Matthew Andrews Log: Difference between revisions
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=Sat. April 19, 2014= | =Sat. April 19, 2014= | ||
Today I went up to the house site and learned about the components of a good CEB. James explained how we could mix the on-site dirt with clay to make a strong brick. Add concrete or hydrated lime. | Today I went up to the house site and learned about the components of a good CEB. James explained how we could mix the on-site dirt with clay to make a strong brick. Add concrete or hydrated lime. James was operating the brick press Liberator, which took a bit of skill to calibrate. We had an electrical code problem, and James had to play around with the wires and switch the circuit box. Rather than spend time mixing the clay and soil, we just made bricks with soil. We loaded the hopper with buckets filled by shovels. The bricks came out solid enough to drop without cracking. I hope we have enough dirt for the entire project! It's hard to judge since the volume of the dirt is so compressed in the process. What was the point of buying clay-soil if we're not going to use it? | ||
Mixed Slury. | Mixed Slury. Again, just with soil because we will get better bonding by using the same composition as the bricks themselves. | ||
Cut boards for the floors. 16" spaces between boards is standard. | Cut boards for the floors. 16" spaces between boards is standard. Used a miter (table top wheel) saw. | ||
Helped lift grate on top of Liberator | Helped lift grate on top of the other Liberator by the shop. Heavy! It took four people. There was a lot of debate about how it should actually fit because nobody was around to show us how it was supposed to fit. I was a little nervous about catching my fingers as we put it down. | ||
Andrew gave us a guide to using trovebox and Dozuki. Later Andrew also showed me the code for the Liberator's code box, which is written in "processing" language. | Andrew gave us a guide to using trovebox and Dozuki. Later Andrew also showed me the code for the Liberator's code box, which is written in "processing" language. | ||
Naomi and I went for a beer run. I also got a slice of veggie pizza at the gas station, which was good because there weren't enough veggie subs from Subway. They were gone by the time we got back. People were very excited to have some beer while we hung out and chatted. | |||
It would be nice to have had an Igloo for water and sun block at the work site. I got very thirsty and the back of my neck burned. | |||
We had great conversations. Participants are skeptical of the old economy to provide for working people or preserve the environment. Open Source production seems like a practical way to balance sustain ourselves and others. | |||
=Fri. April 18, 2014= | =Fri. April 18, 2014= | ||
Revision as of 17:26, 20 April 2014
Sat. April 19, 2014
Today I went up to the house site and learned about the components of a good CEB. James explained how we could mix the on-site dirt with clay to make a strong brick. Add concrete or hydrated lime. James was operating the brick press Liberator, which took a bit of skill to calibrate. We had an electrical code problem, and James had to play around with the wires and switch the circuit box. Rather than spend time mixing the clay and soil, we just made bricks with soil. We loaded the hopper with buckets filled by shovels. The bricks came out solid enough to drop without cracking. I hope we have enough dirt for the entire project! It's hard to judge since the volume of the dirt is so compressed in the process. What was the point of buying clay-soil if we're not going to use it?
Mixed Slury. Again, just with soil because we will get better bonding by using the same composition as the bricks themselves.
Cut boards for the floors. 16" spaces between boards is standard. Used a miter (table top wheel) saw.
Helped lift grate on top of the other Liberator by the shop. Heavy! It took four people. There was a lot of debate about how it should actually fit because nobody was around to show us how it was supposed to fit. I was a little nervous about catching my fingers as we put it down.
Andrew gave us a guide to using trovebox and Dozuki. Later Andrew also showed me the code for the Liberator's code box, which is written in "processing" language.
Naomi and I went for a beer run. I also got a slice of veggie pizza at the gas station, which was good because there weren't enough veggie subs from Subway. They were gone by the time we got back. People were very excited to have some beer while we hung out and chatted.
It would be nice to have had an Igloo for water and sun block at the work site. I got very thirsty and the back of my neck burned.
We had great conversations. Participants are skeptical of the old economy to provide for working people or preserve the environment. Open Source production seems like a practical way to balance sustain ourselves and others.
Fri. April 18, 2014
I got picked up at the airport by Gavin. It was amazingly convenient! His GPS didn't know exactly where the FeF address was, but we made it without any wrong turns. Chris was in the car with us and he was here before, so he recognized it when we got here.
It's great to have some international participants (Australia, Wales) and an ex-pat living in Belize. But aside from Chris Chou, everyone here is white and when we walked in Katerina, was the only woman (I didn't know she was Marcin's wife) among about twenty people, and she was the only one working in the kitchen. I offered to help, but most of the work was done. She was just watching the pots and stiring to make sure the soup didn't burn. I hope OSE is having conversations about recruiting diverse participants and sharing labor equitably. This was just my first impression.
Katerina said she would live in the microhouse once it's finished. I didn't know that. I still have a lot of basic questions that I hope will be answered soon.
We had a tour while waiting for dinner. We got to see the first building that went up. Marcin said they were so labor intensive that it convinced him of the need for machines like the brick press. We saw the building site for the micro-house. One of the units was already finished. It had a kitchen, sofa, and loft. It already looked very complete and comfortable! Outside the front door, there is a 14'x14' foundation that will be a covered patio, then another 14'x14' foundation opposite that, which is where we will be working.
After a round of introductions, Chris Reinhart gave us a quick introduction to the project and how the documentation would work. He has more details in a power point presentation that he's saving for tomorrow. Everyone seemed excited to socialize. I went outside and sat around a fire with some folks. It's a little cold out, but nice by the fire. It was a clear night and the stars were amazing! We even saw a shooting star! :)
Tues. April 15, 2014
I just logged in to test this wiki page. I'm looking forward to visiting FeF and helping to build a MicroHouse!