June 16, 2013

This passed week was a busy week for Team ASUNM. The week began with spraying the moisture barrier and weatherproofing on the house. The job was done well and in a short amount of time. That left us the rest of the week free for a lot more work to be done on the home.

On Wednesday, a visit by the School of Architecture director and dean at the University of New Mexico Michaele Pride, Geraldine Forbes and Geoffrey Adams came to see the work that UNM and ASU students of Team ASUNM have been working on since the beginning of the summer. The Design School of Arizona State dean and director Craig Barton and Michael Underhill also attended this event to tour the home and get an understanding of what is yet to come. It is always great to share the progress with our partnered schools deans and directors, as well as with the team. Student members were present to share the design and construction process with the guests. Luckily the tour of the home was under the shade which was 20 degrees cooler than the exterior 115 degree temperature.

This weekend was a busy 3 days of installing windows and doors by Western Windows, duct work by Swisher Heating and Air Conditioning, and applying insulation on the roof and interior walls. Mechanical student Helene Beauchamp and Swisher worked on the remaining duct work for the air handler unit in the house. Collum Roofers did a fantastic job on the roof. They sprayed the foam insulation for the roof as well as the interior walls. We had to stay clear of the Heat-lock Soy spray foam insulation, especially for our cars. Heat and spray foam do not go well together.

After that was cleared away, the Western Windows were installed from the bedroom to the bi-fold doors in the flex space. After a few adjustments the last door was installed!

The house is coming along, and sooner than expected we will have a more enclosed interior!

This week was an interesting week at ACT. A couple of adjustments were made to the plumbing and a framed shower pan was made by a couple of the students to save costs.  The shower head was selected and now we can have a concealed connection seamlessly designed with the bamboo shower planks. Students, Gian, Rahul and John worked on designing and fabricating the shower pan to match the specific design requirements.

We had a couple of material arrivals, one being our 36 Sunmodule solar panels from SolarWorld. Thank you for a wonderful delivery which will set us apart from the rest of the team. Our mono-crystalline solar panels will supply the home with more than it needs in the most efficient way possible. We also had steel beams and columns donated to help supply the material needed to complete our solar canopy. The south module will soon be shaded by the canopy and panels. We can’t wait!

It was also a big week for preparing the modules to be moved out of the shade, and into the sun. Tires and axles were added to the module’s chassis thanks to Kelly’s installation at ACT. The south module was moved first very carefully, the north module and lastly the mechanical module was moved in to the open field. ACT has been very generous with their time and allowing us to occupy their shaded work space for this long. The team is now ready to work through the summer’s “pleasant” temperatures. Here we go!!

Take a look at our time laps videos of the modules being moved and photos of the SHADE’s home first ride on the chassis!

The electrical installation was completed by Kortman Electric and Abraxas. With help from subcontractors at Krotman, meetings and coordination with the student leaders and Lutron Controls, the electrical wiring was in place within a few days.

The mechanical installation was in two parts: the Beka installation by Woldgangs Cooling and Heating and the air side installation by Swisher Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc. The mainlines for the Beka cooling and heating system were also pressurized to insure that there were no leaks within the pipes.

The plumbing was completed with supervision from the student leaders and labor from Quail Plumbing. They have been helpful in the design and thinking of the connections to each component in the mechanical core of the house.

We would like to thank Krotman Electric, Abraxas (Justin Armstrong ), Wolfgangs Cooling and Heating, Swisher Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc and Quail Plumbing for their hard work, effort, and support throughout this project. It would be impossible to complete the work we have so far without the support of our talented local companies!

Updates on the construction will happen every week, so continue to follow our progress.