rocks, rocks, and more rocks

4/18
We put in the gravel today for all the gravel going under our slab. We dumped all the gravel into the hole using the skid-loader, and then used shovels to move the gravel to the right areas. We then used the rake to get it the same depth in all the areas. We are a bit short on the gravel, and so are going to order more for our drainage and the rest of the gravel under the slab. We also built the form-work for the slab, and put it into place. we have a gap around our building due to the slope of the ground, that we can put our drainpipe in as soon as the concrete is poured. To make the form-work level we pickaxed the area where it sat till each piece could be  level with the ground. Our soil is very rocky, as it is close to the fox river. This causes us to hit a rock every 2 inches or so, each time we need to dig. By the end of it, we are so tired of hitting the rocks we throw them out of the hole, with hopes they are the last one.

HVAC meeting

4/17

We met with Prof. Aanand today to get some alternative possibilities for how our HVAC system is going to work. We are still looking for a geothermal option, but we might be moving to a residential heating and cooling system. We are looking for donations to help with this expense as the units themselves cost alot.

Rained out

4/16

The rain over the weekend made our site too muddy to work today. Instead we took down our walls that are in the shop, and prepared them for transport. We won't be moving the walls till after all the concrete is poured.

A busy week - releasing

4/14

We took off the formwork and finished making the formwork for the next pour. Just in time for the rain that is scheduled for the weekend.

A busy week - rocks and concrete

4/13

We brought our formwork on site today. We won't need it for a bit, but it will be helpful to move it now. We got our gravel delivered today, we will be using it early next week. We used bags of concrete mix to mix and pour our own concrete for the footing. We used roughly 70 bags or concrete just for our 4x8 footing. We set up the rebar pre-pour, and had lots of fun pouring our own concrete. We learned how much concrete is really needed for and area, and why it makes more sense to get a concrete mixing truck.

A busy week - formwork

4/12

We built the formwork for the footing that is underneath the posts. We also leveled the ground underneath the formwork so it would be secure in the ground for when we pours the concrete.

Just the boys

4/11

Only the boys went out today. They set up the lines to mark the center of the building and put up stakes. They also dug up the ground to make our pit all the same height. It is interesting to hang strings with rocks to keep the line tight.

A busy week- excavation

4/10

We started the excavation again,. This time it took us only one day to dig the entire pit for our building. We even got our drainage hole dug as well. We had lots of fun driving the machines to move dirt around.

Thank You is Coming You're Way...

Thank you to everyone who has helped us

Everybody on site

4/6/2012

We all woke up early and went to the site to stake out the new site as well as visit the Farnsworth House during the construction. The window is getting replaced, so we took our semester group photo on the back side of the house.

Breaking Ground

4/4/2012

We broke ground today. We removed the topsoil and started digging today. We all had fun learning to drive and use a skid-loader to remove dirt. We dug up the last pipe from the lumenhaus. We also learned where the septic system is on site, and moved our building to avoid it. We dug up the area in order to find it, and learned that though there are drawings sometimes just digging till you find it is easier than attempting to map a sketch.

Party

4/4/2012

We had a party for all the big donors of the project. We had a great turn out and amazing food that was made by Matt's dad. This also marked the start of breaking ground. We had fun eating inside our barn and showing off the formwork and model to people.