Tuesday 3 June 2014

Concrete and the slump test

A group of year 10 construction students involved with the SchoolHouse Project spent Monday morning conducting ‘slump tests’ and helping an external team introduce fresh concrete to the site.
Having studied concrete in theory, the group put their knowledge into practice and produced mixes of dry, medium and wet consistencies.

The slump test itself is a British Standard test that measures the workability of fresh concrete. A sample of an individual batch is shovelled into a cone-shaped funnel and then tipped out like a sand castle. Once the mound has been left to slump, its new height is measured and decisions can be made about its suitability for work.

Following the test, the group assisted an external team as they poured concrete into holes scattered across the site, which are to be used to support the attractive post and beam frame currently standing on the field.





Monday 12 May 2014

Photo update: BDA building site

With the garage demolished to make room for the house, we've now got a fully-fledged building site on the BDA grounds.




Easter Construction Camp

During the Easter break a group of students integral to the SchoolHouse Project attended a four-day workshop, allowing for an extended period of uninterrupted construction.

The group produced a temporary canopy, to protect the building site from the weather, and continued work on the large timber frames. They were encouraged to familiarise themselves with a wide range of hand tools, including chisels, saws and hand-powered drills, to help them transform mortise and tenons into large beams.

At the end of the week, students competed against one another in a race to saw through the beams and to drill the fastest mortise. Well done to Mohamed Hussein and Raeem Leavy, who won the cross-cut race.

In the second week of the holiday, the school garage was demolished to make room for the house. Dame Sally was on hand to drive the digger that destroyed the existing structure.




Tuesday 8 April 2014

A long-overdue update

Having completed all wall panels and the vast majority of roof rafters, students are now working on the Douglas fir timber frame. They are using traditional frame-building techniques to cut large scale joints.

During the Easter break many students will be attending a week-long frame-building camp to keep progress ticking over, before the garage is demolished at the start of the summer term to make room for the frame and walls.

See below for images of Hamza at work with an antique drilling rig, and Luke and Ricardo making good use of a large cross cut saw.

Well done team and keep up the good work!