going vertical

An exciting topic for our 100th blog entry: the first columns went up today. Seventeen of the 23 columns are in place, and much of the primary frame should follow this week. Check out the video of the site on our YouTube channel.

The steel erector (Litecrete) used their crane to lift the columns into place (check out the video). Each column was drilled to fit over the anchor bolts by a fabricator (Mo Steel) who also welded various tabs and plate to the columns according to drawings by our prefabricators (EcoSteel). Over the next few days, the erectors hope to bolt together the rest of the primary structure. If we're lucky, they'll also set up enough of the secondary structure so that our window supplier can measure the rough window and door openings and verify the sizes of the fenestration before they order them from the factory. Cross your fingers.

Because the floor slab is not perfectly level, the erection crew had to establish a level throughout the house using a laser and a measuring tape. The bottom of each column should be at the exact same level. Nuts and washers on each anchor bolt were used to set the level, and the columns were slowly lowered in place and held fast with another set of washers and nuts. In the photo at the left, Vincente, the crew chief, and Geovany, the foreman, are setting the level of one of the columns in the garage. The large tab on the column will attach to cross bracing that will deal with lateral forces produced by wind load against the walls of the house.

We've started bringing chairs and drinks to the site. Here, tin box project architect Holly enjoys a moment under the sapote tree with tin box media advisor (and FIU faculty member) Malik Benjamin.