// All the huge projects that have been going keep on going.

We had a great meeting over pizza (supplied by Dean Mungal and Engineering Dept. THANK YOU!) where we discussed our current status and how we are going to make it through the next 3 weeks until the house ships. We have a long ways to go but we are making ginormous strides!

On another note: San Jose is taking action to becoming a more green community. Team California truly represents and is backed up by the location we are in. Look at this link that was on Fox. It is an interview with San Jose's Mayor, Chuck Reed.

// The counter tops were prepped for the counter top fabricator. This involved placing the induction cook top, the downdraft and blower. Basically everything that needs to be done to get the island ready to be installed after the counter tops are.

The decking in the courtyard started to be installed. We actually appear to have a deck now! Not just an obstacle course of wood slats. The end caps are finished and ready for mud, tape and paint! Siding keeps getting closer to completion.

// Starting from now, we'll be doing a series of blogs that countdown until competition. These will be every 10 days, and will be messages from the students who manage this project. The first is featuring one of our Construction Managers, Sean Irwin.

Guest Piece:

Hi, my name's Sean Irwin and I'm one of the construction managers and structural designers for Refract House. My involvement for this project has included doing much of the structural design (together with Dan of course **Preet's Note: They live together**), such as the design of the steel angle, bamboo analysis, shear wall calculations, and many of the structural drawings, and I've also been trying to successfully coordinate all of the interior elements of the house as construction manager. This includes finding all of the subcontractors (ex: drywall, painting, cabinetry), and making sure that all of the architectural designs get followed through to the best of our ability.

Wow, 60 days left until the competition! What a short amount of time for so much work that needs to get done. I remember first starting on this project over a year ago and thinking of how much time we had, how we could plan and manage everything and be done early with loads of time to test our systems and practice giving tours. Haha, what a joke. Looking back at the original construction timeline that Dan and I created, we were supposed to be fully done with the house by the beginning of the summer! Now, with 60 days left, there's so much to do, so little time.

This whole project has been one of the most exciting, frustrating, fun filled, exhausting, and maddening experience of my life. I've learned more about design, construction and working with people in this last year than I ever have. I've also been fortunate enough to work with some truly talented and awesome people, many of whom are now good friends.

In terms of what's ahead, we really are starting to get into crunch time. We have SO MUCH to do, including: cabinets and shades to install, slate tile and glass to arrive and install, finish mudding, taping and painting all of the house, doors to receive and install, railings to design and install, countertops to fabricate and install, appliances to install, and all of the aluminum break shapes around the windows and doors to order, powder coat and install! And that's only the interior parts of the house. It's gonna get done, it has to get done, but it may require some of us to actually live in the house while it's traveling to D.C. (joking, of course). But it's all totally worth it, because those elements that are actually installed in the house look AMAZING. For example, our hardwood floors recently got installed and finished, and they're beautiful. But, my favorite element of the house is actually not something that I have anything to do with (lucky me), and that's our skin system, the beautiful redwood siding for our house. Our construction guys have been tirelessly working on creating this modular skin system and it's going to look so great when finished.

By the way, I just want to take a moment to thank all of the construction members who are building the house. Not only are they doing a terrific job on the house, be all of them have given at least 1-1/2 times the amount of time that they're actually paid for, if they're paid at all. Many of them consistently work 10-14 hour days, and it's simply remarkable the energy and enthusiasm they've put into this house. Thank you once again for all your work, blood and sweat, we would not be anywhere without you guys and you make me want to continue working for this project.

One of the things I'm most looking forward to on the Mall is, first, being done, but also getting to see all of the other houses. I've been anxiously spying on the other teams websites, and I'm really looking forward to see some of their designs come to reality. I've always loved the house we're building and think it's great, but I look forward to seeing how we measure up to the competition.

Alright, now back to work! We've only got 60 days left!

Sean Irwin

// Tori, Erica, Dr. Hight and I were the knights at the VCPE round table! We gave a presentation at Venture Capitalist Private Equity Round Table Meeting today. It went incredibly well! Where ever we go, Refract House is well supported by the community! It is amazing to have such great support but fellow silicon valley residents. Thank you, Gloria, for inviting us to present!

On the construction side of things: The deck bench is being built and the deck continues to be worked on. It looks amazing! The front door started being installed today. And the side-light window that is next to the front door. I get a little disoriented when I call that door the front door, because to me it seems like the back but I have to remember that the courtyard is the back of the house. I think it will make a lot more sense to me when we have the house finished and on the mall. (Which is in under TWO MONTHS! Holy COW!)

For our solar panels, for the sections of the roof that don't have solar panels we are making fake ones. That was started today with a black acrylic that makes our roof homogeneous whether there are panels or not. I love that our panels are integrated into the roof, rather than sitting on top. It will look fantastic, and not like a last minute thought.
The cabinets started being installed today. The domestic hot water tank came in and Tim installed the controls for the mechanical systems.
Wow. So much progress! We still have a ways to go, but it is coming along!

// Our cabinets arrived today! The ramps for the deck are being built. Skin is still moving along. It is very long process! But the south side is being completed. The backdoor was installed, it can't be used yet though so everyone has to walk around. This is when it is nice we have an small house compared to say, a house the size of the gym (because we can only enter on one side rather than two). The blocking on the deck is being worked on too.