Tech Build Winter 2014

We are kicking off the new year by putting OregonBILDS into the ground. The permit sets from our work this past Fall have been approved. The four sessions of technical building along with a crew from LCC are all set to begin construction.

Excavation is currently underway.

Check back throughout the term as we continue to update our progress.

January 10, 2014

The foundation is in and we are building. Here the class puts together the floor plates and TJI joists. As expected, the weather cooperated perfectly.

Laying it out

Keeping the foundation and sub grade dry

Nailing off

Building a Floor

January 18, 2014

We are off and running. Two weeks down and four walls up. The class has been enjoying learning by doing. Folks on site have been marveling at how quickly a house can come together. Turns out keeping it simple makes the process pretty straight forward. We’ve been taking care to caulk and seal in the interest of keeping the house tight.

Our sequencing strategy is to race for the roof at this point. The framing has been kept reasonably dry, and we are hoping to keep it that way. Up and up we go.

Raising the wall

It takes a team

Bracing plumb

Setting the foot

Nailing to the bottom plate

Checking the plans

Caulking the sheathing at the sill

Nailing off

Sighting for true

Installing the Girder

Hoisting the joist

Hanging the joist

Handling material

The street face

up and up

January 29, 2014

The project is moving quickly. The unusually dry winter has proven to be quite the blessing. We have been working on site for less than a month and we already have a roof over our heads. The student crews and our partnering carpenters have been coming together as a team to build quickly, efficiently, and well.

There is still much work to be done and fun yet to be had.

We are also planning a neighborhood community meeting to more formally introduce the project to the neighborhood as well as set our subdivision process in motion.

Preparing for the second floor walls

Laying out a wall

Just a little heavy Oregon mist

Hoisting the first trusses!

Looking like a house

Winter sun and a roof begun

February 4, 2014

The trusses are up, the roof is on, and the walls are sheathed. The 2014 OregonBILDS house is truly taking shape. It is exciting to see our lines on paper and our meditations on good house-making lead to real results.

We are planning a community meeting through the Bethel neighborhood association for the first week in March. This will be a great opportunity for folks to sit down and talk about this specific project, but it will also be a good chance to share OregonBILDS’ goals and process with those who will live near and with our development. Hopefully this connection makes our product more meaningful. We’ll give more updates as we get closer.

Sheathing going up

Loading in sheet goods

Enthusiasm from the attic

Installing Blocking

Delicately and Rightly

Doing things Right!

The Street Facade

February 22, 2014

We have wrapped the house and framed the garage. We are nearing the end of the first tech build class and in like fashion we are wrapping up the exterior work. We’re soon to have a proper-looking facade.

We are holding a community meeting with the Bethel neighborhood association on Monday, March 3, at 6 pm at the Fairfield Baptist Church. Come on by to see what we are up to and to meet some of the student workers.

we’ve gone through extensive efforts to tape and seal for infiltration

Building for the Oregon climate

March 5, 2014

We continue to diligently seal the house envelope. The stairs, which we prefabricated in sections at the UO shop, are now installed. We also have a crew rolling exterior siding. Finals are coming up soon. Turns out we are all busy students too, but we plan to keep on moving forward on the site. Come spring term we will be transitioning into the next round of Rob’s tech build class. It has been a great winter term.

On Monday we met with the Bethel Neighborhood association at a community meeting to discuss our proposed subdivision as well as to generally inform the neighborhoods as to what we are building and as to why we are in their neighborhood. The folks who turned out were interested in the project and invested in their community. They gave us some great feedback which we plan to implement as OregonBILDS continues into the future. Our project increases the density of the neighborhood. The associated challenge is to do so in a sensitive way which creates living spaces which promote healthy neighborly relations. We look forward to our continued dialogue. Thank you to everyone who joined us.