ecoREHAB

week 4

All good things must come to an end... or so they say.

This week seemed mundane in comparison to last. It consisted of many monotonous and tedious activities. A series of rafters cut at exactly the same angle, with the exact same lines, repeated over, and over, and over, and over consumed Monday as well as part of Tuesday. The rest of the week was "blocked off," so to speak.

Monday we began with figuring out roof details. We (consisting of the students & homeowner) wanted something angular. Many rafter tails consist of some sort of rounded edge, but the way this building is shaped and the way the forms fit together, it didn't call for anything like that. Once we discovered the detail that worked best for us, we had to figure in how it worked in relation to the angle of the walls and angle in relation to the ground.  Thank God Buddy was there to simplify it. We over calculated and over thought it, as is the norm.

Common sense and ingenuity goes a long way. 


With all the rafter tails cut, placing them was an entirely new animal. Buddy, again, was there to put his experience to work and made the job much easier.  As the rafters were placed, the final two walls were assembled in place. 


Multiple times this week & throughout the process, I've had the pleasure of working with Matt in discussing woodworking details that will hopefully happen in the future. After we return from South America, I will be returning and helping him with column, cabinet, and storage details, as well as custom light fixtures. Wednesday after class, Michael and I went over to the shop and Matt  taught us how to create a window from scratch. It turned out really well (and level)!


The rest of the week, was as I mentioned, blocked off. Putting blocking in for these angles was SO MUCH FUN (insert angry face here). Funny how things don't turn out exactly 22" O.C. as they did when you put them in the computer.  However, I did learn a lot from this process. What TO do, what NOT TO do, potential problems, and how to avoid them in the future. That's a lot of what this class has taught me.


Last day of class, unfortunately, many materials were not delivered. We did not get to finish as much as we wanted to. However, an invitation was extended to us to come back and work on it whenever we wish. After investing this much in the project, that is definitely something I'd like to do. It will be great to see something, at this scale, through from beginning to end. As I mentioned earlier, this class has taught me a lot about what to do, what not to do, and how to apply even more common sense to all projects in my future.




(photos to be posted soon!)