The fall semster for most students of the DESIGN > BUILD > TEXAS studio started August 24, 2004. New studios and new time requirements kept all but a few students from continuing to work on the house. Local crafts-people with various specialties in the building industry worked with the remaining students towards completion of the house. From contractors to plumbers and electricians to carpenters and door and window flashing experts, the students gained the invaluable experience of hands on participation and one-on-one question and answer sessions with a large range of builders. The fall semester included the completion of the roof, the placement of the cisterns, landscaping, door and window detailing and flashing, siding, lighting, plumbing, drywall and interior finish work. Move-in is expected by Thanksgiving.
Summer sessions spanned a three month period, from May 25 to August 16, 2004. The first six weeks students worked to prepare the site for the slab, build the majority of the site walls, and to resolve varous design issues. The pouring of the slab occured on a remarkably dry morning the first week of July, and framing for the house began in week seven. Students quickly learned the difficulties associated with the goals of on-time, on-budget, while quickly working towards the end of the summer. A large range of building experiences occupied the students for the remaining six weeks of the project, which included: framing, sheathing, water-proofing, site work, the placement of rafters, roof decking and skip-stop, setting glu-lam beams and columns, and the building of 8-20 flitch beams.