Building Forms

We're starting work late today, so I have time to update.

The last two days have been exhausting. Good, but exhausting. This is why there have not been updates.

This is the first workshop week scheduled for the summer. Unfortunately, nobody signed up for the first workshop, very possibly because of the late start on advertising. So, it's been Jessa, Phil, John, Adam and I.

Monday was a form-building day. (My camera battery is dead, so I don't have pictures, but hopefully Phil will send me some of his and I can post a few.) We built arches for the doorway- these are half-cylinders- they are a foot and a half thick so that they go the entire width of the wall. We constructed tall, thin blocks to hold the arches up for the doorways. We also built door frames. (The arches are for doorless doorways. The door frames are for actual doors.) These pieces will be set at the beginning of construction and bags will be placed around them. Once they are covered, the arches and blocks holding them up will be taken out and the earthbag will stay arched. (The door frames will stay in the walls and doors will be screwed onto them.) Most of this stuff was built from (or at least supported by) salvaged pallets. We worked in the sun and were very thankful for our breaks.

Yesterday, John and Adam weren't with us (at least, not for the majority of the time.) Jessa and I continued to work on forms while Phil worked on leveling the gravel foundation (which had finished being placed Monday night.) After lunch, I helped Phil level and tamp the foundation. Lots of shoveling gravel. The floorplan changed a little because of fun whims, but nothing too extreme. It wasn't near as hot outside. The lack of people made progress seem much slower than Monday's. I hammered my thumb pretty hard- it is still colorful underneath the nail and a little painful to put too much pressure on.

Today, Adam and John will be with us on site, as well as Jeff, who drove up from Florida last night. We will be placing (and signing and taking pictures of) the first earthbag. Exciting stuff.