foundation

Dirty Work

The Patriece’s Home team is getting dirty in this Alabama heat. Quite literally! After ten months of research and design the team is ecstatic to begin learning through building. 

But first some final checks! A meeting with Joe Burns help the team perfect their column and bearing wall details. He also helped the students design the edits for their attic truss to create more upstairs storage.

The team did not break ground on their site, instead they brought about 84 square yards of engineered dirt to make a leveled spot for their slab on grade foundation. The turndowns for the slab were also dug the same day as the dirt delivery and re-grading by Tyler from T & C Excavating. The site work was off with a bang thanks to Tyler! All that new dirt was then covered with hay and the team spread grass seed to ensure their site progress didn’t erode away. 

The team then began the sequential process toward pouring their slab! But first what needs to go in the slab. The students rapidly learned how plumbing works and designed their utilities to penetrate through the slab into the home’s interior. Eventually the team made trenches for the pipes and electrical conduit when they figured out that the trencher runs backwards instead of trying to drag it forwards. The PVC pipe and fittings were then placed and leveled to unsure they protrude from the ground in the correct spot, then glued together, and finally buried underneath the foundation. 

They immediately began building the formwork for the concrete, leveling and securing it with metal stakes and kickers. They then packed in dirt behind the formwork, or backfilled it, to ensure concrete doesn’t spill out of the forms from the underside of the wood and sprayed the ground for termite protection. 

When the forms were almost completed the team used Rural Studio’s beloved Bobcat to bring in gravel, spread it with shovels, then used the trusty site level create a level bed for the concrete. 

The team tucked the gravel bed in with a sheet of thick plastic, the foundation’s vapor barrier and secured the plastic to the underside of the formwork’s boards. Now for metal reinforcement! Rebar was cut, staked, bent, and tied together along the turndowns of the slab. A final layer of metal mesh was pieced together and sat across the slab interior. 

However, the actual final layer was the epic three layer tarp the team draped over the whole foundation to protect it from filling up with Hale County’s summer rains before their concrete pour date. 

The anticipated day arrived! Patriece’s Home team worked with our concrete contractor Clyde Fields to do their foundation and porch pours in one day. Because it was the hottest day of the summer about hours after the slab was floated the concrete was set enough for students pulled off the formwork around the porches and screw in expansion joints. The team then poured their porch slabs, allowed then to set, and sprayed them off to expose the pea gravel aggregate!

Their one and only concrete pour day was a huge success and the team is now ready to be out of the ground and go vertical! Check back to see Patriece’s Home start to take shape.

the finished concrete have sprinkler that sits on top of them and keeps the surfaces wet

Those pour, pour foundations!

Live from on top freshly poured foundations, it’s the Thermal Mass and Buoyancy Ventilation Research Project Team! This week the students, with a little help from their friends, completed their Test Building foundations. This included installing rebar and pouring concrete. Let’s get straight to those action shots, huh?

Rebar Retreat

First, Livia’s all time favorite activity, the cutting of the rebar. The team cut sections of rebar for the bottom rebar mat, the top rebar mat, and the vertical pieces that hold the two together.

Next, it’s install time. Comprised of number 5 rebar, the bottom mat is a regular grid. The north-south and east-west pieces are joined with rebar ties. The vertical pieces were hammered into the ground at a consistent elevation. This elevation is 1” lower than the future slab surface. These vertical pieces support the top mat, comprised of number 4 rebar. The top mat only runs between future column locations.

With the rebar installation completed, the TMBV team prepared for the concrete pour. Rowe built bridges to span the foundation excavation holes. The bridges will be used to shovel and trowel the concrete in the middle of the foundations. Jeff helped test bridge durability. Livia prepped her waterproof suit, she’s quite messy and will need to be hosed down with the shovels at the end of the day. Cory practiced his elevation calling as the master of the transit.

The Big Pour

If you find yourself wondering, why do these cute, little buildings need such an intricate foundation? Well, while the volumetric form of the Test Buildings appear small, they are actually quite monumental. Reaching 25’ tall and lifted 7′ 6″ off the ground, the test buildings experience substantial overturning forces which are counteracted by the foundations.

“We get by with a little help from our friends!”

With shovel-armed 5th-years, Steve long calling shots, and Andrew Freear on the chute, the pouring began. Everyone helped move the concrete around the excavation hole until it was about level with the grade pins. Grade pins are orange-painted, vertical pieces that are set to 1/4″ under the slab surface height. When the concrete reaches the grade pins evenly, Rowe and Cory began taking elevation measurements.

In order to deem the elevation, “Good!” the students meticulously move and smooth the concrete. Next, troweling begins once several spot measurements meet the elevation mark. While Livia and Jeff began finishing the surface of the west foundation, the others moved on to the east foundation. Pour, level, rinse, repeat! It is actually a good idea to rinse your shovel in between uses it isn’t ruined by the concrete…

Like most concrete pours, the fashionable ones at least, the TMBV ordered 10% extra concrete. However, the concrete suppliers do not typically take back the extra if it isn’t used. Because all that concrete has got to go somewhere, the TMBV team built formworks that match the size of the concrete scrap they already have. Therefore, they will have plentiful pieces for the design of their Cooling Porch. In the meantime, the mini-slab acts as an executive parking spot for Andrew Freear’s sky-blue Honda FIT.

The Finished Products

Completed east and west foundations
Reserved for Andrew Freear (spikes to be installed later)

Would you look at that—two beautiful foundations ready for curing. And an extra mini slab! The TMBV team could not have completed this feat without the help from the 5th-year students and faculty. The pour went smoothly with no catastrophic events! Next up, construction-wise, the team will install drainage and the steel structure. As always, thanks for stopping by and stay tuned!

f i n

Breaking News: We’re Breaking Ground!

This just in: there’s is a big hole in the Thermal Mass and Buoyancy Ventilation Research Project site!

Thanks to C & T Excavation Inc. the TMBV Test Buildings have broken ground. Local and Rural Studio excavation efficiando, Tyler, completed the initial site grading and the foundation dig. Let’s take a look at how the TMBV team prepped the site for this momentous day.

Newbern’s Newest Crater

plan view drawing showing batterboard arrangement
Plan of Batter Board layout, this drawing guided students in find the foundation limits

Before you can dig a hole, you’ve got to know where to dig! This is where the superheroes of construction, batter boards, come into play. Batter boards are quintessential for starting construction so they must be precise. To clarify, batter boards are temporary frames, set beyond the corners of planned groundwork at common elevations.

Typically, batter boards consist of two stakes driven into the ground with a horizontal member held between them. Next, once you’ve assembled and leveled the batter boards, you use construction string to “pull” layout lines. The layout lines are then secured to the batter boards. Layout lines cross the site either east to west or north to south, between batter boards, to indicate the foundation limits at their intersections. It’s important to note the elevation of the top of each batter board must match so when strings are pulled across the strings intersect.

The TMBV team pulled their first layout line west to east from the Supershed columns. From this line, all other layout lines are set. When all lines’ distances and intersections’ squareness are triple-checked, the team marked the initial grading limits on the ground with spray paint. The end result, with string crisscrossing about like laser beams, feels a bit like a scene from an action movie. Especially if you practice jumping over and rolling under the strings. But, of course, none of these very professional research graduate students took part in such conduct.

At the end of a long day pulling strings, the team marked their initial grading and detached all the layout lines from one side. The layout lines positions are marked on the batter boards so they can be put up and down as needed. Obviously, you can’t build with a bunch of strings in your way. After the initial site grading, the students re-pulled the strings which indicated the foundation limits, marked the corners, and Tyler began digging again. In about 6 hours time, Morrisette Campus had a brand new swimming pool and the TMBV team had a real project site.

Mock-up Progression

In parallel with site groundwork, the TMBV team worked across campus on their mock-up. To mimic the SIPs walls of the test buildings, the mock-up uses 2″ x 12″ stud walls. Due to the angle of the roof and the chimneys, there was much mitering to complete and even more mitering math to figure out. The team built all the stud walls and are ready to assemble. All the especially funky parallelograms you see below are the chimney pieces. With the kit of parts complete, the team awaits columns to build upon.

Cooling Porch Design

True to the design-build spirit, the team is still designing as they’ve started building. The ground plane of the cooling porch was the subject of this week’s design charrette. The team has used, concrete side-walk pieces they intend on using as pavers. However, it is not decided yet how those pavers are arranged.

The team wants to eliminate any excessive cutting of the pavers, especially exact cutting, so they ruled out a linear pattern. They are pursuing a mosaic-like pattern that minimizes concrete cuts. However, without a full inventory of all the concrete pieces, it’s difficult to produce a realistic design. Therefore, in the coming weeks, the team will be taking stock of their recyclable materials. After this, they can start laying out patterns using a steer skid loader to move concrete pieces around.

Welcome to Winter

a dirt roads lead to to silos both surround by frosted grass

As mentioned in the Thermal Mass and Buoyancy Ventilation Research Project Team’s last blog post, the chill has rolled into Hale County. There is never a shortage of beautiful scenery in these parts as proven by these frosty silos. By next post the TMBV team hopes to have another gorgeous view for you; a freshly poured foundation! Here’s hoping and thanks for tuning in!

The Structure at the End of the Rainbow

double rainbow over Morrisette campus storehouse

Live from a double-rainbow kissed Morrisette Campus, It’s the Thermal Mass and Buoyancy Ventilation Research Project team! Recently, as the chill rolls into Newbern, the students and faculty witnessed this heart-warming phenomenon. And if you came for the rainbows, you should stay for the structure. Hang tight to learn how the TMBVRP team is supporting the Test Buildings eight feet off the ground.

One more thing before we get on to the structure, a quick look at the Horseshoe Courtyard. During this semester the TMBV Research Project team has enjoyed working on the Horseshoe Courtyard site. Every Tuesday, project teammates Caleb and Claudia are wonderful and patient teachers to the TMBV team. The team certainly appreciates the construction experience and the time away from their computers. Go check out all of the beautiful work the Horseshoe Courtyard project team has done on their blog!

Column Conundrums

First, a quick reminder of how and why the Test Buildings are up on stilts. Because the Optimal Tuning System uses thermal mass to create airflow, the Test Buildings will expel cooled air. In the Summertime, that cooled air could be a benefit to more than just the Test Building dwellers. Therefore the Test Buildings design was lifted in order to create a Cooling Porch underneath. Here, anyone can enjoy an outpouring of chilled air. The team chose steel columns to do the heavy lifting to keep the focus of the space on the solid Downdraft Chimneys. As seen in previous blog posts, the column’s placement is dictated by the relationship to the Downdraft Chimney’s and the seating arrangement. However, the column arrangement can not just look good on paper and feel right in the mock-up, it’s got to actually, safely stand up.

Thankfully, structural engineer Joe Farruggia approved the column placementnow it was time to size the columns. Through a series of hand calculations, the team tested the stiffness of 3.5″ – 6.0″ diameter steel columns to see which ones could handle the weight of the pods. Then, Rowe took this work into Intercalc, an engineering software. Intercalce allowed him to test structural loads such as gravity loads, wind loads, live loads, and overturning forces. It turns out a 5″ O.D. steel column will be more than safe. Now, onto bracing!

Three of the four columns, per test building, are braced to eliminate excessive drift caused by wind loads on the tall faces of the buildings. Similarly, bracing the columns reduces possible deflection and improves stiffness. The column bracings, hidden in the berm walls surrounding the Cooling Porch, are 4″ x 4″ x 3/8″ steel angles. The six braced columns appear 5′ tall as they disappear into the berms while the other two are the full height of the occupiable space at 8′ tall. These taller, unbraced columns act as entrance markers.

Foundation Demystification

Originally, the team believed a concrete ring beam foundation would be sufficient for fixing the steel columns, and thus the buildings, solidly to the ground. As seen in the drawing above, the ring beams would extend to catch bracing. However, the team needed to consider overturning moments, or overturning forces, due to the height and the aforementioned wind loads of the Test Buildings. Overturning moments are those applied moments, shears, and uplift forces that seek to cause the footing to become unstable and turn over. This means they needed to make sure the foundations were strong enough to keep the columns and bracing in the ground during bad storms.

Before these moments could be properly designed for, the team needed to do some soil testing. The quality, based on its compaction, of the soil is another factor in determining the necessary size, and strength, of the foundation. Jeff and Cory dug some holes and then used a penetrometer to test the soil. And who would have thoughtthe site has some pretty decent soil! Unfortunately, Jeff has been stuck in that hole for weeks… We miss you Jeff!

To counteract the overturning forces, the foundation changed from a ring beam to a buried slab foundation which increases its weight. Each Test Building will have its own foundation. The slab foundations secure all columns and bracing to each other as well as the ground. Below are currents drawings of the foundation, column location, and bracing connections.

The Thermal Mass and Buoyancy Ventilation team will be jumping into drainage and ground material master planning next. Translating research into design into construction has been an arduous journey. However, the pay off will be worth it when designers anywhere can use the Optimal Tuning Strategy to make building materials work as air conditioners. Thanks for reading and stay tuned!

Formwork makes the Dreamwork

Studio

This week, the 3rd-years worked on creating detail drawings of Ophelia’s Home’s foundation. Being able to see the foundations in person while drawing them is an amazing, unique opportunity. It has quickly given the students an understanding of how crawl-space foundations work. Each student selected a unique piece of the foundation to draw. These drawings will eventually be added onto to create 7 complete section cuts. The drawings show details through the foundation piers, vents, below significant areas, and the front porch. All the drawings were organized onto one construction document sheet, which is a new and very important skill for the 3rd-years to have learned.

Horseshoe Courtyard

This week, the 3rd-years’ continued work at Horseshoe Courtyard consisted of cleaning more bricks. They also began building and setting up wooden formwork for the incoming concrete! Students worked to hammer in stakes, cut wood boards, and drill formwork into place. They are extremely excited (some may say overly excited) about the concrete pour.

Perry Lakes Park

After a few weeks of working in Hale County, half of the 3rd year students ventured out to Perry Lakes Park to help with maintenance and repair. This included working with 5th-year students and graduate students to clear large debris from pathways and replace aging timber boards on the elevated walkways and the Birding Tower. Perry Lakes Park is currently closed to the public until it is rejuvenated. However, once the Rural Studio Students are finished, the park will be open for bird enthusiasts, outdoor lovers, and adventurers alike.