Third Saturday — Siding

"The whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this: that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists." - Charles Dickens

"Siding is so easy," Gary said Saturday, "that I'm going to let women do it."

A chorus of "boo" rose up from the gathering of women at Lowe's. A pair of work gloves flew over the top of everyone's heads and struck Gary's chest.

We were installing siding over a solid wall but were told if there was a door or window, the brick molding surrounding them would have to be installed before any siding. But when that is taken care of, a "J channel" is used to surround doors and windows. A J channel is called such because when you sight down the strip, it curves like the letter "J."

So, we got right down to it. We measured and snapped a chalk line towards the bottom of our wall to properly install the starter strip. A starter strip anchors the first piece of siding in place. After that, siding hooks onto the strip below it. The starter strip was nailed in place then came the outdoor corner molding. The corner molding was measured one-fourth of an inch away from the top of the wall because siding "breathes," Gary said. It expands and contracts with the weather and the extra space allows for that.

The first nail hammered in has to go at the top of the nailing grooves so the siding can hang from the nails. Additionally, the nails must not be nailed flush with the siding in another step that allows it to breathe. Nails were hammered in every six to eight inches to code.

We weren't using the 16 penny nails as we had in previous classes. We were using roofing nails, which are much more pliant.

I was one of the first ones to take up a hammer and try to nail one in. I couldn't seem to hit the nail right on its head maybe because it was so close to a rise in siding, but the nail wasn't going in at a straight angle. And a woman standing above me kept reminding me every few seconds.

I finally turned to her and asked nicely, "Do you want to hammer it?"

I ended up pulling the nail out.

Robin with Lowe's did mention in the first class that a Women Build house has more nails in it than others. That doesn't surprise me in the least.

Unfortunately there will not be a blog on the fourth Women Build class Oct. 6 on installing roof shingles. I will be at the Clemson v. Virginia Tech football game. Go Tigers!

Second Saturday - The Wall

"The bad workman blames his tools." - Proverb

The confidence I built last Saturday wielding power tools dissolved yesterday when our task was to build a wall. Perhaps the most fundamental project in home building, the thing might just as well have been the insurmountable Berlin Wall to me.

At least I know what bothers me about it — numbers. I do not work well with numbers. It may be a mental hang-up as my Mom pointed out during a recent phone conversation. Whatever it is, I always flashback to middle school and high school math classes when I was the only one that didn't get it. Everyone else flew right by me.

So, my eyes crossed when Gary of Lowe's began talking about measuring "16 inches on the center" for studs, but actually you measure 15 3/4 inches to adjust where siding will be nailed.
(Www.doityourself.com explains that, "This 3/4 of an inch adjustment is made so that the edge of your first piece of sheathing or siding will come to the outside edge of the corner stud rather than the center of it. All sheathing [except the first and last piece] needs to fall on the center of the studs to provide a nailing surface for the adjoining piece of sheathing.")

Oookay?

Oh, wait, but first you had to "sight" the wood to turn the "crown" up. At this point I'm assuming the crown is the natural bend in the wood?

Then there was my confusion with the corner studs — we used two studs sandwiching blocking — and having to compensate there for overlapping walls.

I was hopelessly lost. I melded into the crowd until it came time for nailing. Nailing I can totally do — just show me where.

And this is where the leaders separate from the followers. Group dynamics have begun to form — there are the ladies that have worked on do-it-yourself projects like this before and jump in with gusto, nodding knowledgeably with every bit of information Gary shot forth. Then there are the others. I'm in that group. My previous experience includes nothing more than nailing hooks into walls to hang pictures and following step-by-step instructions to assemble book shelves and DVD racks with pre-drilled holes.

But by God, we got that wall up and secured into place. (With practically no help from yours truly.)

And I feel bad. I feel like I'm letting the Women Build team down by not getting how to build a wall. In order to redeem myself, I am going to march myself into Lowe's this week and ask to be shown again.

I am going to get it.

Check back on Sunday, Sept. 30 to read my blog on the third class covering exterior siding installation.

Women Build - First Saturday

"Living a life is like constructing a building: if you start wrong, you'll end wrong." - Maya Angelou, American poet

I've spent a fair portion of my day trying to think of the proper way to kick off this first post. Having no original thoughts of my own, I had resigned myself to using the oft-used quote from the movie "Field of Dreams:" "If you build it, they will come." But then I found the quote by Maya Angelou and thought it was much more fitting.

But, I digress.

Welcome to my blog. I am Haley Hughes, reporter at the Aiken Standard newspaper. This blog will take you through first-hand accounts of the Habitat for Humanity Women Build training classes offered by Lowe's all the way to when we hand over the keys to the house to a deserving person.

When the paper's Managing Editor Mike Gibbons and I were laying out the plans for this little venture, he asked if I had any experience in construction.

"Oh, sure," I replied. "I took shop in middle school. I got to use a miter saw thingey and a metal thingey that flew sparks everywhere."

Gibbons just laughed.

I didn't lie. I had taken shop in middle school (it was required) and I did use power tool thingeys to make the class projects -- one out of metal and one wood. I just hadn't touched any power tool since then. I watch with fascination just about every show on HGTV that has to do with home remodeling, but that was it. In no way does that constitute first-hand experience.

So, I eagerly took on this assignment. An added bonus: I have always wanted to help build a Habitat for Humanity house and this was my chance to do just that.

I and 20 other women gathered at Lowe's Saturday morning for the first in a series of six training classes -- this first one happened to be on power tools. I wanted to make Tim the Tool Man proud and let loose with a masculine grunt but was beat to the punch by a woman off to my side.

Robin Ford, a specialist with Lowe's who led the training sessions, has worked with Women Build since its inception in Aiken. Ford said she was given a baby doll as a Christmas present one year when she really wanted her first hammer.

"All the boys were building forts," Ford said. "I wanted to be out playing with them."

First came safety -- closed toes shoes, eye protection and gloves. We were regaled with stories of sawed off digits and even worse, death, all because someone looked the wrong way, didn't pay attention or didn't follow proper safety instructions. Then came the tape measurer. (I learned a simple hash mark does not cut it when noting on wood where to cut. You must draw a "V" with your pencil and then cut down the middle, effectively slicing the letter in two.) Then came learning how to hammer a nail into some 2x4s. But all the while my eyes kept shifting to the miter saw and circular saw. We tackled those next.

Once Gary with Lowe's demonstrated how to properly use the miter saw, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I don't care for the way it spews dust everywhere. I believe I'll be eating sawdust for a few days yet, but I like to think I used it like a seasoned pro. Well, OK, maybe not like a seasoned pro but I did well. My effort earned me a "Good cut" remark from Gary.

A miter saw works by pulling a spinning circular saw blade down onto wood in a controlled motion. The wood is typically held against a "fence." My right hand controlled the blade while my left held the wood (A VERY safe distance away from the gruesome spinning, toothed metal blade) steady for the cut. I could easily imagine things going very, very wrong but they didn't. I was thankful we were cautioned before any work began that safety is the foremost concern.

Each woman got a go with the miter saw.

I learned that the wood falling off to right is considered your "waste" when you utilize a miter saw. I also never knew that your cut marks always want to be left on the wood you use. The blade should slice just a hair left of your cut marks. This allows for measurement hitches.

Next: the circular saw. I was comforted by the stationary positioning of the miter saw. It sits atop a flat surface. Not so with a circular saw. It is not attached to a base. There is no base to speak of. Gary didn't help my apprehension when he mentioned that the circular saw can have a kick back, which if you stand directly behind it, can throw the blade back against your body. With the saw unplugged, he demonstrated this by touching the toothed blade against his thighs.

I have no doubt every woman watching grimaced. I may just be extremely morbid, but against my will I was envisioning a blood bath. Similar to the blood bath the Tennessee Volunteers suffered at the hands of the Florida Gators Saturday night. A circular saw just looks like it was made to inflict serious damage.

I was one of the last to try my hand at the power tool of death after I had watched several other women tense up and the blade sputter and die halfway through the 2x4. I approached it, gripped it and lined up the marks to cut along the pre-drawn lines. The blade started up with its high-pitched whine and then I was cutting wood. Only a slight amount of pressure is needed to guide the blade through, it propels itself very smoothly. The four inch block I had just sliced off spun to the ground and I released the trigger.

There came another "Good cut" from Gary.

"Have you ever done this before?" the woman holding the 2x4 asked.

"No," I answered with a smile.

Check back on Sunday, Sept. 23 to read my next installment on the Lowe's training class covering wall and roof framing.