noelleprice (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} noelleprice) wrote,@ 2006-08-08 16:23:00 |
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Building a House the East St. Tammany Way: Formwork
So, I am actually here for a reason. I mean, the fact that I am having a great time here is, I am sure, blatantly obvious... but I feel I should probably spend an entry or two here and there on what I spend most of my time doing. Actually, what I REALLY spend most of my time doing is sweating like a boar on a spit. Yesterday, I achieved a new milestone. We have these magnetic name tags... three circular magnets hold the front plate to the back plate. If you really truly sweat enough early enough in the day and then continue to stay sweat-soaked all day, the magnets rust right through your shirt, leaving three little dark orange-y brown circles. The Josh half of Nash pretty much gets the marks every day... but despite already having broken my previous personal perspiration record at least three days out of five each week, yesterday was my first time to actually achieve rust marks. So proud...
Anyway, back to my point - yes, I had one, and this is it. I'm thinking some of you may be interested in what our house-building process is here from beginning to end, so from time to time I will give little snapshots of each phase. Since the "one year, 100 houses" goal just got started a month ago, most of our houses are in the beginning phases, so in this installment I will discuss the forms we use to prepare for the pouring of concrete for footings. My descriptions will be intentionally broad and basic, so don't bail out on me here just because you don't yet know anything about construction. On the other hand, if such things bore you to tears and you don't actually _want_ to know... feel free to proceed to the next journal entry down, which concerns the more salient topic of "The Daiquiri". If, on the other hand, you find this kind of stuff fascinating and are full of detail-oriented questions, feel free to email me and ask away.
Okay, first - a little background. Habitat acquires site and permits. Site is cleared and levelled, and a pit a foot and a half or so deep is dug with a Bobcat in the approximate shape and location of the footprint of the house. The exact footprint is laid out using 2x4's referred to as "batter boards" which are attached to stakes and stabilized with braces, between which are strung strings to mark out the edges of the footing. A footing is basically a network of concrete-filled channels that form the structural support for the blocking and sills, and from there, the subfloor, walls, and on up to the roof. "Forms" are a system of braced plywood and stakes that form the channel into which the concrete will be poured. These need to be accurately placed, reasonably plumb, and the appropriate distance apart from eachother, as well as being very sturdily staked in so that the considerable weight of the concrete will not blow them out when it is poured 18 inches deep.
Here's a sketch of the process (as always, click to enlarge):
In this picture, San Francisco volunteer Susan carries the top and bottom pieces of a form that has been marked for cross-pieces (kind of like studs in a wall) The nails that will attach the cross pieces have already been started.
Here I am, looking less than industrious while in the process of nailing together a form unit. Also pictured are Lauren, our AmeriCorps form leader, and the Nate half of Nash (from behind). In the background are NY volunteer Jomari and AmeriCorp members John and Justin. (Figuring prominently in the foreground are my toolbelt and half my hat.) Once the unit is nailed together, a plywood piece that has been cut to size will be nailed onto one face, squaring the unit up in the process.
NY volunteer Matt drives a stake while Lauren ducks out of the way, holding the stake in place with two hammer claws. Lauren's no dummy. =)
Much checking and re-checking is required to ensure that forms are placed accurately. Here Lauren is joined in this effort by volunteers Kit, Julie, and Jomari. Once the bottoms of the forms are set in place and nailed to the stakes, the tops are plumbed up (made adequately vertical) by attaching one end of another board to the top of the form, called a "kicker", which is then used to push or pull the top of the form, and then nailed at its other end to a second stake. It takes a whole team to ensure that the placement stays correct throughout the staking and nailing process.
Here's what the finished form looks like for one of our typical floorplans. Next, the required re-bar and hurricane clips will be placed, and a screed strip nailed inside the form to guide us in finishing the concrete once it is poured. Once the concrete is cured, the stakes, braces, and form units will be removed for use on the next house. The dirt will be backfilled.. and then, congratulations! We've reached ground level!
So, in summary, forms are cool. And did I mention, you get to swing a big sledgehammer?
NY volunteer Beth is clearly a fan thereof, while CA volunteer Jan seems mildly concerned by the fiendish gleam in her eye...
Thanks to the entire LaCombe crew of August Week One. You guys were truly amazing. Thanks for unwittingly becoming the models for my little web workshop on forms. =)
Of course, all work and no play is pretty much unAmerican, so here's one last picture. Volunteer Joe cut about 200 small lengths of 2x4 for use as the crosspieces in the form frames, and was left with a small scrap at the end of each 8 footer he cut down for the purpose. He was concerned about wasting this material, but I told him that we had a use for a large number of scraps that size, so if he stacked them neatly we would be able to reuse them. He decided to take me extremely literally, and stacked them by threes, each layer at a 90 degree angle to the previous, constructing quite the tower by the time he got done. I'm not sure whose flash of brilliance this was, but some visionary in the group saw not a pile of scrap lumber, but rather the world's largest game of Jenga. Here's Nate taking his turn, with volunteer Brandon looking on anxiously.
So, I am actually here for a reason. I mean, the fact that I am having a great time here is, I am sure, blatantly obvious... but I feel I should probably spend an entry or two here and there on what I spend most of my time doing. Actually, what I REALLY spend most of my time doing is sweating like a boar on a spit. Yesterday, I achieved a new milestone. We have these magnetic name tags... three circular magnets hold the front plate to the back plate. If you really truly sweat enough early enough in the day and then continue to stay sweat-soaked all day, the magnets rust right through your shirt, leaving three little dark orange-y brown circles. The Josh half of Nash pretty much gets the marks every day... but despite already having broken my previous personal perspiration record at least three days out of five each week, yesterday was my first time to actually achieve rust marks. So proud...
Anyway, back to my point - yes, I had one, and this is it. I'm thinking some of you may be interested in what our house-building process is here from beginning to end, so from time to time I will give little snapshots of each phase. Since the "one year, 100 houses" goal just got started a month ago, most of our houses are in the beginning phases, so in this installment I will discuss the forms we use to prepare for the pouring of concrete for footings. My descriptions will be intentionally broad and basic, so don't bail out on me here just because you don't yet know anything about construction. On the other hand, if such things bore you to tears and you don't actually _want_ to know... feel free to proceed to the next journal entry down, which concerns the more salient topic of "The Daiquiri". If, on the other hand, you find this kind of stuff fascinating and are full of detail-oriented questions, feel free to email me and ask away.
Okay, first - a little background. Habitat acquires site and permits. Site is cleared and levelled, and a pit a foot and a half or so deep is dug with a Bobcat in the approximate shape and location of the footprint of the house. The exact footprint is laid out using 2x4's referred to as "batter boards" which are attached to stakes and stabilized with braces, between which are strung strings to mark out the edges of the footing. A footing is basically a network of concrete-filled channels that form the structural support for the blocking and sills, and from there, the subfloor, walls, and on up to the roof. "Forms" are a system of braced plywood and stakes that form the channel into which the concrete will be poured. These need to be accurately placed, reasonably plumb, and the appropriate distance apart from eachother, as well as being very sturdily staked in so that the considerable weight of the concrete will not blow them out when it is poured 18 inches deep.
Here's a sketch of the process (as always, click to enlarge):
In this picture, San Francisco volunteer Susan carries the top and bottom pieces of a form that has been marked for cross-pieces (kind of like studs in a wall) The nails that will attach the cross pieces have already been started.
Here I am, looking less than industrious while in the process of nailing together a form unit. Also pictured are Lauren, our AmeriCorps form leader, and the Nate half of Nash (from behind). In the background are NY volunteer Jomari and AmeriCorp members John and Justin. (Figuring prominently in the foreground are my toolbelt and half my hat.) Once the unit is nailed together, a plywood piece that has been cut to size will be nailed onto one face, squaring the unit up in the process.
NY volunteer Matt drives a stake while Lauren ducks out of the way, holding the stake in place with two hammer claws. Lauren's no dummy. =)
Much checking and re-checking is required to ensure that forms are placed accurately. Here Lauren is joined in this effort by volunteers Kit, Julie, and Jomari. Once the bottoms of the forms are set in place and nailed to the stakes, the tops are plumbed up (made adequately vertical) by attaching one end of another board to the top of the form, called a "kicker", which is then used to push or pull the top of the form, and then nailed at its other end to a second stake. It takes a whole team to ensure that the placement stays correct throughout the staking and nailing process. 
Here's what the finished form looks like for one of our typical floorplans. Next, the required re-bar and hurricane clips will be placed, and a screed strip nailed inside the form to guide us in finishing the concrete once it is poured. Once the concrete is cured, the stakes, braces, and form units will be removed for use on the next house. The dirt will be backfilled.. and then, congratulations! We've reached ground level! So, in summary, forms are cool. And did I mention, you get to swing a big sledgehammer?
NY volunteer Beth is clearly a fan thereof, while CA volunteer Jan seems mildly concerned by the fiendish gleam in her eye...
Thanks to the entire LaCombe crew of August Week One. You guys were truly amazing. Thanks for unwittingly becoming the models for my little web workshop on forms. =)Of course, all work and no play is pretty much unAmerican, so here's one last picture. Volunteer Joe cut about 200 small lengths of 2x4 for use as the crosspieces in the form frames, and was left with a small scrap at the end of each 8 footer he cut down for the purpose. He was concerned about wasting this material, but I told him that we had a use for a large number of scraps that size, so if he stacked them neatly we would be able to reuse them. He decided to take me extremely literally, and stacked them by threes, each layer at a 90 degree angle to the previous, constructing quite the tower by the time he got done. I'm not sure whose flash of brilliance this was, but some visionary in the group saw not a pile of scrap lumber, but rather the world's largest game of Jenga. Here's Nate taking his turn, with volunteer Brandon looking on anxiously.
