Monday, June 29, 2009

I love Mondays

The work whistle blew at 8:30AM and off I went. Built and set up the forms for the south entrance - to fill in and transition where the walls meet the piers and footings. Started mixing by 9:30 and poured the two forms and filled 7 more re bar sections. Discovered today that the real trick is to get out and get to work before it gets hot and keep going as I didn't notice the heat while it rose slowly while working in it. Took a long break at noon. Got back tuit from 6PM to 8PM by building the forms for the east entrance, pulled the forms off the morning pour and set them up on the north entrance. Mixed up one last batch of concrete and poured it in.

Gourmet dinner of fresh cauliflower, Ranch Style Beans, and canned chicken with tortillas and cheese.

8 comments:

bb said...

John,

I've been watching your progress from the beginning and I have a question about rust.....basically how do you deal with it? I noticed you didn't seal the underside of your containers.

I'm in San Antonio with 105F hights right now.

Stay hydrated.

bb

Bob O said...

Good question about rust, although I assume that your containers were treated by their previous owners on the bottom....

Glad to hear that your pacing yourself...just remember, if you don't have to pee, you should be drinking water.....

Allen Hare said...

Great looking work, John.

I worked for ten hours out in the sun today. Of course, I don't have much choice in the matter. I need the paycheck. I just pace myself, drink plenty of fluids, and wear sun screen.

Good luck with finishing the walls.

And remember, "Rust Never Sleeps".

neil said...

Rainy day here in the UK, an I am just pondering AC. We are due for a heatwave here
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jun/30/uk-heatwave-to-be-declared
Have you thought of using a car air conditioning system's parts?
It may be possible to drive the compressor directly by wind. You would have to store the cold up for those hot and still days.
Just thoughts...
...wishing you peace from the UK

Pipsqeek said...

Hi there.

I discovered your site from Treehugger and have spent the last couple of weeks reading every blog post from the start till now.

You are an inspiration to me and hope to do something similar one day in Australia.

I do have a question. What does your ceiling consist of? I can see you have the roof which sits above the dwelling, but what's under there? I recall you covered it with a tarp, but never read (may have missed) it.

Cheers,
Stefano

Billy Bob said...

What y'all consider rust in other parts of the world, doesn't occur in the desert. Yes, there is rust, but not the destructive kind found in high humidity. It would take 300 years for a container to rust through and John ain't gonna be around to see that happen.
Mak'n great progress John. Can't wait to get back down there.

Nelson from Garland, Texas said...

I'm not so big on cauliflower or canned chicken, but a can of Ranch Style Beans and some flour tortillas, after a hard day of working outside, is just about as good as it gets for me.

Did you heat them in the solar oven?

Bon apetit!

BigTex said...

I was just curious, do you do any type of work out there for pay or are you just subsidizing with monies from selling in New York. I only ask because if my wife and I were to do what you're doing, we'd likely need some type of income. Great work on your place!