I'm getting old.

So lately there has been a great deal of complaining about people not showing up on time or even at all. All I ask is that people show up when they say they will and stay for a decent amount of time (this means actually getting something done). I understand that sometimes things come up and you just can't get out of them...I know...I have to take stupid quizzes on the computer in GTM and I have to make a reservation outside classtime in order to take it...STUPID! Just call someone who's supposed to be there and let them know.

Taping and floating took a bit longer than I had hoped. I think I went through the house like 4 times with different people and a light to check for spots that were missed. After the 4th go-round, I was pretty confident that the mudding was done. Well, some people disagreed. Let's just say that I think more mud was put on the walls than was necessary, but oh well. Now, we have primed the entire private side of the house, and I'm pleased to say that priming went fast. We also did 2 coats of stain on the concrete. It looks psychadelic at the moment.

The retaining wall was also started. This was pretty exciting. Tonight, we are to buy some more concrete blocks to complete the wall. I hope it looks good in the end.

...I want to pass out now...

Which do you choose?

So sheetrock has started on the house. I got to float yesterday. It's messing, yet peaceful. I do not like hanging sheetrock though...all the cutting and holding and screwing...i hate it. Another thing that I hate is colors. Why can't we all the pick 1 color and love it? That would be too easy. And with colors that are supposedly voted out, how do they keep coming back? There's gotta be some undermining here. And what does it mean when the teachers don't like the colors that you are choosing from? Do we listen to them? Does it matter what teachers who don't even have anything to do with this class think?

Even though progress is fairly steady, decisions are getting harder and harder to make. For me, I'm noticing that some people don't really listen to things I have to say. I try to complete things with the least amount of error; try to do things the easy and efficient way. But sometimes, I guess, the harder way is just the way to do it. I don't know.

...I think we will finish.

1 month ago we had a floor...

WOW, it has been a while!

This month has been great. So many things have happened. The shingled roof is done, all the flashing was installed, windows were installed, house wrap is done... One month ago, we had a floor. Now, we have practically a complete house (just not able to lock it yet).

Personalities in the group have been very good this month. Just about no fights; some arguements, but that's normal. Decisions are becoming less vague and more specific as we try to pick colors, fixtures, and materials.

Let's cross our fingers that we keep up the good work and make April another fantastic month. May is just around the corner.

habiTECH takes their first steps toward a built house

A few things have happened over the past week...
1. I left for Tyler, TX on February 26 and had an interview the next morning with an architecture firm. The interview went great and I was offered a job!
2. I visited Dad and Micheal back home for what looks to be the last break away from school before graduation. Mom and Courtney were in Ithaca, NY for Courtney's audition...hope it went well.

This last break was spent going on interviews and spending some short time with family for everyone in the class. It was a nice rest before the SIPs came in.


NOW...this brings us to the SIPs...

They arrived last Friday. On Saturday, we were fortunate to have the wonderful help of some athletes. They were amazing! They practically built half of our house. They just took control of their jobs, and proved to be some of the best volunteers. I hope they come back some day...hopefully we didn't wear them out too much. Today, we had some of Martin's frat brothers. They too were great volunteers, but their was only 3 of them.

We finished putting up all the walls and got our first roof panel on. This is not going to be easy. The roof panels are extremely heavy and we have to raise them 14 feet in the air.

In the end, I think that this weekend was the best weekend for the class so far. We got so much accomplished and we all worked really hard. I have to give credit to everyone. Here's my shout to Morgan for her organizing the weekend. I know that it was difficult for her having everyone asking her questions every 5 minutes and having to keep composure. She did a great job...but she's not done yet.

Let's keep up the good work guys!


...hmm...time to read for history class tomorrow...

Bitter brawl lends to promising future.

I'm starting to get lazy with my blog posts...this isn't good.

Friction hit the classroom hard at 7 pm last night. Voices were raised, tension filled the room, and the 3rd years got a bit of a show. When the hostility was brought upstairs, things were different. It was as if we never had a fight. Issues were discussed calmly. Resolutions were proposed. Things got done!

I DO NOT want another one of these incidents to happen again. It was embarrassing. I know that we are never all going to agree on things every time, but we can't just hold in our problems until the day that we can't hold it in anymore and we lash out onto everyone else. Maybe this fight was necessary. We have seen how bad things can get between us, and now we must work hard to make sure that it never gets that bad again.

On a happy note...we finished the sub floor of the house on the piers side. There, like always, was a bit of confusion, and we had to redo some parts of it. But we fnished it this morning... Actually, as I'm typing this, about 4 students are out at the site working to finish it. We have found that 4-5 is the perfect number to have working on a job. It's enough to get the job done and there's no one standing around and no one getting in the way.

Porches are next...and that's me! Wish me luck!

Why can't we make up our minds?...Stubborn kids!

This week has been one slow week. There's really nothing going on on the site because we are waiting for the SIPs to come in, which will take about 3 weeks. We are spending the time designing more. This is good because once we get what the two porches will look like, then we can start constructing them. I've been working on the front porch and the roof that covers it. I pretty much got the roof down, we just need to make a decision between notching into the SIPs panels or fabricating brackets for the beam to nailed to or buying hangers of some sort. The porch part is a bit more complicated. The choices are clear...level the ground in front and put in pavers, or dig out the ground in front and put in a deck. The first choice would require a retaining wall, which can be as simple as railroad ties that can be found almost anywhere. The pavers would be cheap to buy. We would also design some sort of built-in seating because we would be taking away the comfort of a deck. The second choice would look more polished, but it would cost more and perhaps take more effort with digging out the yard. I really think that the class as a whole needs to make a decision fast, and then more investigation could be given to the details. Both options are possible. I feel like I'm just sitting here repeating myself. There's not much more I can show without designing the thing myself, and I hesitate to do that because I don't want the class to feel limited with design. I know that's hard to explain, but it makes sense in my head.

The bottom line is...the class needs to start making some decisions, and fast. This next weekend, we are installing the sub-floor for the pier system. I'm not sure how long that will take. Knowing us, it may take a week because we'll probably do something wrong and have to redo the whole thing. Now I pray that doesn't happen, and we are getting better at construction. It's all a learning experience. At least this time, we have some students with experience in building sub-floors.

Another issue going on is the budget for the project. Janina and I are working to keep the budget organized. Habitat for Humanity seems to think that we don't get donations from anyone, that we're not "pulling our weight." But this is not true. We have gotten SOOO much money from donations. We've also gotten a lot of materials and labor donated. Fundraisers will most likely be happening soon though. We are in the process of designing T-shirts, and we hope that they will be a hit and maybe we can sell them to whomever wants one...like they did last year. Maybe we should revert back to what we were researching in the Fall Quarter about fundraiser ideas?

We'll see how things turn out. Let's hope for the best!

...hmm? I wonder where everyone went...

The Little Bumps and Bruises Along the Way

It's been about a week since I last posted. The Mardi Gras break was last weekend and at the last minute, I left for 2 days. The vacation was not all that great. I got to see my family for a day, but I ended up being left there and spent a whole lot more time than I wanted to. I had some fun, but I would much rather have stayed in Ruston and worked on the site. The guys that were here did a great job on the piers and starting the rebar. Those of us who left jumped right in on putting rebar into the grades that we dug the week before. I have spent too much time on my stomach leaning into the grades to tie the rebar that my stomach really hurts now. My eyes are starting to hurt from constant glare and sunlight. I only wish that I could be getting a tan, but unfortunately it's still too cold for me to where short sleeves. Today, I got myself scratched by a nail poking out of a board.

Accidents have been happening on site a lot this past week. Poor Ashley broke her ribs after slipping and falling part way into a grade before the break. Shannon has a toe problem...(I don't know.) Morgan slipped just today. But all these bumps and bruises will not keep us from working on the house. Ashley is back with us (grabbing at her torso every now and then) but she had a smile on her face today. My face was covered in mud from working in the dirt. I dug a hole that was 3/4 the size of me. The inspectors joked that I was digging Dale Nugent's grave. I love Dale! He's amazing, and he's gonna get a great big dinner from all of us for all of the hard work he's put into this house...and all the times he's saved our butts!

...My eyes hurt...I'm done for the day.