Finished with one on to the other...

All the block are laid, the drainage is installed, and the back fill is in progress. After an exhausting couple of days of digging out clay the long, snake lie pipes are resting in a gravel bed. We had to slope the drains at an 1/8":12" (about 1% slope). This proved to be a fun challenge for the trenching. We had to dig far enough down at the front of the house in order to get the top of the drain far enough down to be effective against a rising water table. If the water table get to high and freezes it can actually uplift the foundation. Those drains are a very important part of this house. Chris led a team that applied the glue, water protection, and protection board to the house and retaining wall. The retaining wall needs the water protection mostly to reduce efflorescents on the interior of the wall.
In other news the plumber and electrician should be on site early next week, and we should be getting the eaves attached and the skylight framing up for the roofer to do his magic. Once the plummer gets the pipes in we can get the cistern slab poured and start our framing on that. The grader will be out soon to get the back of the site in order. All in all, the house is coming together and hopefully we can see a final product within the next couple of months.

Dropping the house

Thanks to our fine friends at Clayton, the house has officially dropped. To this point, it had been precariously supported by a combination of temporary CMU spacers and a steel substructure, hovering approximately 16 inches above the sill plate of the foundation walls. This rather unique construction process allowed the masonry team ample room to lay the second half of the foundation and the interior piers once the two modules had been delivered.

The actual "dropping" of the house was more of an oscillating settling than a sudden fall, thanks to the coordination of the Clayton team underneath the house. Three installation experts used a set of 6 hydraulic jacks, 3 at the North end and 3 at the South end, to "see-saw" the entire structure down to the sill plate, approximately 4 inches at a time. While it was great to see the house finally settle onto our laboriously constructed foundations, I would be remiss if I didn't admit an overriding sentiment of trepidation concerning the ultimate fate of the CMU walls underneath the full weight of the house. Fortunately, everything seems to be holding!

This process of prefabrication and coordinated delivery has resulted in some interesting conversations about the potential for this particular method of construction. While I won't get into the many trajectories we've discussed, one pertinent issue that we've all had to grapple with is the scale of coordination within this project. In typical construction, various phases are more flexible in the overall timeline of the project, yet in the New Norris House we are constantly investigating logistical issues of phasing in order to ensure that every bolt, block, and beam are delivered and installed in an efficient order that (1) won't bog down the construction schedule (2) won't clutter the site with an "on-deck circle" of prefabricated components waiting to be installed and (3) takes advantage of the rapidity of assembly to ensure an exacting standard of quality that is hopefully reflected in the final efficiency of the home.

Ready, Set, GO!

Well the last few weeks have definitely been a race to get the foundation ready for the big delivery as well as preparing the dormer for attachement. With both those accomplished last week and this week we are now moving on to bigger things.On site, the foundation and piers are now nearing completion with intentions of pouring the bond beam on the rest of the foundation tomorrow morning. This includes finishing up pouring the Perlite as the foundation insulation and getting things ready for the house drop next week!

Back at headquarters, Jimmy has been working on the window frames and tackling the monster of a frame that shall eventually flood northern light into the lofted area. Meanwhile, Katharine and myself have been putting together a temporary door for extra security until we get the final doors built. (You'll just have to wait and see what surprise is in store with this temporary door.) Arya and Michele broke in the new StopSaw working on the furring strips for the gabled ends of the house, though no one seems to want to test out the brakes on the system-I wouldn't blame them either. Plus the four of us have been continually working on priming more and more siding for the house. As Patrick noted, the feat of installing the siding is going to be just as time consuming, but the end results will be worth it.

With fall break encroaching on us tomorrow and Friday we all are assuring ourselves that our efforts will not go unnoticed while we are gone. I am sure we all will be rejuvenated and ready to kick it into high gear for the race to the end of the semester.

Ready.. Set..

Today was the last day of preparation before THE BIG DAY OF HOUSE DELIVERY (Clayton will be delivering the house on Thursday).

The dormer team has done it! After a lot of hard work and endurance through some small glitches in the system, the dormer is complete and ready for transplantation. Tomorrow evening, this group of fine craftsmen/women will deliver their masterpiece to its new resting place in Norris.

The masonry team has also arrived at its goal. 2 1/2 walls have been laid, and today the bond beam was reinforced and poured. Highlight of our day: because of our efficiency, we had some time before the concrete truck arrived, so we took the opportunity to visit the nearby Norris Dam. The weather was great, and the dam and its natural surroundings are incredibly beautiful! Everyone should go see it! In the visitors center, Andy Pittman and I had the opportunity to talk with a very nice lady that worked there. Turns out, she and her husband live in the Town of Norris, and he served as Mayor for several years. It was clear that they really love the way of life there when she told us that "Norris really is the best kept secret in all America!" We were also happy to hear that she and her husband are looking forward to coming to see the house.

Once the house is delivered to the site, our work continues. Next steps: the other two foundation walls will be laid, and the dormer will be placed onto the roof. I think we're all really looking forward to see all of this coming together.

Week Six in Review

What a week it's been. At the A+A, Monday and Wednesday consisted of cutting down the stationary windows' Atlantic white cedar to size, sheathing the dormer walls, and mastering the bolt connections for the dormer. Wednesday's excitement included the first [and second] window assembly after the corner dado/rebate joints were cut [pictures and videos to come]. Also, the dormer team's diligent efforts brought them close to completion, and Friday morning Arya, Michelle, and Patrick made final preparations for its site delivery next week.

Believe it or not, even despite all of the mile markers passed at the A+A the most progress this week was made on site. Thursday and Friday blended together, consisting of a stellar performance by the masonry crew in laying two walls in two days, and exemplary brawn by the rest of the class in moving blocks, mortar, gravel, and pouring perlite CMU insulation. It was a physical workout for sure, though shown by Allie-Ross and Katharine's new 'gravel shoveling ab workout routine', everyone made the best of it.

Thursday morning at 7:45 AM, we started with four wall footings and three pallets of cinder blocks. By 4:45 PM Friday, the foundation of a house was more than 50% completed. It was fitting that we finished the day with the whole team on site. Though it was easy to become distracted by each of our individual tasks, upon stepping back and looking at the class working as a whole, it became apparent that bigger things than construction were happening in Norris. Our class has become quite the well-oiled machine.

In a short amount of time, large amounts of preparation and anticipation [weeks for some and years for others] have come to culmination. In just a matter of days, the house will be on site, foundation work will conclude, and the house will drop. This is an incredibly exciting time for the Norris class. But to quote the 'Carpenters' duo, "We've Only Just Begun."

The night before the dawn

Today was the last day of preparation. The dormer is going together with a great effort from the other part of the class, and the foundation team is ready for action. Tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. we are leaving for Norris (143 Oak Rd) to begin laying the first two foundation walls. The North and West walls (above picture of excavation) are to be layed first to allow for the truck to bring in the house. Therefore, Thursday and Friday will be crunch time for the masons of the class. The good part is that the rest of the class will be helping as "laborers" which basically means keeping the masonry kids from getting behind. Hopefully we will be able to finish and have the house delivered with no quarrels. If we can stay on schedule, the latter part of the foundation walls should be able to go up realatively quickly and the house will be set down and attached.
Finally, this project is a reality!

The Mason's Challenge

The rain over the weekend presented some unique obstacles for the rough grading of the site, pushing back the schedule a few days. While the masonry team eagerly awaits our debut laying block in Norris, we have continued training under the close supervision of JC Neumann sharpening our skills day after day. We have come a long way since our first day, struggling to spread mortar using a trowel which fit awkwardly in our hands as some foreign object. As time passed, the trowel became as an extension of our bodies, spreading mortar quickly and evenly.

Day after day, we build up a new wall and dismantle it, improving its aesthetics each and every time. While we gained confidence in the appearance of our work, Mr. Neumann had another lesson in mind for us today. The delays in the schedule have put us in a tight spot, crunching the time that the masonry group has to lay up the first two walls of the foundation. In order to help improve our speed, Mr. Neumann presented us with this challenge: He would single handedly lay one course of block in the same amount of time that it took all six of us students to lay the same amount of block. We quickly accepted the challenge.
The clock began ticking as we feverishly began laying block after block, making sure that it was plumb and true, cutting the mortar, and continuing to the next block. As we laid the closer block, Mr. Neumann announced our time: 15 minutes - shaving ten minutes off of our normal speed. Mr. Neumann realized that he had his work cut out for him in order to beat our time. He, however, had 50 years of masonry experience on his side that made him ready for the challenge. As he started, all of us students simply watched in utter amazement as each block that he laid seemed to magically just fall into place with no effort. Even his glasses were slowing him down, so he laid them aside - going completely by touch. His final time was 16 minutes and 38 seconds. We were astonished that he could lay almost the same amount of block by himself as we did with six people. He taught us a very valuable lesson in speed and it will be put to the test this Thursday (9/23), as we begin to lay the foundation.

Save the Mortar!

Excavation of the site starts tomorrow, and the masonry team will be ready to begin laying the foundation next week. The team includes Maxi, Derek, Andy, Chris, Matt, and myself. Over the past few weeks we have been practicing laying CMU block walls at the Lincoln Park Trade School, under the teachings of JC Neumann. The first few days were hard, knowing it would be our responsibility to build something that supports an entire house. As each week has passed, our masonry abilities have improved and the reality of building a house has set in. Luckily Mr. Neumann will be on site with us to make sure all our walls are true and plumb.

It has been difficult working outside the building, as so much has been happening with the other teams. It will be good when the house arrives and we will all be working on the site in unison. There will be a lot of mixing of groups to help out and make sure everything gets finished on time. It will be nice to be able to participate in all aspects of the house, rather than just the foundation. Time is of the essence, and it will be important to budget it wisely (including a time between 2-4 for Sonic’s happy hour!).