Walls & Trusses

Monday 13th we built the first big wall for the first floor.
Tuesday 14th we put up the first big wall and braced it off for the night.
Wednesday 15th we put up the rest of the first floor walls and braced them to be ready for the roof trusses that were to be sent to us Friday.
Friday 17th we cleaned up the job site before snow fall. Doing so we stacked/organized all the wood beneath the first floor in the back of the garage of the house while the roof trusses were set upside down 0n the first floor braced to be ready to sit all break.

Sub Flooring

This week we began putting in the sub flooring on the second story (12/7 - 12/11).

Monday: We put up the floor joists that our sub flooring will be laid on top of.

Tuesday: Started installing the 3/4 inch plywood as the sub flooring. Started pre-cutting pieces for a small 2 foot high wall that would run the width of the house over the garage.

Wednesday: Some of us built the small wall and had it lifted up and put in place, while the others kept adding plywood for the sub floor.

Friday: We installed our bottom and top plates around the perimeter of the sub flooring so we could begin marking our studs, headers, and interior walls.

First Wall

This week we constructed and raised our first outer wall (11/30 - 12/4).

Monday: We painted on a waterproof coating for our 3/4 in. tongue and groove plywood to keep the decking from soaking up the "Juneau Sunshine."

Tuesday: We moved the waterproofed plywood and some other lumber to the job-site.

Wednesday: We pre-fabricated all the pieces of the wall. Work was rough and miserable due to weather.

Friday: We put up scaffolding in preparation to raise the right wall!

Groundwork

This week we have been stuck at the shop most of the time since the groundwork we need done is being postponed due to icy roads that the heavy equipment can't travel on. (11/16 - 11/20)

Monday: It snowed over the weekend, so we spent this class period moving snow off of the piles of materials we had outside.

Tuesday: We moved the tool shed using 6 inch steel pipes and a pint of elbow grease. After sweeping and shoveling; we worked into the night pushing the rolling shed to its new home 50ft away.

Wednesday: Since we are still at the shop we cleaned up the equipment cage, assembled concrete forms for our deck pilings, and cut and bent re-bar to strengthen them.

Friday: We reviewed blueprints to get a list of materials we would need to cut so we can frame the first floor after the groundwork is finished.

Back to school, back to school...

Insulation

This week we worked on insulating the house. (11/9 - 11/13)

-Monday: We added foam insulation to the sides of the house, the foam is 2" thick, and when added onto the ARXX blocks it gives us a total of 4" of insulation on the outside.

-Tuesday: Added Soprema water proof insulation on top of the foam to keep the water out.

-Wednesday: Veteran's Day, no school.

-Thursday: Added dimple matting on top of the waterproofing.

-Friday: Clean up day, made sure everything was ready for the snow that is scheduled for the weekend.

The foam insulation that was added to the sides.

Stemwall Pour

Week (11/2 -11/6)

Monday: Today we put up scaffolding and added a railing for safety, cut re-bar that would later be placed in the stemwall for support, and made other preparations for pouring the stemwall.

Tuesday: Continued to cut the re-bar, put up some more turnbuckles to help keep the walls in place, put the last of the ARRX blocks on.

Wednesday: We made the Final preparations for the pour, we tied the re-bar inside the wall, tied the blocks down secure, and poured concrete today. Some of our crew stayed later to help finish the pour while the rest left.

Friday: cleanup, made sure our site was all nice and tidy so we could move on to the next step.

Footing and Stemwall

This week (10/26 - 10/30) Happy Halloween!!!

-Monday: We stripped off the forms on the inside of the footing, and we all were assigned our first weekly duties. Devin is the safety foreman, John is the cameraman, Dan is keeping track of weekly progress, and Dillon is keeping the trailer clean.

-Tuesday: We put the ARXX insulating stemwall blocks on the footing, this included adding rebar to the inside for tensile strength.

-Wednesday: We scraped concrete off of forms, built a window frame, and made sure that the ARXX blocks where level

-Friday: Assembled scaffolding, put the window frame in place, and prepared to pour the stemwall.

Extra! Extra!

Check out the article about us in the Juneau Empire!

Footing

Last week (10/21 10/23)

-Wednesday: We poured the footing for the house. Everything went well (no blowouts), and we finished the pour fairly quickly.

-Thursday: Was a grunt work day, we moved materials around to make room for the Arxx blocks and other equipment. We also cleaned the tools that where in the trailer and hit 'em with WD-40 to keep out the Juneau rust.

-Friday: Our 7th member, Kevin, finally joined us today and helped us remove the the top of the forms from the footings so we could start setting up for the stemwall.

-Tyler Rental generously donated a generator to us until the completion of the house.

Site Prep

Last week (10/12 to 10/14) we finished the following steps in making the footings.

-The site was cleared.

-D1 gravel: We had a gravel pad made on the lot by Admiralty Construction.

-Stone retaining wall: There is a large stone retaining wall that was assembled by Admiralty Construction.

-Excavation: Once again, this was made possible by Admiralty Construction.

-Survey lines : Our class made the survey lines. We squared the corners using the Pythagorean Theorem, then checked for squarness by measuring diagonals.

We would like to extend a big thanks to Admiralty Construction, they did a great job doing the groundwork for the site.

The Crew

Get to know the students who are working on the JDHS house with some fun and interesting facts!

Name: John

Nickname: J-Man, Johnny Boy, Fatty

Age: 17

Favorite part of the ACE Academy/what are you most excited about on this project: "This project is a great way for me to get out of the classroom, but still get credit. I don't do well sitting at a desk and here there are none."

Specialty skill(s): "I am an ETT medical service provider in the state of Alaska. I have worked construction in the past and prefer it to working with paper and pencil."

When I am not in school I am usually..."with my friends or trying to be. Trying to prepare myself for firefighting."

When I graduate high school I would like to... "begin a career in firefighting."

Why am I taking this class: "I figure knowing how a house is built will help me in a career as a firefighter."

Name: Dillon

Nickname: DJ

Age: 16

Favorite part of the ACE Academy/what are you most excited about on this project: "Being able to do something that I may never get to do again...possibly."

Specialty skill(s): "Sailing, chopping wood, and sleeping."

When I am not in school I am usually... "driving or at sports practice."

When I graduate high school I would like to... "build another house and learn more welding skills."

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?


Name: Kevin

Nickname: "Nope"

Age: 17

Favorite part of the ACE Academy/what are you most excited about on this project: "Getting the chance to build a house."

Specialty skill(s): "Cooking"

When I am not in school I am usually... "working."

When I graduate high school I would like to... "I am not sure."


Name: Chris

Nickname: Budbill

Age: 17

Favorite part of the ACE Academy/what are you most excited about on this project: "Seeing the finished product of the house."

Specialty skill(s): "I am really skilled at being awesome. And hockey."

When I am not in school I am usually... "at the ice rink or at my girlfriend's house."

When I graduate high school I would like to... "weld stuff, or be an engineer."

Name: Brian

Nickname: Condor

Age: 18

Favorite part of the ACE Academy/what are you most excited about on this project: "This Class."

Specialty skill(s): "Ski racing and tennis."

When I am not in school I am usually... "playing tennis or ski racing."

When I graduate high school I would like to... "I am supposed to graduate early, but Mr. Dukes said that he was going to fail me so I would have to stay in this class to finish the house, but when I do graduate I would like to work construction and go trolling."

What is your goal in this class: "Work as a team, keep moving forward on the house, and learn from the experience."

Name: Devon

Nickname: None

Age: 18

Favorite part of the ACE Academy/what are you most excited about on this project: "Just getting the chance to experience all of the skills needed to build a house.

When I am not in school I am usually... "running around with friends."

When I graduate high school I would like to... "stay in the construction field."

Name: Dan

Nickname: Forklift, Danimal

Age: 17

Favorite part of the ACE Academy/what are you most excited about on this project: "I like putting stuff together and watching my work take shape."

Specialty skill(s): "I'm pretty good at welding. And being awesome."

When I am not in school I am usually... "hanging out with my friends, listening to music, or hiking around in the woods."

When I graduate high school I would like to... "travel the globe and get certified for welding."

What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow: "African or European Swallow?"

Name: Elway

Nickname: Smellway

Age: In dog or human years?

Favorite part of the ACE Academy/what are you most excited about on this project: "I get lots of visitors and sticks to chew."

Specialty skill(s): "Chasing sticks, chewing sticks, hanging out, and sleeping."

When I am not in school I am usually... "out in the woods looking for sticks!"

When I graduate high school I would like to..."High school? I'm a dog. I already graduated from obedience school."

Why am I taking this class: "Make sure everyone on the job site is working and staying safe. I also like sticks."

The Project

• The house is being built by the students in the ACE Academy at Juneau Douglas High School with on site instruction by Colin Dukes, JDHS Trades Instructor.

• This project is designed for JDHS students to learn hands-on skills in building a house while involving them in all aspects of the process from site prep to foundation to framing to finish.

• The district is reviving this successful house-building program, which has been dormant for several years, but successfully operated over 4 decades in the district.

• The goal of this house-building program to engage students in an authentic, community-based project and provide students with hands-on workplace skills that prepares them for jobs in the construction industry.

• Construction management will be provided by SAGA in coordination with district teachers to facilitate the ongoing work of the house build around the schedule of the students coming and going to the worksite.

• House building plans were developed by the students in the ACE Academy and were submitted to the City for review and approval for building permits in spring 2009.
  
  

• Funds from the sale of the house will replenish the funding outlay by the district for purchase of the land, building, and sale of the house and construction management for the next year’s house build project.

Toolshed

While waiting to begin construction on the house we built this toolshed. The original plan was to disassemble it and move it to the jobsite and then refabricate it. Admiralty construction generously donated one of their trailiers for us to use instead. Now this toolshed is for sale for $1,200 including transportation and setup.

Under construction (always wear your safety glasses)