Up early to the farmers market for produce, with a later return trip for flowers for my landlady, as a thank you for the many practical and down to earth kindnesses she continues to give, from mail delivery to garbage take out, all done unobtrusively and without fanfare.
Also out to the local grocery to top off the non-“market” domestic needs, only to run amuck with my two wheeled steed en route. A side “benefit” to my time here is a certain prowess with bicycle repair, having had to reset seat, fender and bicycle chain so far. This time the nut holding one of the pedals in alignment with the other worked its way off, leaving me with no pedal/braking power… amazing how vital one small “cog in the wheel” can be to successful operations… like an O-ring on the space shuttle, or the one who keeps all on a construction site from “roller skating” across the floor by persistently picking up errant nails… all important, yes? A mechanical parable, but I digress
Attended the old Lutheran Church service today with the current team, infused with more music than usual via both the team and a choir whose origins are with the church, here for a reunion this week (among them the seen folks who worked with us on Wednesday). One of their members, a young woman from India, wove together two newer songs sung in part with guitar and in part unaccompanied. Her faith and love of God shone forth in her voice and delivery… stunningly beautiful… truly a gift in all ways, with the song delivered in English in deference/honor of the team’s presence there. Though the lyrics of one of the songs still prove elusive, the other is "As We Gather" (Words and Music by Mike Fay and Tom Coomes):
As we gather may Your Spirit work within us
As we gather may we glorify Your name
Knowing well that as our hearts begin to worship
We'll be blessed because we came
We'll be blessed because we came
Simple, direct, lovely... a musical prayer, as were the translations of several of the pieces sung by the visiting choir. Faith is evident in this small church community still fairly recently out from “under” communist rule… the final line really captured me… “We will be blessed because we came.” ‘nough said.
I joined Gabi and Levi to see the team off, and spent the afternoon catching up once again, as well as getting a jump start on the coming week. Gabi will be away for a portion of it, Levi and I will go to Hajdu for a dedication ceremony to start the new HFH liaison there (this is where Shandor will begin his work in earnest!), and the rest of the week will be far lighter and quieter than the first 7 spent here. The next team arrives Sunday, on the eve of a Hungarian national holiday, and will be with us for ten days.
Sat 11aug07
Sunny, hot and still air by noon most days this week, with today no exception! Our last working day with the current group, building the last headers, laying top plates and continuing the blocking, an intense upper arm workout for all! We use 120cm nails for these tasks, a bit longer than 16 penny sinkers and tougher to nail home, occasionally behaving a bit like pounding galvanized nails into rock, in part because of the quality of the wood we use (combined with opeartor learning curve(s). Rafters will be installed with thick 200cm long nails… time to learn new hammering techniques, or I’ll be all day installing just one (nail that is, not rafter!)!
Family members Zsolt, Zoltan and Andras were on board today, neat to see them working on their own units as well as those of their future neighbors in this row house. Noticed today as these gents amongst our receiving families came on site that handshaking is reserved for the guys, a kiss on each cheek for women and/or men. The wee American in me went for the hand shake out of habit, and was rewarded with that and some laughter as we recognized yet another cultural difference.
Top plates work like those we construct in Kitsap County, interlocking/linking inner and outer walls, and linking inner walls to themselves as well. For one of our team members who does construction in the states, this and other techniques here often seemed like overkill, leading to interesting “shop talk”, always fun for me. A note: To this day I’ve no idea where this love of construction and building comes from, only that despite intense work days and sore muscles at times, I really do enjoy the process in virtually every way.
Blocking is done between the studs of every exterior and interior wall, to strengthen the structure and overcome the twist/warp seen in so much of the lumber we use. Wall junctions are nailed every 12 inches/30 cm from both sides, as are door frames. Interior and exterior doors are fairly heavy here, purportedly 80-100kg each, so rough door frames are reinforced with three 10cm metal rods capped with washers and nuts and countersunk into the frames. No matter how many times kids (young or old [smile]) slam the doors, methinks they’ll hold up to the action for years to come!
The day ended with a lovely farewell dinner with the team and those families able to attend, made all the more intimate by an increasing integration of Hungarian and English speaking folks at each table. With a lively mix of laughter, words and interpretations all were heard and had an opportunity to get to know one another a bit more, truly a step towards global community building even on this seemingly small scale.
Often as we exchange farewells and thank yous, the auxiliary staff here are quiet spectators. On this particular evening Gabi spent special time recognizing Clara, Levi and myself, an unexpected boost to spirit and allways neat to hear for anyone. Levi continued, with a beautiful nod towards me that said it all, really… he feels that a smile, a look in the eyes, and things of this nature say so much more than mere words or thank you can often express, and I agree (though the “hug hog” in me would add hugs as well [smile]). Note: A favorite T-shirt of mine that didn’t make the packing cut for this trip says “I work for Hugs”… so true… for me that gentle and heartfelt contact is worth more than any words or material reward.
Fri10aug07
All interior walls framed, and headers and blocking begun. Team dynamics are always interesting, and much learned with this group that has offered a different style and approach than those I’ve interacted with thus far. Expanded approaches/relationships/connectedness, very cool, all good!
Levi, Gabi and their spouses and I met for a riverfront concert last night to listen to local rock/blues bands and Deak Bill (Bill Deak), a well known Hungarian blues singer. A fun and unexpected surprise to hear Radar Love, Wild Thing and other tunes from back in the day, sung in English but with Hungarian flair. The blues tunes were a combo of things familiar sung in Hungarian as well as songs of their own. Relaxed open seating along the parkway beach and dock areas that one can only find in a small town setting, with a bonus lightning show off in the distance. Very cool.
Thu9aug07
Interior walls almost complete [yay!], building for a half day, with the group taking an afternoon boat ride on the Koros, a history walk with Levi, followed by dinner and free time.
I spent part of the afternoon with Levi and his older daughter Palma swimming at the riverfront… a public beach free to all on weekdays and open for a nominal fee per person on weekends. It was a rare one-on-one offsite time spent talking about childhoods and things outside the HFH arena, much appreciated given Levi’s limited time with family when building is in full swing. A gift in all ways…
Joined the group for the history walk… Levi’s deep passion and connectedness to country evident yet again in his narration of the main events shaping his country. Gabi joined us for a portion of the walk as well; very cool. Their views and feelings about Hungary are different in many ways and as such offer more personal perspective and insight. Definitely a more intimate view of the surroundings thatn one would receive on standard tours in more populated cities…
Wedaug807
Seven Hungarians affiliated with the Old Lutheran Church were on site with us today, members of a choir begun 15 years ago and celebrating that anniversary by doing community service with us. All were fairly young and several knew some English, offering a time for fellowship and getting to know a bit about one another, especially at the lunch hour. Also on track with the team and moving forward together. Funny, sometimes these small detours make for great strides forward; no exceptions here...
One full unit framed completely today with partial framing done in another three, including slightly more work intensive walls in 2 of the 5 units. By days end, we are down to straightforward interior framing to round out this team’s week, and perhaps the beginning of blocking between all studs in all walls to strengthen them before moving on to exterior sheathing with OSB and then on to beginning hand cutting of roof rafters/trusses.
Later in the evening all participated in Hungarian folk dancing before dinner; always fun, always lively, and somehow I found myself as the instructor's dancing partner again... that'll challenge your speed and agility! Fun!
Tue7aug07
Laid plates, learned more about support walls and how they work, where they attach, and building pockets for “headers”, substantial ceiling beams measuring 15cm x 25cm x 600 plus cm, to be lifted into overhead pockets to support ceiling rafters and roof. Suffice it to say that these are weighty once constructed, and are staged into place using ladders and a fair share of patience and sheer brawn!
That “lesson session” complete, I spent what felt like one of my longer days on site working solo laying interior plates for the better part of the day. While I enjoy this particular task, and Levi’s confidence in my doing this and so many other crucial tasks on site are welcome and gratifying, it was not conducive to team building and creating more positive working relations with the current group. Ended up departing for home a bit early to take a breather and “reset”…
Mon6aug07
This group is a "closed" team (meaning not posted to the web for fillin of team spaces) from Lancaster PA, ten in all, four of whom have been here before. Some have construction backgrounds, some are entirely new to the process, all but one members of the same church. Shandor, program manager for the new HFH liaison in Hajduboszormeny or Hajau (Hoi-due) for short, is also with us for the first two days this week to gain exposure to working with a GV team and see more of the building process. Very cool.
Exuberant team/builders overall, great for making progress, though a bit challenging re safety and teaching the new/inexperienced folks so they’re comfortable and understand how and what to do on this first day. Combined with what I was asked to do today, off to a somewhat rocky start as a result, and reminded yet again of the benefit of really assessing styles/grouping team members and teaching styles in ways that encourage all, hold a good balance, and create the best possible experience for all, visiting team and our staff alike.
Build sequence and details… studs are set 40cm on center versus 16” on center, measured from opposite corners versus from one end of a wall to the other. The first bottom plate is a leveling plate and attached to the foundation/concrete floor via J-bolt. The 2nd bottom plate is the squaring plate and attached to the first by 160cm szegsz (nails); the J-bolt heads are cut with a grinder level with the top of the nut securing them so 1st and 2nd plates fit flat together, the 2nd plate fitted over them by drilling holes to accommodate the J-bolt/nut/washer. Next come what we know as standard top/bottom plates and studs, exterior walls built out first with embedded diagonal braces on end walls. Interior demising walls all constructed next and fully sheathed in OSB before rolling them into place. All interior wall framing and header construction follows, and then the full structure is secured with a 2nd top plate to interlock and square the frame inside and out just as we do in Kitsap County. Blocking is installed between every stud pair on all interior and exterior walls (partly to strengthen walls, partly to counter the warping on the wood). Exterior sheathing in OSB will be among the next tasks, with rafters and ceiling truss construction coming later this fall.
Other construction “trivia”… Pockets are built into the center of end and demising walls to accept/support the headers; demising walls are sheathed with OSB to hold square, but not fitted to studs, since they are not exposed…. Interesting in that the walls would be stronger if sheathed the latter way. The former saves on materials, and blocking between demising wall studs will achieve the same strengthening effect.
None of the lumber is “pressure treated” as such, but rather, all are dipped in a chemical bath for worms and termites. The warping we see with each board is caused in part by the dipping, in part by the summer heat that dries these fairly green boards faster than we’d like. All boards require squaring at the ends before being cut for studs and plates. Plates are cut from boards with parallel sides and as flat as we can find, and if warped, will work if warped the long way versus side to side twisting.
They use California corners or “boxes” at wall intersections, and a variation of same at the demising walls to secure the wider center walls that accept the headers later (and provide surfaces for attaching drywall).
A note: A tiny kitten has begun frequenting the site, cute but unwelcome re safety for both it and the distracting “awwwwww” factor we humans react with. and It was “removed” several times, but fits through any fencing or space we have so a somewhat futile process! [laughing] There is a black adult mouser who regularly traverses the site in the early morning with breakfast in its mouth, perhaps this wee one’s mum or dad…
Over the weekend the families reset the trailer location, cleaned it out almost completely, built shelves in the container, added lighting, and basically reorganized tools , etc. for a more easily accessed system…looks fabulous, though it was adventure locating things this morning! TNow to maintain it for them and the final teams this year!
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