Friday, November 25, 2016

Help!

Well it's been a busy week - again.  First there was not much action on the new homes and now the action doesn't stop!  There wasn't a lot of physical work on our homes this week, but the framing material - including the roof trusses - were dropped off by Star Building.  We now have building material spread all over camp.  Well not quite all over camp, but the trusses are currently in the parking lot.  When you're coming to camp to test out the new coffee (hot chocolate) mugs keep an eye out for those trusses.



The county came and inspected the foundations this week and...we passed!  I was one of those kids in school who never knew if they were passing to the next grade until the last day of class.  To this day when I hear "you passed" I get excited!

Rolf started a "slight" back fill in the garage area so that our framers don't have to jump over or climb through the ditch.  Rolf then started trenching for the gas lines with some sort of gizmo on the front of the skid steer.  Because the ground is so slippery he will need to finish in Craig's baby excavator.


Framing.  What about that framing?  Well let me tell you we are getting close to a plan.  As with most things at camp we like to do things last minute.  Well, we may not like to do things last minute, but oh my goodness, if I had a nickel for every time we did things last minute...

It looks like framing will start on Monday.  (you read that correctly, Monday)  We will need a couple of days to get our feet on the ground (in the mud) and then we will need some help.  If the following terms make sense to you, we REALLY need you.  Double top plate.  Header (not talking soccer).  Trimmer.  Joist.  If you are like me and you had to look those terms up, the good news is we need you as well!

There are boards to move and things to sweep and stuff to clean up.  According to Craig (seen below) we still have to know the difference between a 2 x 4 and a 2 x 6.  So break out your mothers sewing kit, grab that tape measure that you used to get in trouble using as a kid and learn the difference between the two.  Speaking of Craig, we would like to send a huge shout out to Kingsmith Homes for their incredible support so far.


As we have more information we will let you know.  It looks like we will be working with smaller groups (2-3) of volunteers for a longer period of time.  Initially we were thinking one big framing party on a weekend.  If you would like to help please call camp for more information. 

Thanks again for your continued support.

Bob "Ranger" Kroeker - making that cup of hot chocolate last!
Executive Director

Friday, November 18, 2016

The Weather Has Turned...

We all knew that the great weather couldn't last forever.  However on the bright side (and it is a bright and sunny day today) we have started flooding the ice rinks for our upcoming Pond Hockey Tournament - January 14th.  In spite of the cooler weather we did pour the walls on house number two. 


Once the walls were exposed Craig and Jordan marked the line for foundation spray which arrived in the afternoon.  We (you have to know when I use the word "we" its always very loosely) also trenched in conduit for electrical.

I personally remember the old days of putting some sort of tar on the foundation walls with a paint brush.  It was a lot of work and most of the tar ended up on my clothes.  This foundation spray is much quicker and much better.  It has a rubber content that expands if the walls crack.  With the high water table at camp this is a much needed and very comforting step.




What about the framing party people are asking?  Well to be honest the phone is not ringing off the hook with inquiries, but we are still working out the details and will let you know as soon as we know.  As with most camp projects things are never simple.  But don't put your hammer away just yet!


As much as we like to celebrate larger things (we have two new horses which we will introduce you to shortly) we also like to celebrate small things.  Brand new cups!  We are reaching higher with new cups for the dining hall.  If you were at our Family Camp this summer, the weather called for a lot of hot chocolate and it was very difficult to keep enough cups available.  Not only do these new cups look great, they are great for hot chocolate and in a pinch root beer (speaking from experience of course!)  We will also be able to serve more campers and guests as we continue to grow.  If you were waiting for an excuse to stop by camp, this is what you were waiting for!  Stop by for some hot chocolate and I'll show you the progress around camp.

Bob "Ranger" Kroeker
Executive Director

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Moving Beyond Cribs


It was another great week for weather and construction here on site. No one could have asked for better weather in November. Nearly 20+ degree days which even dried out some of the muddier areas around the homes.

As one of our staff members, John commented, "Our houses are growing up! They don't need their cribs anymore!". It's true - the cribbing portion of the two houses is very nearly finished. The near PERFECT weather this week meant that we moved ahead to pour concrete! The pumper truck and concrete trucks were back on Monday! How many concrete trucks do you think it takes to make a basement? Lots. And lots. We'll get a count for you on Monday when they're back to pour the basement on the second house.

It's so much fun to watch that pumper truck unfold and extend far out to the backs of the houses.























 

Once the concrete cured on House #1, the cribbers were back to remove the wall forms and start building them for House #2.

As long as the weather continues to hold, concrete for the second home gets poured on Monday. Electricians were also through here on Thursday for trenches and set up.

Next week marks the middle of November which means Summer Camp registration opens. Six weeks until we launch into our biggest summer season ever at Camp Evergreen. These growing camper numbers and Guest Groups that come through our camp is why we are Reaching Higher. 

Have a great weekend and check back with us on Facebook or here, on our Reaching Higher blog for more updates.

Courtney "Jogee" Armstrong
Partnerships and Development

Friday, November 4, 2016

We're Weeping Tiles of Joy!!

Weeping tiles! Yes, that's right - the weeping tiles are in! 



This has been another busy week for the two new homes being built on-site. It all started with the concrete trucks stopping by on Monday to pour  the footings. It was so much fun to watch the big crane reach out over the house basements.

A bit of snow and wet weather slowed us down this week. As you can see from some of the pictures - it was quite wet in the hole.

Once the footings were poured, then Kingsmith Homes returned to set up the weeping tile on both homes.  

As things are still a bit wet around here - the sumps are working double time to dry the area out before the rock slinging truck returned to finish the covering the weeping tiles.














To a non-construction person, this whole step-by-step process has been incredibly fascinating. I'm sure that Ranger, Rolf and some of the construction guys have been quite humoured as I've asked question after question of what the next step in the process might be. Like finding out what a cribber does or what weeping tile looks like...Who KNEW that weeping tile was actually hose...not like special bathroom tile that has a superpower!! I know SO MUCH MORE now about building a basement than I did last week.
 

The Rock Slinging Truck returned on Tuesday, November 2nd to cover up the weeping tile which set our cribbers up to finish the forms for the walls yesterday (Thursday) and today (Friday).

Concrete for the walls will be poured on Monday if the weather holds out. Lots of exciting things to report on here. I hope you have had a great week! Thanks for checking in!
 

Courtney "Jogee" Armstrong
Partnerships and Development