Movin' On Up

As the month of November comes to an end in Juneau, the weather continues to worsen and the sunlight continues to diminish, creating seemingly adverse conditions for residential construction. Apparently, this notion has gone unnoticed by the students and staff of the Juneau-Douglas High School’s House Build Program. Unfazed by the six inches of snow that greeted them on their return from Thanksgiving vacation, the students picked up right where they left off.

JDHS Students working on the second floor.

JDHS Students work together assembling an exterior wall for the second story frame.

When the students were last on the jobsite they had finished sheathing the sub-flooring for the second floor. This week was spent laying out, cutting, and assembling the exterior walls for the second floor. In addition to the exterior wall construction, the students were given a brief overview of our roof design and the methods we will use to construct it.

Using the second floor of a residential construction site as his classroom, Justin Fantasia, SAGA Construction Manager, introduced the students to the methods of rafter layout for the roof of a home. In truth, this introduction was more of a refresher course because the methods and algorithms used to measure the rafter dimensions are the same ones students have learned in their mathematics curriculum; giving them an opportunity to apply their classroom education in a first-hand manner.

Construction Manager, Justin Fantasia (pointing), instructs JDHS students.

With the students now versed in roof design and measurement methods, they will have the opportunity to display their knowledge as the project move into the next stage: roof construction.