32: One year retrospective

It's been about a year since I finished the TAJ, and I figured that along with adding a few photos of the finished product, I would give a very brief evaluation of the process and the end result.

If you've stumbled upon this blog for the first time, check out the posts from way back in the fall of 2006 for some background of the project. The rest of the posts illustrate how I went from this:



To this:



Ok, so here's my evaluation of the process: Overall I was extremely happy with how it went. There are a few things I would have changed - done a few more test mixes for the floor before laying the final layer, moved the bottom layer of siding up and inch, and been a little more careful with the earthbags in the foundation, but overall the process was a wonderful experience for me and I feel grateful that I was able to not jut partake, but lead and direct such an awesome project with such a great number of friends helping out. I think the look of amazement on the faces of all the people at the housewarming party was all the reward I needed, and then I got to live in it for six months to boot.

Furthermore, I think there is something extremely powerful about physically building something to provide shelter - it must be a hardwired, archetypal experience. On top of that innate satisfaction with building and creating, when you get a group of people who for the most part are students wholly accustomed to thinking about things rather than doing them, and get them in there working in the dirt, with their hands, creating, it makes it all that much more magical. I hope my project has inspired others - whether they participated or just watched - to undertake their own projects, be it building a house or something entirely different.

Lastly, I am extremely glad that I was able to incorporate so many ultra-sustainable techniques and practices into the TAJ. I think it made it a much more interesting project, but beyond that, I hope that all the people that have seen or heard about some aspect of what I did will think of the back when they are faced with a decision relating to creating sustainability, and that they will make the choice to try to do as best they can with whatever they are given.

As for the product - I couldn't be dissatisfied with anything that I built for myself, as long as I knew that I had done my best. So, maybe the best way to evaluate the finished product is with a couple photos - one of myself, and one of my good friend Megan, who moved into the TAJ when I moved out, and is happily living there as I write this. I guess the smiles on our faces are all the evaluation that I need.

31: Finished photos

Ok, so here's a little more back story - I moved in to the TAJ last March, and lived in it through the end of November of this year. At the end of November I move up to Bend, Oregon where I now live. It was sad to leave behind the building I had built after living in it for only 6 months, but the point was never about the finished product, but rather about the process.

Building the TAJ taught me an incredible amount - about building, about sustainability, about teaching and leading, about managing a big, long-term project, about salvaging value from stuff others consider waste, and about how hard work and perseverance can really pay off.

It also made me realize how empowering it is to be able to build you're own house - even something as tiny as the TAJ. Here in Bend, where I'm now writing this from, I am just renting a place, but I don't anticipate doing this for very long - my next building project will hopefully be bigger, better, and soon. Ok, so here's the promised photos of the finished TAJ:

Porch and front two sides:



Electrical coming from the trench:



Underside of porch and exterior light:



Gutter on the backside of the house:



The footings of the porch rest on stones:



The suspension system for the bed:



The pulleys for the bed:



Hooks with jackets:



Closet full of stuff:

30: Door, built-in furniture and other finishing

Ok, so with my camera broken I wasn't able to take any photos of the rest of the process, and furthermore, without pictures to upload I neglected to keep this blog updated. To make a long story short, after finishing the floor by sealing it with boiled linseed oil, I installed the door, built and installed the furniture and put on a few additional finishing touches like windowsills and a little bit of trim (mostly the house is untrimmed).

Installing the door was pretty conventional, although the $300 salvage door handle I got for free gave me quite the headache, until I realized that the plunger that came with it wasn't the right plunger...

The furniture was pretty fun - I had never built any furniture before, so for the most part it was pretty simple and fairly rough. I put in a big desk, a bench for seating, a closet with built in shelves, and the bed. The bed is really the crown jewel of the furniture - it is a queen sized bed on a platform that I suspended on some extra spent climbing rope I had and with climbing pulleys it raises up to the ceiling during the day (with a full 7.5 feet of clearance under it), and then descends down to land on the bench and a foot for sleeping at night. The next post will have some photos of it. This part I did almost all by myself.

Then, I went through and (with help from Jeff and several other people) finished off the outside - putting on the second layer of siding, building a porch, installing the exterior light, trenching to bring permanent power out to the house, and putting on a gutter. Much of this part happened after I moved in.

The next post I make will have a bunch of photos of the finished house.