DANIEL S. POTASHARCH 598 - SUMMER 2013

ecoREHAB design/buildDEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTUREBALL STATE UNIVERSITY

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DAY 1 - 6.17.13

DAY 2 - 6.19.13

DAY 3 - 6.21.13

Summary of daily activities: • Course summary and description • General project overview • Start drywall

Summary of daily activities: • Continue drywall • Fence picket installation

Summary of daily activities: • Back deck sanding and cleaning for stain prep • Removal of fence bracing • Continuation of drywall

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WEEK 1 SUMMARY

ecoREHAB

I will admit, when I signed up for this class I was worried that I would be working on similar tasks to what I have done before. I found that to be a wrong assumption very quickly.

This was the first time I had been back to the project house in awhile, and I was surprised at what I saw. Not only did the house look great from the inside and out, but some of the houses around it also seemed to have improved. This I think has become an indirect influence of ecoREHAB’s work around the city. Not only does it increase the appeal of a specific home, but it helps to bring home ownership and pride to the adjacent lots.

After a quick meeting in the previous home, we all moved over to the new project house and jumped into the drywall process. I quickly remembered that working on older homes makes for a tough (yet still fun) time. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, in this house seems to be square or straight. During the original construction the lath and plaster allowed for minor defects in the framing, but drywall isn’t as forgiving. It seems that sometimes hanging the simplest of pieces proves to be the toughest task.

When walking to the site on Friday, one of the neighbors was out for his morning smoke. He yelled good morning to me as I walked by, and I of course responded. He then went on to ask how the house was coming. It made me wonder what the local residents think about ecoREHAB and about students coming to work on houses in their neighborhood. I look forward to the community meeting next week to see what they say.

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WEEK 1 PHOTOS

Gharkey Street House<<<Located across the street from the last project house, this will be the spot where our session of work will occur.

Fence Picket Installation>>>

Nick, Nate nor I had ever installed a fence before. It

took us a few pickets to get into a rhythm, but we eventually came up with a process that allowed us to become very streamlined.

Instead of measuring each picket individually, we simply

flipped a new one over and measured based on the

previous.

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Back Porch Sanding>>>

When we first started, we thought a simple cleaning

would be enough to prep the deck for staining. After further

investigation, we ended up sanding the entire deck.

Back Porch Sanding Prep<<<To allow us to sand properly, we had to go through and tighten most of the screws. While they would have been fine for just a stain, they needed to be set in a little further for the sanding.

Drywall Installation<<<Before we could all move any further on in the interior, we needed to complete hanging drywall. This ended up being a very lengthy process.

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DAY 4 - 6.24.13

DAY 5 - 6.26.13

DAY 6 - 6.28.13

Summary of daily activities: • Continuation of drywall • Begin drywall mudding

Summary of daily activities: • Sealing holes in attic

Summary of daily activities: • Sanding and patching drywall mud

MEETING - 6.25.13Summary of daily activities: • Old West End Neighborhood Meeting

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WEEK 2 SUMMARYThe Old West End

This week was mainly a continuation of last weeks works, more and more drywall. I also had the opportunity to jump up (not literally) into the attic to fill in any holes and penetrations. I learned that one of the leading losses of energy/air in a home is around any electrical box in the ceiling. I had never thought about it but it makes perfect sense.

On Monday, Jonathan turned to me and asked how long I thought a skilled team (2) of drywallers would take to finish the home. I guessed 1-1.5 days, which he agreed was right. This kind of work really makes me appreciate the skilled workers that get hired onto jobs. I am sure after time you get better, but like anything it really seems it is an art form. During the course of my internship this last semester I was lucky enough to be the project architect for a two floor hospital renovation. I was amazed to see how fast the crews worked between our weekly site construction meetings. Working with similar tasks now gives me an even higher appreciation for their work.

The highlight of the week for me was the Old West End Neighborhood Meeting. It started out just as I thought any neighborhood association meeting would. They talked about what is currently happening and what is planned for the future. A few of the residents expressed concerns about drug and landlord issues, all to me seem like pretty typical discussions.

They then opened the floor to questions and conversations. Jonathan also opened the floor to the residents to ask us questions. I was

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WEEK 2 cont.

happily surprised to hear that the residents are thankful for the work we all do. They said that it helps to provide a sense of community near the homes we touch. They also appreciate seeing the campus getting involved in the communities around it. It has always surprised me that the surrounding areas don’t tap more into the very valuable resource that is Ball State.

It really seems that this and many other communities around Ball State get a bad name and reputation. While there are some “rough” areas, there are also many other areas that are rapidly changing. Even in the 5 years that I have been in the area I have seen many improvements and changes. I also appreciated how open the association was in discussing issues and problems in the area. While I could tell they were trying to avoid discussing certain things, they still allowed all the residents to express any concerns and issues.

The morning following the meeting, at the beginning of class, we discussed what we all thought about the meeting. We then went on to discuss the process of how ecoREHAB obtains a house to work on. I never realized how lengthy of a process it actually is, also how legal it becomes! It does make sense that you wouldn’t want the local government to just walk around and pick up properties to give away to non-profit organizations. At the same time it seems there should be a way to streamline the process. Since the houses have to sit through many different sales and waiting periods, they often become dilapidated beyond repair during the process. It just proves that in this type of business you have to have patience and persistence.

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WEEK 2 PHOTOS

Drywall Taping and Mudding^^^>>>Since all the drywall has been installed, the next step in the process is to tape and mud all the joints and screw holes. I still can’t call myself anywhere near an expert in this process, but I became better as time went on. While it isn’t the prettiest job, it will eventually be sanded and painted over. The key has been to fill all the areas with the least amount of excess.

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DAY 7 - 7.1.13

DAY 8 - 7.3.13

DAY 9 - 7.5.13

Summary of daily activities: • Prepping and laying bathroom floor tile

Summary of daily activities: • Cutting and prepping bathroom tile

Summary of daily activities: • No Class - Holiday

WORK DAY - 7.2.13Summary of daily activities: • Painting kitchen and living room

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WEEK 3 SUMMARY

Skilled Workers

This week again got me thinking about skilled workers. I spent the entire week working on different finishes ranging from tile to paint. While I have done these tasks before, it has been awhile and my skills have gotten rather rusty.

As I discussed before, it is strange to think about how fast professional crews would fly though this home. While some tasks require more drying time than others, professional crews would be done in just a few days. I also witnessed the work of professional crews during the installation of the gas line to the house. It seems like a tough task to find and connect to an existing gas line while avoiding obstacles such as sidewalks and streets, the crew flew through the task. They worked like a well oiled machine, knowing what each other was doing at all times.

The efficiency in the design also seems to affect the speed at which work can be finished. Jonathan talked about being able to find the balance between “crazy” design and efficient good design. I think finding that balance is extremely important, especially when it comes to rehabbing houses. These homes need to appeal to the mass market and allow for easy quick sales. Much of this comes back to finding the correct balance in design. Not only does this balance affect the marketability but also the buildability.

These ideas also lead me to believe that this type of class is a great idea for students, especially design students. It helps to demonstrate the need to think about design from many different angles, especially how the design is to be constructed.

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WEEK 3 PHOTOS

Bathroom Floor Tile^^^It has been awhile since I have done any tile work. When talking things over we decided to go with an offset joint pattern. Not only does this give a more dynamic look, it is actually easier to set. It doesn’t require perfectly straight grout joints.

^^^

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Wall/Ceiling Paint^^^While I have painted before, I wasn’t ever really taught any techniques for good painting. I also learned about cutting in around the ceilings. It does seem to take patience and practice, but if you take your time you can get a really nice result. After a few hours of painting yellow, it seemed that was all I could see!

^^^

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DAY 10 - 7.8.13

DAY 11 - 7.10.13

DAY 12 - 7.12.13

Summary of daily activities: • Grouting bathroom floor • Cutting shower tiles

Summary of daily activities: • Cleaning and stripping salvaged trim • Class evening meeting

Summary of daily activities: • Install bathroom cabinet and towel bars

WORK DAY - 7.11.13Summary of daily activities: • Finish hardwood floor

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WEEK 4 SUMMARY

ecoREHAB?

This week I got to work mainly on finishes ranging from tiles to hanging bathroom accessories. The week really helped to bring the full summer session to a complete circle. It made me realize that we have worked on a little bit of everything from drywall to the finishing touches in the house. It also made me realize that while the session is quickly coming to an end our class has really come a long way.

On Wednesday Jonathan had both the current classes over to the previous project house to discuss a little more about what ecoREHAB is. I really enjoyed the opportunity to take a look into how the organization runs and what all truly goes into a project. As Jonathan put it, “ecoREHAB really is more than just drywall and paint.” Even though I have been involved with a project house before I don’t specifically remember going over the inner workings of the organization.

There is much more organization and structure to the process of working on these homes than meets the eye. While I experienced a lot of the sequencing issues during my internship, I never had to deal with a student work crew; I have mentioned before how we move much slower than a professional work crew. I imagine that much of the sequencing has been learned from the previous projects. Approaching the end of our session, I can see now how the 5 week courses can be very difficult to work with.

A few statistics stood out to me from our discussion. The fact that 1 in 10 homes in Muncie are unoccupied is surprising. This fact alone proves the point that more organizations like ecoREHAB are necessary. Jonathan talked about how if these homes are

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demolished, no one will rebuild and move into the area. The only true way to keep Muncie moving forward is to keep the current homes where they are and not in a landfill. It also surprises me that the initial response to the ecoREHAB concept was negative. To me it seems that Muncie and Ball State would want to keep the homes occupied. I understand that Ball State is not as concerned with the surrounding neighborhood as they are with the campus. It still seems to me that they would want the surrounding area to stay alive and not disappear the way it currently is. If more organizations could save the homes, they would not only be saving a building but they would be saving a community and a way of life.

I was also surprised by the fact that up until about 3 years ago, HUD money was only granted for new construction. I think the shift in their ways shows the importance of reusing existing structures. I am curious what influenced the change in their ideals. I would like to think that it was organizations that exist like ecoREHAB that demonstrated the ability to reuse.

Jonathan also discussed some of the general concepts that ecoREHAB works towards in the design of their homes. He discussed the importance of the triple bottom line and how the concepts affect the outcome of a design. He also brought up a concept of designing not for peak usage but for optimal usage. Now that I think about it, it really does make perfect sense. There are times that peak usage is the optimal usage, but many other times spaces are far too often designed for their peak usage. We could make any building more efficient by simply designing smarter (and smaller). These concepts help to demonstrate how not always looking to far into the program of a building is important. We should not be afraid to challenge or change the program presented to us by a client.

WEEK 4 cont.

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WEEK 4 PHOTOS

Bathroom Floor Grout^^^I was glad that I had a chance to grout the floor that we spent so long working on, it was nice to get to finish up the project we had started on. The process takes some time to work through the steps, so we were able to squeeze in a few other things. It took us as little while to get the hang of spreading the grout, but by the end we had the technique down very well.

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Cleaning and Stripping Trim<<<Since the trim from around the windows and doors was able to be salvaged, we had to prep it for new paint or stain. While some pieces just needed some sanding and scraping, others needed a chemical strip. A few of us decided to divide up the work to make the process go faster.

Bathroom Accessories<<<Since the bathroom is nearing completion we decided to hang the bath accessories. Jonathan gave me a hand and showed me some faster techniques for aligning the different fixtures. Installing them also demonstrated the importance of planning ahead with proper framing.

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DAY 13 - 7.15.13

DAY 14 - 7.17.13

DAY 15 - 7.19.13

Summary of daily activities: • Install kitchen base cabinets

Summary of daily activities: • Work on front window base

Summary of daily activities: • Painting doors • Cleaning

WORK DAY - 7.16.13Summary of daily activities: • Work on front window base

WORK DAY - 7.18.13Summary of daily activities: • Painting doors

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CLASS SUMMARY

A Review

As I have mentioned before, I was briefly involved with the previous ecoREHAB project house. The work I did there was not anywhere close to the work that I have done on the current house. I said that I was concerned at the beginning of the session that the work would be similar, but I was far off with that assumption.

I have learned that the more involved you are in the work, the more of a connection you feel to the project. Jonathan said it best that the students that are involved at the very beginning of a project tend to feel the most connected. I think this comes from being able to see the house in its original state and being able to see what it can become. It takes a certain vision to be able to see the ultimate potential in these homes. In the short time that I have been involved with the process, I have been able to really see the project come to life. It went from what was a shell of a house to an almost finished home.

I think it is important to note the difference (at least to me) between a house and a home. Obviously it is not a home until someone resides in it, but it is more than that. A home is something that we all do, or eventually will, take pride in. Walking through the house you can easily tell who takes pride in their work. Even though it is not our home, the work we do will directly affect the lives of another individual.

This brings me back to my discussion from last week. I still cannot get over the fact that the initial reaction to the ecoREHAB concept was negative. It surprises me that people would want to think that

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way. I can understand there being some hesitation from the Ball State powers that be. There has to some legal liability reasons for the hesitation. Putting that all aside, ecoREHAB has the potential to touch the lives of so many individuals within the local community. It has the potential not only to touch their lives but to better them. Jonathan spoke about how each family that moves into one of the project homes has to go through a sort of home owner training course. This helps to prepare them on how to maintain and keep their home in good condition. It is just another way that ecoREHAB can better someone’s life.

I remember when I was telling some of my non-architecture friends (surprisingly yes, I have some friends outside of the CAP building) about this class, they seemed to have a puzzled look. They would ask how a class like this is important for an architecture student. Not only does a class like this teach us how to perform work on our own homes, it teaches us a different way of thinking about design. Drawing and visualizing a design is one thing, actually building it is another. Having the understanding of how a design comes together from the ground up is extremely important for a design student to be able to possess. These sort of concepts are not normally taught in a classroom because they really can’t be. A building technology class can only teach you so much. The rest has to be learned in the field.

I know that both of the ecoREHAB classes I have been involved with have changed the way that I think about a design opportunity. I have learned the implications of cost, material efficiency, constructability, and much more. I have even been able to take the concepts we have been talking about in class and apply them to some of the work I

CLASS SUMMARY cont.

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have done with the Solar Decathlon house. Nate and I were tasked with designing multiple components of the home’s exterior. When we got to the trellis design we were able to reduce construction waste by optimizing the use of the material, just one of concepts learned at the ecoREHAB home.

Overall this summer has been a valuable learning experience. I was able to see that with proper planning and phasing, much can be accomplished in a relatively short amount of time. Just like the last house, I am curious to see how this one finishes up. I look forward to going back to the house to see the final product and learning the story of the family that gets to move in.

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WEEK 5 PHOTOS

Kitchen Base Cabinets^^^Since the kitchen floor was installed we were able to install the base cabinets. While laying them out we realized that the room was actually drawn 3 inches larger than it is. Unfortunately this means that the base and uppers won’t line up at the refrigerator. I guess it shows the importance of “measure twice and cut once.”

Window Accent>>>

The space below the window for some reason

was framed very strangely. Nate came up with the

paneling idea to cover the imperfections. I gave a

second set of hands during the construction process.

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Door Painting<<<I was tasked with painting the doors for the house. We set them up with some “junk” hinges to allow for easier painting. It was the first time I had used a foam roller, and I really like the finish you can get from it. The doors look as though they were professionally sprayed.

^^^

Daniel S. Potash, Assoc. AIAGraduate Student

Ball State UniversityCollege of Architecture and Planning