, he'll tell him, "I'm staying at your house this summer!"

D'Angelo said the Akanas don't often have new things and shop at secondhand clothing stores to economize.

"Now they get something amazing, extravagant and new," she said.