Lena 1 and 2 updates:

Hello, faithful readers!

It's been awhile since our last posting, but we are back.

The two houses out in the Lena area are going along with out any major difficulties and the students from both the University of Alaska Southeast and JDHS are getting a great learning experience.

Lena 1 is now completely roofed. JDHS students did much of this work and learned about OSHA requirements regarding fall protection and scaffolding set up along with technical aspects of roofing including types of underlayment to use and how to install shingles.

As some of the students were roofing, other students installed TYVEK on the exterior walls and other students did interior framing of walls. We have a big class this year, so it works great to spread them out.

Upon completion of the interior framing, Auke Bay Electric and All All American Plumbing and Heating came in and did their respective jobs and as always did a fantastic job.

Once these subcontractors were done, the students installed batt insulation and vapor barrier with Justin's expertise and guidance.  Students learned about the importance of sub contractor scheduling, R Value, condensation, and the importance of doing all detail work accurately when weatherizing a house.

During this time, Justin was working with his tenacious college students and installed several windows and started installation of the rigid foam insulation on the exterior of the house.

As this work was taking place on Lena 1, Justin and his college crew diligently framed the floor of Lena 2 and framed, sheeted, and stood all exterior walls of Lena 2 including the two big Rake walls.

We are now working on final straightening of the walls as Kelly from Juneau Truss has our trusses done and ready to set!

Things will slow down a bit over the Holidays, but we will hit it hard when we get back:

Currently we are prepping for our next big push and are hoping to get all of our drywall stocked in Lena 1 before break and walls straight and braced in Lena 2. We will call Walt or Dave at Valley Lumber today and try to arrange for a delivery on Monday.

Drywall installation and setting of trusses are two big construction milestones, and we hope to have these completed soon after we return to school after the holidays.