Raising Walls

On my third weekend building up at the "end of the world ranch" (working name) our work crew is one less. My dad has flown five thousand miles back to Virginia, and I have moved- from the comfortable cabin near the coast he was renting- into my brother's container, a modified former Sea Land refrigerated cargo container or "reefer".






Rustic. I've always preferred to live close to nature, but this situation pushes the boundaries. If it wasn't so close to home it would be fascinating- the collection of creatures that choose to live in this container- all of which are hardy, industrious scavenger species.

Creatures living in container:

1. Humans
2. Dog
3. Rats
4. Mice
5. Cockroaches
6. Mosquitoes
7. Ants

This would make a pretty good Who's Who list of Omnivorous Scavengers, no? It's taken a lot for me to get used to sharing space with the above. I've taken measures (deep cleaning, screens for doors and windows, violence) to rid the container of them, but it seems there's only so much that can be done, barring condemning the place and burning it. I've learned that killing or even frightening a cockroach leads to riling up the whole bunch, with the colony coming frazzled out of the woodwork; and that they're better left alone. I am resigned to keeping food in sealed containers and turning the other cheek. But I digress from the point of this blog. On our third weekend, Daniel and Kiave and I arrive at the worksite, ready to build upward.

But first we need to stabilize the platform, as it still has a little bit of give. To do this, we add 2 x 4's to the 4x4 posts at 45 degree angles. Every post gets two Y's:




And where possible, we add more.




This seriously increases the stability of the structure. Even jumping up and down on the platform doesn't really shake it much. Now it's time to start framing walls. Daniel cuts dozens of boards down to size.




One thing I've learned on this project is that the lumber you purchase is never actually the dimensions advertised. Aside from any errors or defects, there is simply an understanding among people who work with wood that a 4 x 4 x 10 feet piece of wood is actually 3.5 inches x 3.5 inches x 10 feet one inch. So even boards that are supposed to be exactly the right measurement need to be cut down.

We run into a minor setback when our generator, a Jiang Dong 3500 Powerwise Generator, stops working. At this point I should introduce one of the crucial players in our building project. Genny, being attended to for a periodic repair:




As I said, the generator, which runs for roughly 12 hours on a gallon of gas, doesn't want to start up. After numerous pulls, the starter cord breaks and we are distraught, as we have no extra cord. But Dan takes the starter motor apart, and replaces the cord with green weed-whacker line. Ingenious. We're back in business. He finishes the long session of cutting, and we carry the lumber for the first wall up to the platform.




This will be the biggest of the four walls, sixteen feet in height by twenty feet in width. We build it lying down flat. At one point, I say to Dan, "there's no way we're going to be able to lift this." He reproaches me for my negativity, and we carry on. This is the partially built wall. It still needs four 4 x 4's and four 2 x 4's for the upper section.




In the end, we don't even attempt to lift it. That night, feeling inspired, we go out prawning with Keko and some friends. Hopping in the dark from wet rock to wet rock, carrying large diving lights, trying to catch huge clawed prawns with spearguns. Difficult. In three hours, I catch one. The next morning we are exhausted, and realize we can't proceed on the build without help. Keko's wife Eva makes Fettucine Alfredo with Prawns for brunch, and Dan spends the day working on building plans and trying to secure manpower. Joven and Jay, two of Keko's cousins, are down to raise some walls. The next morning we pick up a box of spam musabi and a case of powerade, and we're ready to go.

The first several attempts at lifting the wall are fruitless, even with four of us. We tack in scrap 2 x 4's to the bottom end so it can't fall off the side. We try various strategies and formations, get it as high as our heads and it invariably buckles in the middle and we're stuck. After a number of attempts, we've managed to get some two by fours wedged underneath it to cement our progress. Dan looking up at the monster wall (note the gray 2 x 4's bottom right as stoppers):




Joven considering- how in the hell?




Jay and Joven preparing for another attempt:




When the top end gets too high for us to reach, we try to raise it with 2 x 4 poles.




Unfortunately, these don't grip very well, and at one point, two poles slip and the whole wall comes crashing down. It happens too fast for thought; all I can do is look up. Dan reaches up to try and catch it and closes his eyes, and Joven jumps out of the way. In a minor miracle, the six foot Husky fiberglass ladder- we were using to try to get better position to lift the wall- buckles, shifts, and then holds up the entire wall that weighs hundreds of pounds. Stunned, we look around at each other. I shudder to think what would have happened to anyone underneath, had the ladder not held. Our miracle Husky (I seriously need to write them a letter of thanks- at the very least I can give a strong product endorsement):




To get a better grip, we cut v-shaped notches in the end of our raising poles. You can barely make it out here, but the bottom of the v is flush against the corner of the top board. Also note the center post in the wall, made up of 5 2 x 4's back to back.






And somehow, in the face of great danger, we get the wall up and quickly pound in nails along the bottom.




Brace it with diagonal 2 x 4's nailed into the sides, and dug into the dirt.




Marvel that we got it up at all. Thank God. Take a break for a few minutes, eat some musabi, have a smoke, and then on to the opposite wall. Compared to the big wall, with four of us hammering, this one is easy. At 10 feet in height, this is the short wall, facing east where the weather comes from. Again, we build this one sitting on the platform.




This wall is easy to stand up, and we pound nails in to secure it.




Make sure that it's level, and adjust the braces on the side so it stands up straight.




Now we have two walls.










There is much discussion about what to do next. Whether to build the next two walls lying down, or to build off of what we have. There is consultation of the plans,




various proposals,




and in the end, it is decided that we will work off the two walls that are up.







Now we have the rough framework for three walls.




The opposite (south) side is built the same way, until we run out of lumber. Many of the boards we need are being used as braces. Joven and Jay have lives to get on with, and they take off. There is time to admire the beauty of this thing we've built. It reminds me of some kind of greek temple.







I drive to Hilo (45 minutes each way) to get some more lumber, but by the time I get back it's almost dark. We have just enough time to pull down our tarp shelter and string up two 20 x 20 tarps over the top of the frame to protect it (somewhat) from the rain. We are now twenty-one feet off the ground.