First and foremost we are praying for clear skies and no rain until later afternoon at the earliest!

Ok with my weather prediction out of the way here is a brief overview of the plan for today's build.

All of the material is currently stored in the Tack Room on raised blocks, to prevent it from any water damage. The logical flow of work will be from the tack room up and then around to the build site so work will be organized so that it will bring materials from that location as close as possible to the work station nearest the build. In planning for that we will set up four work stations (in order in proximity to the tack room with the closest first):
1. Board cutting station (power needed)
    This location will be equipped with saw horses, circular saw, circular saw cutting guide, a pencil, clamps. Boards will be unloaded from the tack room and 12 boards will be placed at this station. Of these 11 boards, 6 will be cut in true diagonal. The remaining 6 will be cut short according to the foundation measurements and two of the short boards will be cut in diagonal.

2. Board painting station (no power needed)
    This location will be equipped with blocks, paint and paint rollers. The exterior boards will receive one coat of paint on both sides and the edges. All boards not at station one will be placed here. Multiple block will be used so that multiple boards can be painted and drying at one time.

3. Hinge assembly station (power can be used with a power screw driver)
    This location will be equipped with hinges, screws and a power screw driver. This station will attach hinges to each of the painted/dried boards according to build specifications. A hinge location guide will be constructed prior to assembly with the top and bottom hinges spaced an equal distance from the edge and one hinge placed at center.

4. Miter station (power needed)
    This station will be equipped with a miter saw. All pressure treated lumber will be placed at this station. The boards for the outer foundation and center support beam will be mitered prior to assembly. Donated wood will be used FIRST BEFORE making the mitered cuts on the pressure treated lumber.

BUILD SITE:
The build site will be equipped with a pneumatic nail gun which will be used for the foundation assembly. Foundation blocks will also be necessary at the build site. A minimum of 7 blocks will be necessary to provide support for the foundation/structure.


The order of work flow will be as follows:
The pressure treated timber will be brought to station 4 and the foundation assembly can be initiated. At the same time boards at station 2 should be painted, while station 1 prepares the cut boards and quickly fowards them to the station 2 for painting. Once boards at station 2 are dry, they should be flipped over and the other side painted.  Once boards dry, hinges for the walls and ceiling panels should be added and then the wall pieces should be ready for assembly onto the foundation.

After wall assembly is completed, all seams will be filled with an expandable, waterproof sealant to ensure a water-tight structure.

And voila! AFTER we finish all of this we will have erected the very first Hexayurt Cabin!

Stay tuned for pictures, video and follow up analysis of this build! It's never too late to come out and help and never too late to make a donation.

Today's task was to finalize the purchase of the building materials for Sunday's test build. The following are the supplies purchased. With the exception of the hinges all items were purchased at the N. Huntsville Lowe's home improvement store.

Supplies:
Qty: 23 7/16" OSB 4x8 sheets
Qty: 24 2x4"x8' pressure treated studs
Qty: 2 2x4"x16' pressure treated stud
Qty: 2 cans Dow Great Stuff inflatable insulation/waterproof barrier
Qty: 90 3.5" Brass hinges (either Stanley or an off brand) rounded
Qty: 540+ Hinge screws
Qty: 5 gallons Exterior Paint

Habitat Restore: $48.60
Lowe's: $218.38
Total cost: $266.98

Other stuff hanging around:
OSB boards, boards of various lengths and sizes, nails, screws, miter saw, circular saw, saw hours, circular saw cutting guide, paint sprayer, ladders, nail gun, clamps, string, ground stakes, screwdrivers, hammers, miter box and saw

A few random notes:
1. There was a wonderful guy named Ed at Lowe's that loaded ALL the lumber onto the trailer!
2. We had a collective effort to unload the material at Shekinah Farm from Devonne, Christie, Satch, Desiree, Shelly, Symonne and myself. So basically seven of us did the work of unloading what one person, Ed, did by himself
3. A 10% Lowes coupon is in the "change of address" packets that are available from the United States Postal Service! Hint...hint! The discount almost paid for the paint for this build!

We off-loaded a trailer load of building materials today from a local builder. It will offset our lumber costs for this budget by about 20-30%. We have also found a local supply of used hinges that will be used for the build from the local Habitat Restore in Huntsville, Alabama. They have an abundant supply of Stanley brass hinges that we will be sorting and selecting tomorrow (storm today slowed us down). We will be using the standard 3.5" size, standard in most home supply retailers.

We will upload additional photos tomorrow and work to chop up the video footage from the ground clearing that was too long to properly upload into youtube on our attempt yesterday.

Look for more details as we lead up to Sunday's test build. Also additional donations would allow us to complete the waterproofing and insulation on this build date. Insulation (Reflectix or radiant barrier paint would be the choice for this test build. The cost implications for the Reflectix is approximately an additional $200 to the build and the thermal/radiant barrier paint would be an additional $100 cost to the project). Donations can be submitted through our blog page link to "chip in" or directly
CHIP IN FOR THIS PROJECT BY CLICKING THIS LINK

The work today was to level the build site and safely bury the water/sewer lines and rope a rough outline of the build site. The approximate work time was 1 hour 15 minutes.

The hexayurt has progressed from its brilliant beginnings in the hands of Vinay Gupta. This design was initially a solution for third world countries and burning man participants. The Factor E Farm group decided last fall to attempt a plywood build and after looking at the cost implications of that build I began work on redesigning the original construction design into a semi-permanent cabin style hexayurt.

The following links will provide you with background and development history and pictures.

The Hexayurt Project

Factor E Farm Plywood Hexayurt

We will be conducting a test build on June 14, 2009 at Shekinah Farms (http://shekinah-farm.com/). This test build will be erect a standard hexagon Hexayurt (www.hexayurt.com developed by Vinay Gupta) with a raised (cinder block supported) foundation. The test build will be erected on a site that currently has a new water and sewer line.

This test build is for the following purposes (and I'm sure there will be a few more implications along the way):
1. Construct the foundation for the traditional hexayurt according to current design data
2. Construct the hexayurt wall/roof assembly using the current hinged wall design
3. Document the wall/floor construction and assembly
4. Document the circular saw cutting guides, testing for accuracy and ease of use
5. Calculate appropriate manpower requirements for construction and assembly
6. Calculate manhour requirements for construction and assembly
7. Collection of still photography and video for use in further data analysis and for the development of training documents and aids

What we expect to see at the end of this test build is:
1. A complete hinged wall hexayurt firmly affixed to a raised (cinder block supported) foundation with the capabilities to have running water and a septic connected bathroom.
2. A revised construction plan for this model
3. Video and still photography footage for use in further analysis and in the development of training material and build documentation

Implications:
1. An accurate construction plan will allow us to plan for further testing (testing of insulation is a vital next step in the design process
2. Completed construction will allow us to determine a final cost for construction
3. Completed construction will allow us to move forward in testing the use of water/sewer connections
4. Completed construction of the exterior will allow us to further test interior wall and sleeping/storage loft designs and construction

Resources needed:
1. Financial resources: We would like a $500 buffer for this test build. This will ensure adequate material for the build and will also provide enough funding for plumbing materials essential to connecting the hexayurt to water and sew lines. Chip In: http://convertiblecommunity.chipin.com/hexayurt-test-build-june-14-2009-shekinah-farms-al
PLEASE MAKE A DONATION SO THAT WE WILL HAVE ADEQUATE FUNDS ON HAND PRIOR TO THE TEST BUILD (any donation will be appreciated)

2. Human resources: If you are close enough to the North Alabama region (Hazel Green, AL) please plan to come join us. There are adequate camping (tent and travel trailer) space and adequate bath facilities available onsite. Come for the weekend or come for the day!

If you would like more information please email me at larahna@gmail.com or call at 478.338.2670!

Building solutions!
LaRahna