$37.50

Intro

The general guidelines for pay are as follows, though this may depend on details. We are hiring at $37.50 for people who can do the build the following Seed Eco-Home 2 details, using their own skill and recruiting an unskilled assistant. In order to do this, the apprentice can use build cheatsheets from OSE. This means that a person is effectively capable of building an entire house from available materials - every single step including mechanical, electrical, plumbing, landscaping, and PV.

For unskilled builders who cannot read plans or cheatsheets, but can follow directions in building as an assitant - OSE can pay $15-25 depending on their proficiency. First time builders may earn $15, while people who can work 2x as fast can earn about $25.

The designer track is a level above this, and includes ability to build and organize/source materials. This includes extracting complete BOMs from FreeCAD, generating purchase orders, and submitting complete building packages to the building department at the plan check phase of a build.

The enterprise track means that a person learns to run crews. Typically, this means that the person can recruit workers, have them show up, order materials to a site, work with a client to assess their needs, collaborate with the design team or draw up build documents themselves, rent equipment and supplies such as skid loader, gravel, and concrete. And negotiate with the client and building officials - knowing how to approach and satisfy both the client and the building officials.

The executive track means that the person creates build events from scratch, and is responsible for deciding on the number and location of builds in a given time frame, in collaboration with the OSE operations officer.

Builder Skill

• Design Review - ability to take full CAD model and view it, extract dimensions, and generate cross sections for build details.
• Tool Use - Techniques for cordless drills, sliding saw, high amp circular saw, angle grinder, laser level, speed square, 4' bubble level, screwing things together, cutting housewrap. Cordless drill chuck replacement, sawblade replacement on circular and sliding saw, polisher use, sander, brad nailer operation, hammer stapler operation, masonry blade on a circular saw. Concrete grinder diamond wheel use. Grinder use. Multitool use.
• Foundation - grading using a bobcat, and backhoe for footer. Laser level and triangulation for corners. Ins and outs of form making, form assembly, rebar, rebar support, vapor barrier, and shallow insulated footer. Installing insulation, mudsill anchors, and accommodating rough-in plumbing.
• Painting- walnut and brown stain, white pain, exterior gloss for trim, and interior panels. Techniques for the correct coverage and workflow using an airless sprayer. Airless sprayer maintenance, operation, and teardown. Brushes and foam brush touchup. Paint mixtures with mineral spirits, diesel, and water. Paint formula for finish floor. Concrete sealer, densifier, self-leveling concrete floor options.
• Plumbing - understanding the design and building rough plumbing, and pressure testing for 5 psi for 15 minutes.
• Concrete Pour - ordering concrete, calculating concrete volume. Screeing, magnesium float, hand troweling, power troweling, watering, and protecting. Form removal. Form design.
• Concrete Polishing - using polishing buffers, going from 50-3000 grit for a shiny floor, including concrete densifier.
• Foundation to Wall Detail - waterproof, air proof details for junction from cement slab to walls. Includes insulation. Thorough understanding of sill plate detail and its design rationale.
• Walls - making pre-finished wall modules with included utilities and ability to assemble them and align them up to the top plate. Includes window and door modules, and preframed hidden doors for expansion. Window rain infiltration detail and base of door water infiltration detail. Understanding water infiltration detail using battens, self-adhering waterproof barrier, housewrap and flashing detail. Understanding of first principle wall bracing calculations.
• First Floor Ceiling - Installing joists for a second floor, with ceiling sheething
• 2nd Story Floor - sanded plywood, stained, varnished plank floor with acoustic underlayment. Bevel, stain + varnish, brad nail.
• 2nd Story Walls - building at height, these are procedures for using scaffolding and installing the second floor walls.
• Interior Walls - insulatd panels for interior walls, including doors.
• Bathroom - installing water heater, vent fan, shower, toilet, and sink
• Kitchen Cabinets - selecting and installing cabinets and furnishings for the kitchen
• Laundry - installing the laundry closet, washer, dryer, vent, and powering them from an appropriate outlet
• Electrical - preinstalling electrical in wall panels, finishing with externa applainces such as lights and fans, and installing the utility power meter and panel.
• Finish Plumbing - part of washer, dishwasher, bathroom, and kitchen connections. Testing with air for 50 PSI for 15 minutes.
• Stairway - installing stairway and landing.
• PV - installing an off-grid power system with transfer switch, not utility intertie.
• Heat Pump - installing a split-air heat pump and connecting the necessary plumbing and electrical, prebuilding some of this into the wall modules. Hanging the heat pump on an exterior wall.
• Roof - installing an EPDM flat roof, gutter, and decorative band near roof.
• Driveway, grading - using geogrid with gravel for pervious pavement, graveling around house, proper grade for water, water drainage from gutter.
• Landscaping - planting trees, edible landscape, and ground cover. Seeding and mulching.

Quality Control

There are specific quality control steps associated with the build of each of the above - including:

• Module composition to assure all necessary parts and detail is included
• Tolerances - size, weight, dimensions, moisture content
• Damage - cracks, scratches, and material imperfection allowances, breakages and repair during construction
• Drainage slopes - roof, piping, etc.
• Wire gauges
• Materials thickness gauges
• Pipe size
• Local code variations
• IRC requirements
• Colors
• Straightness
• Level and plumb
• Offset limits
• Material choices if substitutions are made
• Tightness of fit
• Fastener schedules
• Procedural correctness for time efficiency
• Build time
• Persons per task
• Material cost
• Sequencing of finished build procedure
• Sequencing of module assembly
• Labor cost control
• Build Schedule control