The End is Near

The goal to enclose the house by the end of this semester seemed intangible a few weeks ago, but it is becoming more and more a reality. The roof was completed yesterday afternoon and great progress was made attaching furring strips and screening. As Katharine had written in the last blog entry, the priming for the siding was completed and transported to the site on Monday. The group at the site began attaching the siding to the house yesterday. Unfortunately, not all of the priming was completely finished this past Monday. The rest of the blocking for the windows was primed yesterday, and only a couple of windows and doors are left to be primed. The remainder of the window blocking was taken to the site today for it to be installed tomorrow.

The rest of the group was busy yesterday working on windows and door panels. The wood shop in the Art + Architecture building has been flooded with students working on final projects, and it has been very difficult for us to work with large lumber in such a crowded space. Flat area is also necessary for assembling these windows and doors, and it has been difficult finding space with only three or four tables in the shop. I am also pretty sure we have hit a record for the amount of wood dust that has accumulated in the collect system. On Monday and Wednesday, we emptied the large wood dust collector three or four times, and before working on this project, I did not even know where the dust was collected. With at least twenty full trash bags, the collected wood dust will be used for mulch on the site.

Oh Happy Day!

Since we have all experienced the priming task, I know my fellow Norris House comrades (and the rest of the art and architecture building for that matter) will rejoice with me in this joyous occasion. Tomorrow begins the process we have been waiting for all semester: the siding gets nailed to the furring strips and completes what we started oh so many months ago! Day after day, we have labored over saw horses and atlantic white cedar 1 by 4, 6, or 8 inch boards, inhaling fumes and getting slightly dizzy in the process. Students and teachers have gotten used to the lingering smell entering our beloved Art and Architecture building through the west doors, kind of snickering as they walk by. The construction workers next door joke with us about being painting experts. And my favorite occurrence, which has happened not once, but multiple times: I enter a room and a friend not seeing me and in all seriousness says, "What's that smell?"

Needless to say, while I actually find the priming process rather calming, I am very excited we will place that first light gray board up on the house, giving it character and making this semester come full circle.

So I bid adieu.

Farewell, my dear Cabot's Bleaching Oil! Know that you have a special place in my heart for all the laughter you have given me. I am sure we will meet again because of your life elongating qualities for wood and lovely colors.
Love,
Katharine

Give Thanks

So far things are coming along swiftly at the site despite weather setbacks. The East and South elevations are about 95% done with the furring and the insect screen has completely blanketed the Southern elevation. All that is left is to get the window blocking paired up with the supports for the steel canopies on both of these elevations. Passersby might be curious as to why we are placing screen on the elevations. This is because our siding is somewhat like vertical board and batten siding but without the battens. We hope the screens will prevent insects from nesting between the vertical planks of Atlantic White cedar.

It is exciting to see things showing progress as we attempt to complete the exterior in time before the end of the semester. Let's hope we can manage to find a break in weather this week so that our roofers and other site work can be completed before the week finishes out. Next week is Thanksgiving and of the many topics of discussion on the worksite include our hunger for the feasts that shall occur next week. This has been able to keep us striving along with that final goal of some accomplishment. Also this gives us an opportunity to give thanks for being able to work on such a project. I am thankful for this experience to work in a design/build project. I am also thankful for having such a great team of peers, professors, contractors, as well as other professionals that have contributed to the learning process this semester.

Things are beginning to take shape, and long-awaited moments are being realized.

The house officially has three installed windows! Earlier in the day, a few of the openings underwent some prep work including trimming of the exterior rigid insulation and flashing installments. By the end of the day, three windows were in place.

House Norris is also very close to being able to wear its beautiful siding for the late fall season. Some of our team members have been working very precisely on mounting the furring strips for the siding which has been in the priming process for many hours back at the architecture building.

The site has also been seeing a few new working faces. Some electrical work was done today, and the backyard portion of the site is in the process of being graded.

It is this interaction with the other non-student participants that I feel may be somewhat overlooked. The amount we learn from them is incredible, even if it's just knowing that and why they are there with us. We may not have worked with the plumbers or electricians directly, but seeing them on site for a few days reminds us that this work is also a necessary part of the building (and design) process. Those with whom we DO interact are teaching us more that we might have expected. Albert from our general contractor, Johnson and Gallion, has really surprised us with the amount of effort put into teaching us. We are grateful for his explanations and demonstrations on both the small scale (how to set up a roof angle with the speed square or putting tape on his safety glasses when not in use to protect them from being scratched) and the larger scale (how to install a door or window). Oftentimes we find ourselves in awe of these professionals' skills (like using a circular saw with just one hand!). This more practical learning, I think, is just as important and enjoyable.

One, Two buckle my shoe....

On Monday we met with Brian from Goddard and Carter to discuss a few issues that relate to the intricate cornering details of roofing on the dormer. Perhaps one of the most important details to include is where the dormer roof meets with the pitched roof of the house. We do not want any potential water penetration so these areas are what we identify as weak points within the envelope of the roof.

It might seem more appealing to have smaller, minimal edge conditions while detailing but sometimes those little details can also be the largest problem to solve. Our first issue is in preventing any water running off from the upper roof area penetrating underneath the roofing on the dormer. This requires a layering of sheet metal as well as shop drawings that prescribe custom folds and bends to form a valley to ensure proper drainage and runoff. The second issue is preventing water from penetrating behind the vertical metal siding on the sides of the dormers. We have valley flashing wrapping up behind the vertical pieces to prevent any penetration to the roof decking below. Both of these issues surmount to the third issue of where both conditions converge in the inner corner.

The pictures above display a sample mock-up of how one sheet will layer on top of the other in order to allow for proper drainage. We thank Brian for coming in to clarify with us this crucial detail as well as addressing other issues relating to detailing the roof. Communication throughout the whole design process with contractors and sub contractors is crucial in making sure that both parties are on the same table when it comes to detailing. Brian's mock-up also clarifies the sequencing of placing the roofing material as some of it acts as flashing for other parts of the dormer.

Let's hope that through these sorts of quick, yet highly informative meetings we can successfully ensure proper installation of materials on the house as well as respect our original design intents. After all isn't a major role of an architect to be a problem solver on both the micro as well as the macro scale?

rain, rain, go away.

Unfortunately the weather seems to be getting the best of team Norris. We had another day a rain today which meant that we were unable to continue with the unfinished business on site. Fortunately there was plenty of work to get done in the computer lab and in the woodshop. We also were able to tend to some general housekeeping details that have been piling up while we have been on site.

The windows and doors are coming along slowly but surely. A large group of us spend most of today in the woodshop preparing wood for the blocking and framing portions of the windows. The glass for the windows was delivered yesterday, Tuesday the 2nd, and we all look foreword to the day we can see all the pieces come together in all their beauty. One thing we are nervous about however is getting the glass panels to the site. They are quite large and heavy and, as we all know, glass is…well…glass.

Having spent the entire day in the woodshop I have discovered that although our woodshop in the art and architecture building on campus is more than adequate for most of what the students need, it can sometimes become very cramped and crowded when you are trying to build large scale objects for an actual building rather than a small scale model. I feel that if the university plans for more design-build projects in the future, an investment in a larger workspace dedicated solely to the design-build program is necessary.

While most focused on the windows and doors, a few headed to the computer lab to work on certain details of the Norris House, and to finalize the job site sign that includes the names of all our sponsors. Allie Ross, who has experience with LEED documentation, took today to organize and read over our LEED folders. She believes that she may have found an extra point that we can acquire- great news as we need as many as possible to reach our goal of LEED Platinum.
Although we were able to get a lot done today while in the art and architecture building, we hope that the weather cooperates with us on Friday so we can get out to the site and complete a few things before the weekend. The forecast calls for afternoon showers, so keep your fingers crossed that the weather will shift in our favor.
Peace.Love.Norris….

Happy November!

After a week of rain, it was back to work for Team Norris. Down at the wood shop, the better half of Team Norris was busy priming the siding and putting the last touches on the windows. Out on site, the other half of Team Norris installed insulation under the house and began the cistern enclosure. Here, the gang learned a lesson in one of the downfalls in prefabrication. The cistern was previously build by students last semester, but plans and drawings of the design have changed since them. Although we appreciate prefabrication in all of its glory, much of today was spent taking apart prefabricated panels, re-fabricating them, and then installing them correctly. Because so much time was spent redoing the panels of the cistern, we didn’t get to finish. But that’s ok because we can finish on Wednesday and it is going to look awesome, like always. In other news, the plumber and the electrician were also on site to discuss some details in their line of work. We look forward to finishing up the cistern and installing some siding and windows in the new few weeks!