6 Days Left

This is the final week! We have 6 days left to complete the house before our graduation and dedication on Saturday. This weekend was very successful as we marked off several tasks on the lists. The soffit and fascia are done and now we can finish painting. Thanks to Sam Stokes Nursery and Hawkins Nursery, both of Forest Hill, Louisiana, for donating the beautiful plants that accents the house perfectly. Today has been a huge day because we moved the cabinets into the kitchen, put on the hardware, and are installing the counter tops.

 It is getting pretty official when you put up the mailbox!

 Trim in the living room

 The full bath

The ramp by Freedom by Design

The Final Countdown

With less than 10 days to complete the house, we are working day and night to achieve our goal. This past weekend the majority of the exterior was painted, as well as finishing up the siding. The tile in the kitchen was set today and is waiting to be grouted tomorrow. The back porch has stairs and the front porch stairs are in progress. Tuesday, the insulation crew insulated underneath the house. Once the inspector approves the electrical work, we will have permanent power. We expect that within a day or two. With a forecast of rain Friday and Saturday, our goals are to complete the soffit, the stairs, and the painting. The digital fabrication on the canopy has been cut on the plasma cutter and is waiting installation. The sliding door in the living room/kitchen has also started construction. On the interior, the remaining doors are being painted and installed and the trim has been profiled.

Back Porch Stairs

Painting Doors

Trim

Front Porch 

Front Porch Bracket

Canopy 

2 weeks left and we are working harder than ever.  We started painting the siding and wrapping up porches today. We have tile in the bathrooms and stained cabinets ready to go on the wall. We are expecting the rest of the cabinets on Monday. With only two weeks left we will be giving it our all to make sure this house is finished on time and at this rate we will make it happen. Stay tuned for new pictures and updates.

Things are looking good around the habiTECH house. This week we have continued working on the porches and siding to finish the outside of the house. We have also started working on the inside of the house after dark.  Ceiling fans and light switches are in and interior doors and light fixtures are coming up next.  With only a few weeks left until May 18th, we will be working steady to make sure we complete the house on time.
       

With the week coming to an end, we now have only 20 days left to finish the house.  It is definitely crunch time with still many tasks to complete.  We have completed the foundation for the back porch and started putting the deck boards on.  The light fixtures have started being installed and we hope to get the power turned on early this week! We look forward to getting the siding completely finished in order to start painting the exterior as soon as possible!  The stress is definitely getting to us all, but the family bond we have developed is getting us all through!  If anybody would like to volunteer, e-mail Hannah at hlt007@latech.edu!

-Hannah Terrell

Bring on the Pressure!

While the weeks are quickly passing by, the pressure to work countless hours each and every day has been key.  With the help of the CenturyLink volunteer group this past weekend, all of the priming and painting has been completed on the interior of the house!  We have also been able to finish the front deck and start on the back deck which will allow Mrs. Peggy to enjoy the exterior space that she loves.  Yesterday, we began to wire the electrical outlets and hope to get the power turned on by the end of this week which will allow us to stay on site longer into the night in order to accomplish more each day.  Since drainage was a big issue on the site, we have completed the french drain which is tied to the ditch by the road.  The french drain was tested yesterday with the rain and is working just as we had hoped!

-Hannah Terrell

32 days and counting...

Just a quick update with what's going on at the habiTEC2013 house. Now that we finally have insulation in, we've brought in our drywall crew to start sheet-rocking our walls. With 32 days and counting, I think it's safe to say...IT'S CRUNCH TIME!!!!!! Some of us are starting to work late nights on site, spend countless hours out at the shop, and updating various details to meet our graduation deadline. But while busy at work, we've continuously been treated with our occasional meals on site. Once again, we would like to send our most sincere thanks to the parents that have bought us lunch and dinner throughout this project.

--a. skorge

Some of us working a late night on site, to get drywall done.

Although rain has made its way into Ruston, the habiTECH2013 team is still progressing forward. The other day we passed our inspection and now today, we are finally installing insulation. Hopefully the rain starts to clear so we can continue to work on the exterior (siding, doors, porch details, etc.) and stay out of the insulation crew's way. This is just one more big step for us, as we prepare for our drywall crew's arrival tomorrow. With only 36 days left, we are all getting anxious about finishing and finally graduating!!!! Like always, we extend our appreciation to all of those who have followed and supported us throughout this memorable experience.

--a. skorge

Down to the final 40...

We have 40 days left to complete the 2013 HabiTECH House. We have been working hard all weekend and have finished putting our metal roof on! We have also been finishing the last few touches on blocking, wiring, and framing, so that we can pass our inspection tomorrow morning.  We started putting trim on the windows and corners of the house and are hopeful to begin placing the MaxiPlank siding on the house this coming week.  We also are excited to have our spray insulation taking place on this Tuesday or Wednesday and drywall to come later this week!

44 Days Left!

We've all been working hard this week to finish up electrical wiring, blocking, and our gutter system.  We have also had the H VAC System team out and we now have duct work and vents in the house! The plumbers have been by and are almost done running the pipe for the kitchen and bathrooms. All of the wiring will be done by tomorrow and hopefully we will be putting the metal roof on this weekend! Next steps after that is inspection, insulation, and drywall!

We have also been busy promoting the project by presenting to the AIA Shreveport and AIA Monroe.  Both groups are extremely supportive and impressed by our work and plan to come by to volunteer a few days. A big thanks to AIA Monroe for the Lowe's gift card as well!

Check back later this week for updated pictures of the interior and exterior.

-Samantha Raburn

March 31, 2013...

This has been an exciting week. The majority of the plumbing and wiring is completed! We have also been working on a gutter detail that will keep the gutter hidden and clear of any leaves and debris. Once the gutters are complete we can finish putting the roof on! That will be an exciting day!!! The gutter is an interesting detail that will be a part of a band design that will wrap the entire house, some places it will conceal a gutter and in others it will simply be a band.

-Chelsea Moore

                                      
                                                

Making Progress!!

In the last few weeks we have been able to make up some of the lost time. In the coming weeks we hope to be even closer to meeting our scheduled dead lines for completion of different parts of the house!! With the roof mostly in place we have begun cutting the rafters and preparing them to install the gutters. The gutters will ultimately be hidden from sight from any one standing on the ground. Once the gutters are in, we will be able to finish the roof completely!!! All over the site flashing is being put in place for the windows and the roof. The plumbing has also begun and is almost complete. We have accomplished a lot in a short amount of time. With the Easter Break coming up this weekend we hope to be even further along!

-Chelsea Moore

Inspections here we come!

Today was a great work day on site! We were able to finish wrapping the house in the air barrier. The roof sheathing is completed with the felt on it. We finished running all of the electrical wires throughout the house. And all of the windows are in place! I would definitely call that a productive day. We hope to keep at this constant pace if not speed it up a bit!

-Julie Moak

March 23, 2013

56 days remaining!! It has been a very productive week on site this week. Although we are still trying to play catch up from the rainy days encountered at the beginning of the project, our spirits remain positive! The longer days now allow us to get more work done. Also, now that we are deeper into the project we are able to work on several different things at once. The house is very close to being completely enclosed! We have almost all of the Tyvek up. We began running the electrical yesterday. We will be finishing up the plywood sheathing for the roof tomorrow. If we continue at the pace we have been going this week, we expect to be caught up and back on schedule sometime in the next two weeks!  

2 months remaining...

It's hard to believe that we're such a short amount of time away from the completion date! We started construction with 4 months to work with, and now we're halfway there. Time flies when you're having fun! The good news is that we're almost completely blacked in. The bad news is that once that happens, we will be working inside much of the time, and won't be able to enjoy the sunshine like we have been.

Today, we started covering the house with the air barrier that we purchased. We also started laying out and setting the plywood for the roof. Hopefully, we can get some people that aren't scared of heights to tackle the roof situation! The Albritton family has started to obtain their sweat equity hours that Habitat for Humanity requires. They've been working hard to keep the house and site cleaned up, and help us with anything else we need.

The next step in the process is to start setting the electrical and plumbing work. Air Service Professionals from West Monroe, LA is the company we're using for the HVAC system and McMurry Plumbing is being used for our plumbing. We're excited to begin the next phase! Pictures coming soon.

-Mary Alice Milford

Completion of framing

At the beginning of this week, we were finishing up framing the interior walls, drop down ceilings, and rafters. There were people on all 6 ladders that we have pretty much the whole time, using both nail guns, and the table saw to try to get the job done! Luckily, we have had amazing weather all week, and with the time change, it makes our work day extend to 7:30 pm every day. Needless to say, we're all pretty tired, but seeing the progress on the house is keeping us going. Being able to see Mrs. Albritton's happy face every day helps too. She loves getting to come see what we're working on, and all of us can't help but to smile when she's around!

-Mary Alice Milford

Framing

This week we decided to work over the quarter break to get some much needed work done.We started framing a week ago and things have been moving along since. First, we built the north wall, which went along smoothly. Framing walls is new to everybody so it was a learning experience for everybody, but we all caught on very quickly.

After we finished the north wall, we built the center wall which is our main structure wall for the house. This proofed to be more of challenge than the last wall.

The center wall is a 16'-4" 2x6 wall. The wall has 3 clerestory windows at the top and 4 doorways.

After the center wall went up, we started the south wall which was an easy task compared to the challenging center wall.

Now we are working on the side walls which should come up very soon and then we can finally put a roof up.

subfloor

I has been a week since we poured the concrete and we have made alot of progress through the week.  At the beginning of the week we placed the girders (2x12's) into the concrete ties and attached joist hangers and to them.  We then measured and cut the joists (2x8's) and attached them to the girders by joist hanger.

Friday we started the sub-floor of the house (1/2" tongue and groove plywood).  It was a tedious process to align the sheets together and keep them from shifting but we used an air powered nail gun that made quick work of the sheets once them were set in place.

We also finished the girders and joists that is on an angle which was interesting because we needed a 76 degree cut on the vertical of the joists. Since the miter saw only goes to 45 degrees it was a learning curve to figure out how to cut the board correctly but in the end we figured out the issues.  We also received the lumber to start framing of Friday.  Unloading the wood was surprisingly easy but in the end it had to be relocated to the trailer which took more strength.  On Saturday we finished the sub-floor and trimmed the excess wood along the perimeter of the house.  We also started to layout the framing of the house.  Today we will start framing the walls and set the openings for the windows.

Foundation

Yesterday was a huge step forward for us. After waiting roughly a week due to the rainy predicament, the concrete is poured and we couldn't be more excited! We had to make sure all the footings and sonotubes were level and in line with the surrounding rows before the inspector came on site. If they did not meet our requirements, we would have to dig it out and adjust it. We would stress out every time we would lay the 2"x4" across two sonotubes and put the level on top to make sure it was level. With each passing check we would get one step closer to inspection. After digging 26 holes and correctly positioning the footings and sonotubes, we passed inspection! We did not have long to celebrate because the concrete showed up on site and it was time to pour. We had three people transporting the concrete via wheel barrels from the concrete truck to the sonotubes. From there, we had at least 3 people scooping the concrete out of the wheel barrels and into the sonotubes. Two people were vacuuming out the remaining water in the footings before the concrete was put in. There were also people aiding in organization of the assembly line making sure it ran smoothly and quickly. This assembly line was fast paced. Once the sonotubes were filled with the concrete, the concrete tie would be positioned. The concrete tie is a metal bracket that sits in the cured concrete that we will later put (2) 2"x12"s in for the girders. With the remaining concrete, we poured 12 steppingstones that have our hand prints on them.

We are meeting on site tomorrow (Sunday) morning to start placing the girders and the beginning of the floor. We are all excited to see the progress that we have made through all the hard work. Today marks 91 days left to finish the house.

Rain, Rain, Go away

After setting the majority of the sonotubes Saturday, we were suppose to finish the last six Monday morning. Due to the rain from Sunday and the continuing rain on Monday, we could not finish. We met on site Monday to get water off of the tarp because the forecast for Tuesday was even more rain. We did not want more water to build up and do any damage. We met Wednesday to find water in the footings. As we questioned what to do, someone remembered that we were offered a pump from Chris Rozelle. Thanks to Chris, we were able to pump out the water. We created trenches in between the rows of sonotubes so the water would flow off the site without getting into any more tubes. It was extremely muddy, so there was not much more we could do.

As of today, we have pumped out more water and plan on restringing the string so that tomorrow we can line the existing footings up and finish the remaining six. If all goes as planned, we will pour concrete Friday at 1pm.


-Lee Ann Duck