With generous help from my construction school classmates, I finally completed this woodworking project, which, I had to explain to them, is a baby gym. A baby lies under it and plays with the stuffed animals, kind of like a mobile, but not inside the crib. I used a jigsaw to cut the plywood, sanded … Continue reading Build Me Up, Baby!
I think the Internet thinks I'm a dude. I base this assumption on the products the Internet recommends to me. During a recent online session, prior to which I had googled how to lay out a rafter, how much combustible air an HVAC system needs, and the best Simpson Strong Tie to set a 4 x 4 post in … Continue reading Recommendations for You, Buttercup
Today, we set out to make Adirondack chairs. Our instructor gave us plans and a stack of lumber and told us to have at it. Having seen my carpenter classmate construct an exquisite tiny rocking chair for his young daughter only days ago, I quickly glommed onto him as a teammate. Meanwhile, four other guys … Continue reading Chairs that Rock
Today was Spring Fling at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology in Nashville, which meant a chance for the Building Cosntruction Technology class to redeem ourselves after our disappointing outing in the all-school volleyball tournament at Fall Fest 2016. In the first round, we squared off against the Automotive Collision team, and just about the time we were closing … Continue reading Fair and Square
My mom visited construction school this week. It was her first trip to the Tennessee College of Applied Technology to see what I've been up to since last fall. I think she was surprised. For one thing, I don't think she believed I actually wore a tool belt every day, until she saw it with her … Continue reading Because I’m Your Mother
Cutting rafters might be my favorite part of the construction education to date, because figuring out the slope and run takes as much brain as it takes brawn. Pythagoras and all that. You can cut all your rafters to have the same overhang before you put them up, but that can go awry if your wall … Continue reading A Rafter Tale
We took a break from electrical wiring practice to greet a group of fourth-graders on a field trip to our construction classroom. "In this class, we make wooden objects," our instructor said, as he led the kids through the workshop crammed with power tools and lumber. They were enchanted by an unfinished bird house that … Continue reading Visitors Welcome
If you were about to congratulate our construction class on a job well done on this shed, which we framed in less than a day, thank you very much...but no so fast. Because the shed's coming down. As it turned out, when we got the fourth wall in place, the outside corners weren't perfectly flush. We … Continue reading Flushed Away
There is a small, faint stain on the family room ceiling. It looks almost as if a mouse peed there. I say this as someone who has seen more than her fair share of mouse pee. If only that unsightly stain were the urine of a ceiling-walking rodent. That would be preferable to what it actually is, which is … Continue reading Where the Rubber Meets the Roof
Tattoos are big in construction school. On any given day, you can see the glossy sheen of antibacterial ointment on someone's recently updated or aggravated skin art. Weapons, ammo and the insignia of veterans' organizations figure prominently upon classroom biceps. Bible verses, too. (It must take a certain dogged faith to endure the inking of … Continue reading Mother’s Day: In the Flesh
Building Up Buttercup 