Day 18 – I started today by working on the redwood flooring on the south side of the building.  By using the speed square/skill saw technique I was able to clean up all the red wood edges quickly.  Lyle and I then proceeded to work on the installation of the decking.  At first I thought Lyle’s method was insane and slow, but so often do I eat my words.  It ended up saving a lot material that we could use later on other potential parts of the house.

The kneepads I found oddly in my car work out great for this type of job.  I was able slide around and work productively.  With the knee pads one could do epic power slides around the building.

Goal: All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, have a bit of fun from time to time

Day 17

Siding is FINISHED!!!!  We were able to finish the exterior siding today.  First Melissa and I worked on the North side finishing the small amount on the west corner.  Then Dusty Nic and I powered through the East side.

I was the cut man using a speed square and skill saw to make straight edges.  Chris A taught us this cool trick.  Dusty was the left measurer and Nic would draw the angle for the peel away.  I was really proud of how our crew hammered out this late night project.

Goal: Develop your own systems

Days 13 – 14

The interior siding has been a ton of fun.  First we got to drive out to a cabinet shop to use a time saver.  We did the work that the sanders took 3 days to do in about 3 hours.  I probably in hailed a little too much sawdust.  Otherwise the siding went fast.

For this job we had to use a fair amount of ladders to reach the higher sections.  The only tools we needed were a chop saw, tape measure, pencil, finish nail gun and from time to time a little steel persuasion (Hammer).

Goal: Know what you are supposed to do instead of being told what to do

Days 11 – 12 the South siding went great, we were really productive and praised at the results.  Now the West side did not go so well.  Yes, it started well and dandy with Luke, Dusty and myself.  We were able to plan how we wanted it to work and ended up making a cool detail we call the zipper on the NW side of the building.

As we continued up the wall we ran into a problem.  The crew got larger and new ideas were applied then misapplied then applied.  In other words we needed to slow down and figure out the next plan of attack instead of making it up as we go.

In other news my tool belt sort of exploded.  As it turns out the placement of the crowbar slowly tore away at the securing straps.  Lucky for me I have been doing a lot of siding and finish work were all we really need is a tape measure, pencil, speed square (optional) and a finish nail gun.

When everything was said and done the West wall looked great and I am glad people do not have to see the small amounts of frustration that went into it.

Goal: Try and keep the same crew through the duration of a job

Day 10 – The ROOF. . . . It was disgusting how much I sweated on top of the roof doing the sheeting.  I think it was the combination of the south side, inside another building with ceiling ventilators and my questionable fear of edges.

Having water that was the key to working on the roof.  Also Chris and I jerry rigged a way to keep our drivers from falling on our classmates.  We used handle straps that are located on our tool belts to attach the drivers to our self.

Goal: Drink lots of water when working in high places

Day 9 – Andrew and I have been up on the double scaffolding installing the TJI rafters.  As Andrew says we have to do the harness dance (Insert funny music).  Wearing the harness will slow you down quite a bit, however it will offer a little safety.  If you watch Camera A on Day 9 you can see us doing the YMCA.

For tools the addition of a block of wood helped to form the metal bracketing that we mounted on the LVL.

Goal: Do not fall when high up on scaffolding

Day 8 – I have been cutting to long. . . It kind of sucks when the wall some how gets bigger while I am cutting. . .

Goal: Have beer at home, just in case

Day 6 – 7

The common theme on the job site is working yourself out of the job.  We always are joking about it until we cannot work anymore.

I started framing out the west window, once that was complete I was out of the job.  Moving over to interior sheeting allowed me to have days of productive work.  However The use of my tool belt was limited.  On day 7 I didn’t even wear it because I was the cut man.  Personally I have never like the skill saw, I thought it to be imprecise and wild.  After a day and a half on the skill saw, I loved it.  When done right the saw is quick and effective.

Goal: Make sure hearing protection is available if cutting for long amounts of time

Day 5

We are now switching to framing work on the east and west wall.  The newest addition to my tool belt was the framing plans.  Since there were only two sets on side, it was always tiring trying to locate them.  So I printed my own.  We have found a great location for our crowbars.  Located on the right side of my belt.  You can see that I have a large amount of nails in my right pocket.  This was a case of just picking up the nail gun trying my best.  Now I can say I am pretty comfortable with one, considering my limited use.

When we raised the north wall, it gets really heavy if you have the highest handgrip.

Goal: Get better adjusted to tools I have had limited use of, namely: skill saw, finish nail gun and saws-all

Day 4 –

Today involved finishing the large column work on the south, east and west sides.  The large 36-watt driver was a force to recon with.  It imposed its will upon any screw that got in its way, however it was rather heavy.  It was the only tool that could sink the 6-inch screws into the columns.  We started attaching the headers after the columns were lined up and true.  For the header work I switched to a smaller impact driver.  This little driver did wonders even though I never sounded very nice.

Goal: step up for a job where ever and when ever I can

Confucius wrote: “Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.” 

Progression through experience, already changes are being made on my belt. The hammer as you can see has been moved to the right side of the belt so that it is more easily accessed.  I have added a water bottle that can be easily used because the day has been getting progressively hotter.  The spilt pockets on the left side have been over flowing with screws.  Lastly I have my drill gun hanging on the left side.  This does add extra weight but in order to be working you need every tool that can get the job done.

Day 1 started by doing some less then fashionable jobs, so I am changing that.

Goal 2:  Stock my belt so that I may step in and do any job available. 

DAY 1

Lao Tsu 
said ”A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”

My journey as an architect started when I walked into my first design studio.  However, I have not truly begun to walk until I picked up the tools of construction.

As stated before I will be discussing the changes and evolution of my tool belt.

This is the start of day 1, stock and clean.  Thank god I am not on a real construction site cause they would tear into me.

Goal 1: break in the belt.