01.27 | the rain never stops...[us]!

yes, it was "pissing rain" again today, as well as cold. but the show went on, and the ICFs were delivered. 24 4'w x 4'd x 8'h bundles of ICFs were placed in the driveway, and we needed to move them to the back of the site for fear of theft. so, we did. with the aid of a few 2x4s and all of us working, we finished the move in about an hour. on the bright side, it was a learning experience and another adventure. i suppose i have more character now? i don't know, but the warm, dry car certainly felt good. oh, more rain is in the forecast for tomorrow.

all of these ICFs...

...and these...

were moved to here...in the rain. done.

01.26 | clubho[us]e - day 2

it was another gorgeous and productive day. the clubhouse is really coming together well! at first it was just a pile of raw sheets of plywood and concrete -splashed lumber that, at first, i thought would need to be stained or painted in order to bring it to life. boy, was i w-r-o-n-g! as i stood back to admire our progress, i discovered that the concrete stains and splashes on the lumber gives the whole structure an interesting patina. it would be a total shame to cover it up. and then robert talked of the green roof that would eventually be. wheat grass and wildflowers...dreamy. by the end of the day, the 3rd wall--a pre-fabbed stud wall with plywood on the outside--was put into place, and it fit so well that screwing it into place became a technicality. a perfect ending to a perfect day.

01.23 | clubho[us]e

oh, this day was fun! a gorgeous day and a great start on a really neat clubhouse.

01.22 | clean feet

the footings must be as clean as possible before we start building the ICF walls, so it was a cleaning kind of day. not as much fun as building stuff, but nonetheless, a necessary evil. we spent the afternoon moving, scraping, sweeping, and blowing dirt from around the footings; and pumping water from around the footings because it will not stop "pissing rain" (oh, the rain!). fortunately, the weather was good to us today. and the forecast for tomorrow is 57 and sunny--yea! tomorrow (friday) we will begin construction on a really cool clubhouse--correction, clubho[us]e--that Robert designed that will serve as an onsite meeting place and storage space for our huge lockbox of tools. robert's design incorporates the 2 x 12's salvaged from the footing forms.

Renee...armed and ready.

better...

01.21 | shop prep

we all went out to the site to see the work that's been done and become familiar with the work that we're about to do. the footings and preliminary plumbing are done--the ICF walls are next. we then all caravaned to the shop at GURP to check out the great shop space and get the shop ready to roll. to put it mildly, the shop is equipped! we have the mac-daddy of just about every piece of shop equipment imaginable! we met with Robert for a few minutes to discuss what needed to be done in the shop, and he gave us the schedule for the rest of the week. half of us worked on site construction signs and gathered all the tools for inventory; the other half (that's my half) worked on installing the dust collection system to all the equipment. we almost finished, but we ran short on hose and rings. it was a fun day in the shop. we've got a great team, and we work well together. that's soooo important, and soooo rare. i'm very proud to be part of this team and project. and tomorrow (thursday), we're going onsite to prepare the footings for the ICF walls. everyday's an adventure!

01.20 | the games begin

this was our very first day of the semester and studio. we met in the conference room for studio "orientation", and Robert--professor, architect, and mentor--went over all of the necessary information and criteria for this design build. most importantly was safety, safety, safety! for most of the design|build, half of the students will be constructing interior structures--walls, cabinetry, furnishings, (and anything else that can be pre-fabricated and transported)--in the fabrication shop at GURP with the guidance of Adrian (the grad assistant), and the other half will be onsite with Robert. wherever we choose to be, we'll be working every weekday 1p - 6p. whew!