Monday-More Mulching, More Drilling

I spent most of the day doing more mulching for Dan in the garden. I drilled out more angle irons to support the posts that were being erected on the foundation. The posts on the foundation are 8 feet high with corner posts that are 14 feet for framing the second floor. Dan is using tar paper as the vapor barrier on top of the foundation. The tar paper may be unnecessary; Dan said that the mortared urbanite foundation would not have problems with moisture wicking up through it. Dan has been bracing the posts as they have been erected and made level. More scafolding is being brought to the site to help make the post installation easier.





Tuesday- More notching

I spent most of tuesday continuing to notch the structural posts for Ma'ikwe's house. This method involved tracing lines on the post and cutting it with a chainsaw until a flat surface was created that 2x12 lumber could be bolted to. After chainsawing the top of the post, sections are chiseled out by hand. After chiseling, more chainsawing creates a smooth surface. My method was to leave a inch center in the middle of the posts that was flat on both sides.






Wednesday- Gutter project

Dan has been using a cystern located next to the tool shed for watering his garden. The rainwater is collected from the roof of the shed and fed into the cystern, but recently the system has been damaged. Sags in the gutter have allowed most of the water to pool and leak out. The connector between the gutter and the cystern has also become detached. My job for today was use a step ladder to adjust the slope of the gutter. Placing the gutter high at one end of the roof and gradually sloping toward the cystern keeps the water moving. I adjusted the gutter height and took out the sag that was causing the water to pool. I also reattached the connector to the cystern. Aside from some minor drips, the system is up and running again.





Thursday- Denailing and more notching

Thursday was spent doing denailing and finishing notching on the last 8 foot post for Ma'ikwe's house. The salvaged lumber that was purchased for the project is 2x12 and 2x14 lumber for framing. Denailing will take a considerable amount of time and is one of the more common duties for interns at Dancing Rabbit.




Friday- Digging holes and mixing concrete.

Today we used tube style concrete forms to pour the bases for our structural posts. Our concrete mix was 1 part portland cement, 2 parts sand and 3 parts gravel. We mixed the batches of concrete in a wheelbarrow and shoveled it into the concrete forms. I spent the earlier part of the day digging the holes approximately 1 foot below ground level and checking the height of the form with the other piers that were already poured. Angle irons were then set into the top of the concrete while it was still wet.