building a wall

work has progressed slowly which i actually benefit from because i've been able to be part of every step along the way

but the wall raising date was set months ago, july 19th

so we were determined to at least have a wall ready to be raised for the publicity event

with the floor decking only 3/4 of the way done, we started framing the north wall. work progressed smoothly and quickly and by the end of the day we had framed and sheathed the north wall in oriented strand board!

decking not quite finished

framing studs laid out

finished wall - ready to have window and door openings cut out

looks like we're back on schedule!

i'll be missing out on the wall raising event but i'll be back next friday to see what is to be done next!


last week when i showed up, half of the decking for the foundation had been laid and things looked like they were moving smoothly, but our lead had us pull up all of the decking instead of putting on the finishing pieces. pulling out work moves much faster than the actual work so once we were back to the basic foundation, work moved much slower in reinstalling the decking. we used 1 1/4" tongue and groove oriented strand board with a thick glue and 8 penny nails, or maybe they were 16 penny nails. we only laid maybe six 4' x 8' boards in the day. some extra work was needed to make some of the boards make the more than 96" stretch on a few beams, yes the foundation is that bad with pockets limiting our adjustment capabilities.


to build the walls we used 2" x 6" studs every 16" and then used king and trimmer stud pairs for framing the windows and door. the trimmers support the headers and then the cripples support the window sills. The base and top of the wall were made of 2" x 6", using three to span the length, so six all together. Then the top of the wall was covered in another 2" x 6", i wasn't part of this process so i'm not all too sure about it's name, dimensions, or purpose. I helped make our corner a "california corner" for energy efficiency so that there would be no uninsulated gaps, but there wasn't enough space to use a 2" x 6" or barely a 2" x 4" so i suggested just slipping a 2" by 6" next to (parallel) to the end stud, and Shelly (the lead) liked my idea. we covered the stud wall with oriented strand board again, this time with a cut dimension of 100 1/2" x 48". the length was determined by the height of the studs (96" - 1/2") plus the thickness of the base and top plates (4" - 1/2" - 1/2" = 3") plus the extra top plate (2" - 1/2" = 1 1/2") plus the thickness of our sill plate (1 1/2") on the foundation and the floor decking (1 1/4") plus 1/2" of overhang. and then we used 8 penny nails to put it together. i think i covered it all but i might be missing some details.

it's been hot

and i've been thinking . . .

how have civilizations stayed cool before the air conditioner or fans for that matter?
(all i have are fans - you leave all the windows open all night to let the cool breeze in and before 10 am you close all the windows and shades to keep cool and then when the cool evening breeze starts, you open all the windows and get the fans blowing the cool air in)

well, i remember hearing about ancient arab cooling chimneys, keeping interiors cool in 120 degree F summers. and this is what i found out:
these tall chimney like structures are called wind catchers or wind towers and the basic principle is that they capture the prevailing breeze above the house and since cool air is denser than warm, it subsequently falls in the chimney which is then ventilated to the house. this kept interiors cool, paired with thick walls enhancing the trombe wall effect.

there are many variations of the design, one being a solar chimney, that fit a specific microclimate's needs
i got really excited about incorporating wind towers

and then i found this project - man oh man, someone beat me to it, not just with the wind tower but the whole layout and concept - oh well . . . but the 99k house is really cool and hopefully it's being built

and then i was thinking well, how come you don't harness the convective energy with localized windmills? i surely will

hey! someone's thought of that already too and i thought this ancient technology had fallen off the grid, almost

solar updraft tower

it's just nice to know that there is a movement out there, no matter how small it is now, i know it will be obvious in the near future

i'm building a house!

with habit for humanity that is

i've joined the "women build" and worked on day 1 and 2

the concrete foundation was poured and we set the sill plates and got half way done with laying the beams and posts on a perimeter wall foundation. work takes much longer than a typical build because none of us know all the shortcuts and tricks that an experienced builder would. so we learn by trial and error and figure out our own tricks.

what's all the hype about ipe

ok, i'll tell you

Ipe is a Brazilian hardwood, Tabebuia serratifoli, found throughout tropical america. It stands as one of the tallest trees in a rain forest. It is a hard wood, similar to Teak but much cheaper. It is such a hard wood that it will blunt cutting tools and has to be pre-drilled before nailing. It's heartwood is extremely resistant to attack from termites and decay fungi and highly fire resistant. The Forest Service recommends use for railroad ties, heavy construction and tool handles to name a few.

The recent attraction to Ipe has sprouted from it's natural resistance to rot and termites. The hardwood does not need to be treated with chemicals to withstand years of use; in fact it is extremely difficult to even treat. So many builders, architects, and officials claim Ipe to be the "green" choice, for it's lack of chemical treatment and it's natural ability to withstand decay. Even my beloved, Michelle Kaufman, uses it as a green choice.

So I'm here to remind everyone, there should be no hype about Ipe, no new exciting sustainable wood product with revolutionary properties. The tall tree shouldn't even have a market with the current climate changing realizations. But it does.

One reason is that some Ipe attainable has been harvested sustainably through the guidelines set forth from International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). This may be rightfully minded but when the demand for Ipe is set and roads are cleared which in turn opens up new access for all other sorts of deforestation enterprises, such as cattle ranching, mining and agricultural plantations. It is estimated that 80% of hardwood coming out of the rain forests are illegally obtained!

I think we all know the basic losses associated with rain forest deforestation but basically the CO2 loving rain forests are being replaced with CO2 producing enterprises, at the current rate, deforestation will be the leading contributer of climate change in the next three years (http://www.alternet.org/environment/64562/).

So let's make a stand and end the fascination with Ipe.

little bear

i finished this bear yesterday, taking a total of about 8 hours
he's made of felted wool sweater and other thrifted fabric

i think i've figured out the head combo (shape, eyes, nose)

when making a toy with no pattern there is a lot of trial and error;
hopefully my next project will be much faster

miss soie

have you ever just browsed the "next blog"?
well, i think i just stumbled on an amazing artist
maybe because her art simultaneously reminds me of my sister, egon schiele, and noystoise's artwork

take a look ->
miss soie de porc

alice

alice baldwin recently relocated to portland from tempe, az to find her career in graphic design. maybe it's my obsession with maps but i love this slope design of hers. she has a great eye for design and it's been fun sharing our critiques with each other. and i'm not the only one who appreciates her design, she just landed a twelve-week internship with weiden + kennedy