Hello everyone and welcome back to the Rural Studio Bathhouse blog! We hope that everyone had a good and restful Thanksgiving. We would like to share a quick update on what’s going on before we get out of Hale for a few weeks and take a much-needed winter break!
First up, we are very excited to share the progress we’ve made with the walls! The new and improved process of creating the modules has been going very well. With this process, we choose six boards, cut their ends off, drill the holes for the threaded rods one by one using a template, stack them, clamp them, and screw them together, board-by-board, using the jig table. The sixth board can be planed down to the thickness needed to get to the overall module height. The module is then removed from the table and cut to length.
Although this is a very time-consuming process, we are very happy to share that we are nearly finished with the modules for the toilet pod which means that we are about 50% done with all the modules for the project!
On site, we have made progress with finishing all the groundwork. The water supply line has been put in place, and all the electrical breaker boxes have been installed and wired to the main supply.
We have also had all the CMU block finished for the boot-washing station foundation at the beginning of the bathhouse and the greywater filter at the outdoor shower.
The team has filled the greywater filter with layers of sand and gravel, placing landscape fabric in between. This filter will clean any soap and shampoo from the runoff water of the outdoor shower before the water enters the infiltration trench.
We also have a very exciting update regarding the steel components of the project. After presenting our project to Jim Turnipseed of Turnipseed International, he has graciously offered to help support the Bathhouse by donating the materials needed for the walkway and roof structures. He has also agreed to lend space and assistance to teach the team how to weld and fabricate the walkway frames and roof trusses. We are so grateful to Jim for his incredible generosity and willingness to support the Bathhouse project and Rural Studio.
The team has decided to move forward with the construction of the walkway as the first steel components of the project. The walkway will provide a floor surface that is crucial when the team is ready to start stacking the modules in place on site. Recently, we received the first part of the walkway structure, a series of channels that will be attached to the sides of the pods and hold up the walkway frames.
Our good friend Brad from Superior Metal Works helped us by drilling holes, cutting slots, and welding some small plates and channels to these pieces.
Once he was done, the team started the process of cleaning and sanding the metal. We quickly realized it would be much better to have them sandblasted if possible.
Back to Brad’s we went and got the beams professionally sandblasted and ready to be painted!
We have spent the past couple of days painting the beams with two coats of paint. The team will install them all on site early next week (fingers crossed)! Having the walkway supports in place will allow us to double-check our measurements and update any walkway drawings, if necessary, over the break.
After winter break, we will pick back up hard on the modules for the shower pod with the goal to finish them by February. We will also be going to Turnipseed in Birmingham to start the fabrication of the walkway frames and roof structure. We are happy with the progress being made and can’t wait to send another update out in the new year!
Thank you so much for reading along and Happy Holidays from your friends in Hale!
– Rural Studio Bathhouse Team
Carla, Ambar, Ashley, and Logan