So here it is, Week Three, three weeks late! Better late than never, hu?
During week three we worked on many things. We started the week with a broken window, but I won't say who did that! I was going to take pictures because a 4'x8' piece of double pane broken safety glass with the sun shining through is quite a sight to see, but I didn't want to upset anyone, so I didn't document this huge boo-boo. Regardless, work was done on the front of the building. Ted gave me a break from the hard labor and had me help him with placing the sheet metal onto the front of the building. It had to be cut and bent so that each piece fit together, covering up any exposed tire or wooden surface. I learned how to bend sheet metal. I also learned how to rivet the pieces of metal together, and got my boob caught in the tool during the process. Apparently it is a common thing to get some part of your anatomy caught in the rivet tool. OUCH!
Anyway, here is the product of our labor:
The next day, a man and woman showed up who were renting one of the earthships. The man ended up staying with us all day pounding tires. This was a somewhat common occurrence on the jobsite: random people showing up to help. Amazing! Here is the difference between a pounded and unpounded tire:
Tim and I worked on the tire garden wall on the west side of the building. Lucky Tim, he got the inconvenient task of training me for most of the internship. I don't think I messed up too much stuff. But he was patient and a good sport. Here he is contemplating how to proceed with the bottle wall which will go on top of this garden tire wall.
He had me porcupine nails all along the top of the tires so the cement for the bottle wall would have something to grab.
This view shows the other side of the garden tire wall and the start of the bottle/can wall running underneath the rainwater drain. The black covering is the EPDM used on parts of the roof.
As I was standing around, I realized the "bushes" I kept overlooking along the fence line were really stacked up tumble weeds.
As the week progressed we moved up to working on the roof. We got the roof inspection for the electrical so it was time to cover it all up. Honey Bear, Ted's dog, came to work with him everyday and she really loved sitting up on top of the roof and hanging out with us. It was good because we didn't have to hear Ted yell "Honey Bear" all day while searching for her!
Here is the whole crew laying the perlins down on top of two layers of 4" thick rigid insulation. The perlins act as anchors and give something on which to attach the Pro-panels.
It was very challenging working on the roof because the rainy season had just started. It seemed every morning we worked on the roof and by lunchtime we were scrambling to cover it up again because of the pouring rain.
As I was standing around, I realized the "bushes" I kept overlooking along the fence line were really stacked up tumble weeds.
As the week progressed we moved up to working on the roof. We got the roof inspection for the electrical so it was time to cover it all up. Honey Bear, Ted's dog, came to work with him everyday and she really loved sitting up on top of the roof and hanging out with us. It was good because we didn't have to hear Ted yell "Honey Bear" all day while searching for her!
Here is the whole crew laying the perlins down on top of two layers of 4" thick rigid insulation. The perlins act as anchors and give something on which to attach the Pro-panels.
It was very challenging working on the roof because the rainy season had just started. It seemed every morning we worked on the roof and by lunchtime we were scrambling to cover it up again because of the pouring rain.
I was very happy when Week Three ended, not only because of the torrential downpours, but because Peter and his mom came to visit. Here is Peter is the Hut, lifting his collar for the cold weather!
Our course I acted like a tourist with them and we went to several "Peter" inspired places. Here is the adobe church we visited. We talked to a lady in the gift shop and she said the whole congregation gets together every June and restucco's the church. Sounds like so much fun!
Our course I acted like a tourist with them and we went to several "Peter" inspired places. Here is the adobe church we visited. We talked to a lady in the gift shop and she said the whole congregation gets together every June and restucco's the church. Sounds like so much fun!
Peter, his mom, and I went to a very tiny restaurant in Taos. I mean extremely tiny. There were only four tables, and if I didn't know any better I would believe they were cooking our food on the roof! The food was incredible and Dolores got the biggest smoothie I have ever seen! It was a meal in itself.
While we sat at the restaurant, bikers continually rolled past making way to a motorcycle rally somewhere (still couldn't figure out where they were all going!)
While we sat at the restaurant, bikers continually rolled past making way to a motorcycle rally somewhere (still couldn't figure out where they were all going!)
As we left the restaurant, I snapped this picture of the courtyard and gate. Typically lovely Taos.
I wont ask about the broken window ... I cant imagine getting a boob caught in a riveting tool, but just thinking about what the guys can hurt makes me almost cry! Looks like you had a very busy last week. I am happy that you made it home safe and that you were able to take part in this internship. Keep me posted on your greenhouse progress, (maybe everyone who has been reading this blog might like to see that too).
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