Someone Stole the House!

Posted on September 28, 2009

I'm not joking...the house is really gone. But it wasn't stolen. The house was moved yesterday afternoon from our build site to a parking lot on west campus for staging. Barring excessive winds or rain, it will be wrapped in plastic today in preparation for the trip to Washington D.C. Designing the house with the ability to split in to modules for transport took a fair bit of effort throughout this process, but in the end all of our careful attention to the details paid off because things went exactly according to plan. Ceiling panels, wall panels, and strips of the floor were removed to reveal the joints between the modules. The plumbing and electrical were pulled apart at each joint and tucked away for reconnection on the mall. The roof membrane was cut along the parapet and we'll heat weld a patch once the modules are lined up again at the competition. The only piece we forgot was a small piece of housewrap which was easily cut free with a utility knife. We secured all of the lovers and interior moving pieces to make sure they don't go anywhere in transit and build temporary side walls to enclose the space and prevent any racking that might occur. A little plywood over the windows and polycarbonate and we're ready to hit the road.

The first of many thank you's goes out to the people at Greenlawn Homes, who have generously donated their services to help us move everything to Washington D.C. and get us set up. Many of us laid awake many nights worrying about the logistics of moving everything and having Greenlawn on board has totally alleviated our concerns. After what we saw yesterday we're confident that we're in good hands. It is immediately clear that these guys are true professionals who know what they're doing and we're very fortunate to have thier help.

I have to admit, it looks strange on the build site with no house. In a few days the trailer and fence will be gone and all that will remain after 10 months of hard work is the gravel we laid for our vehicles to drive on. While it is exciting to have our house on the road, I'm sure we'll look back in the not too distant future and miss the fun we had together at the build site. Thanks again to National Rent-a-Fence for supplying the construction fence and Roger Beck for loaning his solar-powered storage trailer. Both of you have been an integral part of our success and we really appreciate your help.