02.27 | POUR!

I cannot believe this day finally came and went. about 8 of us started at 8:00 this morning with Bojangles biscuits—my treat! (because I woke up excited about the day and I wanted everyone else to be happy with me. ☺ ) and it WAS EXCITING! we all got busy placing ladders and walk boards such that the entire top perimeter of the walls were more easily accessible.

over the next couple of hours, i made 2 trips to Lowe's for supplies--lag bolts & screws. we're always needing something on this 5.000 sq. ft. monstrosity.

before I knew it, the concrete was being poured. it sounded like heavy, heavy rain on a tin roof. there was something peaceful in it—maybe it was just the satisfaction and contentment that we had made it to the pour. I dunno. but as the concrete hose made it around the first corner of the house, the icfs started separating from the corner window buck and concrete was seeping through—uh-oh! I didn’t have a drill on me, Adrian did. I scrounged for some wood scraps and Adrian screwed them in place. it still wasn’t holding the concrete well, so we had to redo all the bracing and scabbing around the window. it was a little scary, because we had to be really careful about which ones we removed and replaced. whew! got through that one ok.

that little incident put us both on our toes, so I quickly grabbed a drill, tool belt, screws (i hoped we wouldn’t run out), and some scabs for any further incidents. we staged scabs at both ends of the house for efficiency--no time for running to the other end of the site for wood when there’s a bulging icf on this end. thankfully, that was the only real scare of the day. the rest of the pour was fairly uneventful--well, we didn't have any blowouts anyway.

the weather held up for us the first half of the day, but it started raining around noon or so. out come the raincoats for those that had them. several people didn't have a raincoat, even though an 80% chance of rain had been forecasted for days, and the pour was gonna happen--rain or shine. ???????? come on! it's $10-15 and assurance of dryness and warmth. don't get me started.

around 1:30, i called 'lunch'. the early crew had been going strong since 8am, and many were wet, cold, and hungry. since concrete won't wait to set so that we can eat, i went to jimmy johns to get lunch for robert, jason, allen, and me. i'm the only one that ate right away--oh well, it'll be there when they're ready.

the rain kept pouring, and the site was becoming a mud slick. periodically, we had to fill voids under the windows where the concrete didn’t flow well. Um, buckets of concrete are heavy! and it gets tricky carrying them in the mud and muck. I am sore, and I’m glad it’s Friday—or more glad that tomorrow’s Saturday.

we were one concrete truck load shy of finishing the pour. the top portion of the 13-course atrium walls need to be finished. jason will return tuesday with one more truck. we have the day off on monday...thank you, Robert.

02.26 | pour [-1] | hunker down!

it was a beautiful day—about 65 and sunny—perfect. the sky was blue and we were all excited about tomorrow and having trouble focusing on getting our work done (including me—I am human). while the others got busy finishing the bracing, Robert assigned me concrete calculation duty. we had to get an accurate estimate of how much concrete it would actually take to fill all of those walls with 6” of concrete. Robert taught me how to use his handy-dandy contractor’s calculator, and with a little bit of measuring and “cipherin’”, I calculated the amount needed for each wall—105 square yards total. WOW!! that’s the calculation that includes the windows. Jason, with loflin concrete, said he had estimated 80-85 yards, and had ordered 10 loads for the pour. we’ll see—I think we’re gonna need more.

the rest of the day was spent tidying up the site and double-checking everything. we also spent time scrounging the site grounds for 3” screws because we’re running very low, and we’re not going to need anymore after the pour. we found quite a few—hopefully that will tide us over.

02.25 | pour [-2] | finishing up

everyone was busy today either bracing walls, plumbing walls, or scabbing gaps in the walls. my day was filled with bracing the window buck openings so the bucks won’t collapse under concrete pressure. the weather was nice today and it felt good to be working outside and slinging a hammer. sarah, Ashley, and I (and a couple more here and there) finished with the bucks by the end of the day. all of the plumbing and most of the bracing was finished as well, so the bracing will be finished tomorrow.

I believe we’re actually gonna pour on friday. yea!!

02.24 | pour [-3] | icf blitz

the icfs were delivered this morning, and it was an “icf-blitz” and “don’t-stop-to-pee” kinda day. all the icfs had to be in place by the end of the day, because the next 2 days will be spent bracing and scabbing. the atrium between the community area and the house sister’s suite needed 5 more courses of icfs, and several other areas on the north end needed one more course. and each finished course needs to be secured with zip ties and/or rebar. where’s anna?

I had to leave at 3:30 today to sit in on robert’s materials class; they were having a test today, and Robert felt that his time was better spent on site. good idea since the pour is Friday.

I heard later that all the icf work was completed, and it was a glorious end of a workday. I hate I missed it.

02.23 | the countdown | pour [-4]

today we braced walls, plumbed walls, and put extra bracing inside the window bucks so they will not collapse under the pressure from the concrete. i worked on the window bucks--nailed pieces of wood together all afternoon. what a workout! my arm and shoulder are feeling their age this evening.

i slipped and fell twice today on the dirt slope at the end of the new entry ramp that was built on friday--i don't know if i was having an extremely 'off' kind of day or whether the new ramp just isn't working for me. hmmmmm...

the pour is thursday. the rest of the icfs are being delivered tomorrow, so its gonna be another "get-the-lead-out" kinda day. wednesday will be as well. we have so much yet to do to get ready.



02.16-17 | we're out of ICFs--happy birthday, Robert! (and Anna)

well, i suppose we were moving more swiftly than we thought. shortly after we began work yesterday (monday), we realized we were nearly out of ICFs. how did that happen?! each of us thought that there were more left. could some have been stolen? a possiblity. none of us were sure, but what we were sure of was that we would probably not be pouring concrete on thursday. darn! what a setback. Robert had to order more ICFs, and it was going to take 3-4 days before they could be delivered. so now, plan B. we'll regroup and just work on any and everything else--scabbing gaps, cleaning up and sorting the trash from the recyclables, plumbing walls, bracing walls, etc.

i had a cake yesterday for Robert and Anna, but it wasn't such a great day, so i decided today would be the better day. had to let the dust settle. i was getting the cake out of the back of my car. i took the lid off, and the cake fell face down in the grass. oh well, i picked it up, slapped it back on the tray, and decided to deal with the whole thing later. Kelsy and i had to go to Lowe's for some lumber, so first things first. when we got back, i decided to move forward with the birthday plans, and pulled the cake from the back of the car again. of course, the whole ordeal got a good chuckle from everyone. but who cares about a little grass and leaves. we all grabbed a fork and dug in. it was a happy birthday after all.


hahaha! a few more decorations never hurt.

we got our daily dose of fiber.


02.14 | happy valentine's day!

work started early at 8am--Anna showed up with some delicious blueberry muffins. we were working hard to try to finish, but it was evident that there was no way we could be totally ready for the pour on tuesday, so Robert informed us that the pour had been rescheduled to thursday. a little frustrating that we didn't finish, but a relief that we have a couple more days. and the crackhouse across the street--yes, there's a crackhouse--it was busted today. the whole scene was so surreal...like a movie. police cars parked in all directions in the street, thugs and druggies lying face down in the yard, police surrounding the house with pistols aimed--too much!! of course, our productivity went south quickly, and we were all peering out the windows and up on scaffolding to we wouldn't miss anything. we've never seen Robert move so quickly up a ladder to snag his view of the excitement. lol. i must say, that was the most excitement i've had on valentine's day in a looong time.

we all worked hard to get as far along on the ICF walls. now that we had all the walkboards and scaffolding installed, things are moving along rather swiftly.



02.09-13 | build 'em high!

the beams, braces, walkboards, and scaffolding were installed this week to finish out the ICF walls and prepare for the poor on tuesday. that is a whole project in and of itself! we had two different kinds of beams and braces, and one was not compatible with the other, so it became really tricky when we had both types in the same space and nothing seemed to be lining up and the walkboards were different heights. we had to rearrange a few pieces to make everything "jive", but we got there. on wednesday, we were able to restart with the ICFs--we have saturday and monday to finish. somethin' tells me we're not gonna...



02.07 | a beautiful saturday

we double-checked all the horizontal and vertical rebar to make sure nothing was missed. zip ties are important, so we double-checked for proper ties as well. the bracing is going up on monday, so we have to make sure that all the ICFs that the bracing will attach to are secure. the ICFs are getting high enough now that we need scaffolding to finish the walls.

02.06 | vertical rebar? uh-oh...

weather-wise, it was a gorgeous day. we all had a full afternoon of icf stacking, rebar cutting, and zip tying. about 5:00, Robert had the revelation that we needed to be putting vertical rebar every 2-3 ft below all of the window openings. Robert wanted to push to get it done today, so time for a system--Robert measured and marked all the walls with the appropriate 2-3 ft intervals, i measured the heights underneath each window and tallied the # of pieces of rebar we needed for each length, Marianne cut all the rebar, and several of the crew got busy installing. whew! done. just in time for the weekend.

02.05 | another cold one

it was another day of hard winter (for the south anyway). Dan, Nick, and Julie from advanced energy showed up on site to work with us and learn more about icfs. today was less stressful--we all seemed to be in a good groove and working at a steady pace to get as many of the window bucks in place as possible. apparently not fast enough though, 'cause we're working saturday. i still haven't learned icf construction--i'm sure my time is just around the corner...

Johanna, Megan, and Dan (Advanced Energy)

02.04 | which course? how high?

my snow dance didn't work. actually, i think it had the opposite effect because the snow clouds parted as they passed over greensboro. all surrounding areas got snow. go figure.

anywho, we had 20 degree wind chills today, and it was one of those days when i felt like kissing the floor when i got home. don't get me wrong, i love what i do and wouldn't trade it for anything, but warmth is my friend. fortunately though, today i was forced to keep a rapid pace as i had to quickly figure the window heights, because the window bucks were ready to go in. teams in each corner were callin' for help, and rightfully so because folks needed to know if the window happened in the current icf course or the next. it was a critical day...a stressful day, as there was a bit of confusion and disagreement over some window heights. it was critical that the w.01s, which established the primary datum, be at 51" instead of 48". we worked through the confusion and misunderstandings together--everything was settled and decided. a productive day. and i'm so glad to be home.

02.03 | windows, windows everywhere!

well, i thought i was gonna learn icf construction. instead, i was in charge of the ensuring that the window bucks (the "containers" for the windows) were put in the right place. with the help of the floor plan and elevations, josh and i went to work with a tape measure and sharpies and marked the correct position of each window on the icf styrofoam. it got a bit tricky, as we had to consider that the icfs were 2 inches thicker than what had been included in the plans, so the measurements had to be adjusted accordingly. also, we had to be very careful if a window was next to an interior wall because the interior design is so 'tight' that there is no margin for error--1 inch short in one of the bathrooms spells disaster later. then, as luck would have it, after we'd measured and marked all of the window positions, we found out the w.01s and w.04s--planned for a 60" width--were actually ordered to be 48". Josh and i were back for another round.

it's suppose to get really cold tonight and snow is in the forecast. i did my snow dance...

02.02 | no more trailer!

i know Robert was happy to finish the clubho[us]e today so he could discontinue dragging the tool and equipment trailer around with him. over the weekend, Adrian fashioned the heavy duty door hardware for securing the tools in the clubho[us]e, so it was attached and the big blue lock box was moved inside. Robert, Adrian, and i worked together to bolt the box to the floor--that was an adventure! which hole? what corner? ok, hammer it in! no stop, you're missing the hole! we gotta drill bigger holes.....

tomorrow, i plunge into the mysterious world of icfs.

tools are safe at last...

01.30 | almost there!

cold today. brrrrr. Renee C and Cody finished putting the boards on the roof, and the doors were hung. rain is scheduled for the weekend, so Adrian and i cut the weatherproofing membrane in lengths to cover the roof. we got all the strips cut; Adrian even built an extension on our ladder so we could get on the roof. we started laying out the weatherproofing that was suppose to be "peel-n-stick", but there was no stick. maybe the weatherproofing was too old, or it was too cold. don't know, but the wind was picking up and there was no way that the strips would stay there for the weekend. so, mission aborted. it was time to pack it in anyway, 'cause i could no longer feel my hands, feet, or face.

01.29 | up on the roof

beautiful weather today...yea!! since the icfs were waiting for us, half the crew got trained in icf construction, while the other half worked on finishing the clubho[us]e. i was on clubhouse duty. i guess i'll learn how to lay icfs another day.

is it odd to say that i love heights? for whatever reason, i'm comfortable 'up there', so i climbed up on top of the rafters and rested on a straddled 2 x 12 board as Cody and I received other 2 x 12s and screwed them to the rafters. it was exciting, and after several rows of 2 x 12s, i climbed down and let someone else enjoy the views. i spent the rest of the day building the door frame and double doors with Gabe.

01.28 | and...it's rainin"

as we worked in the shop today to get it all set for production, we watched though the glass doors as the sky poured buckets. we completed nearly every item on the "to-do" list that Adrian had written on the board--dust collection system, desk, 4' x 8' work table, clamp rack, tool sort, shelving, etc. i think the only thing left to do is tool inventory. we all had a great time working together to get it all done before we went back to site to deal with the muddy mess and ditches full of water.

instruction from robert

watch it rain!

dust collection

that huge rack for 3 clamps??