Surprised Optimist

I thought I had set my expectations high when I anticipated having the entire pool room decked by the end of the third weekend of work. I am delightfully surprised by the fact that the dedicated crews of volunteers managed to get the pool room decked by the conclusion of work on the last scheduled January work day on January 19, 2014.

Here's a look of their progress over that weekend.

January 18, 2014

Trusses are doubled up due to an initial manufacturing error. The result is a
 floor 1.5 times stronger than we first expected! 

The door knobs were replaced

with lever-style door latches. 

Polishing up the drainage around the driveway. 

Exterior landscaping improvements were made
to encourage better drainage 

Pretty sweet ditch. 

Decking nearly done (and it was finished on Sunday!) 

The crew is on hiatus while the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club attends to the pre-construction of privies for Mt. Collins Shelter and Double Springs Shelter. We look forward to gathering up again, at a date to be determined in February or March, for more work on ATC's Crew Basecamp at Soak Ash Creek to install the stairs and retaining wall, windows, window well, and door for the basement. If you have interest in joining us for these work opportunities, please call me, Leanna Joyner, at 828-254-3708.

Trusses and Lintels

The second week of work at ATC's Crew Basecamp at Soak Ash Creek was a huge success. The crew of volunteers from Smoky Mountains Hiking Club worked to install the trusses that will support the plywood sub-floor.

Saturday, January 11, 2014

The crew got an early start on Saturday, January 11. 

Meanwhile, the new foyer railing was getting a paint job. 

Wayne waits patiently for the first delivery of concrete.
This will be the outside doorway from the basement.

The lintel is added. These suckers are heavy!

By the end of Saturday, about half the pool had trusses.

Sunday, January 12, 2014 

The rain from Saturday subsided enough for intrepid volunteers
Casey and Pam to ditch around the driveway, encouraging
better drainage around the house. 

Prep for the lintel installation in the downstairs back bedroom. 

Carolyn and Phyllis kept volunteers well fed and
managed to create order in the kitchen.

Planning underway for the stairwell and retaining wall
for the basement entrance. 

Long shadows indicate the end of the day, a long day of digging,
 and signaled the end of the ditching project.

Trusses in place. Just about time to add the decking!

Until next time...

Base Camp Improvements Underway

Three winter warmer weekends are underway at ATC's Crew Base Camp at Soak Ash Creek. The renovation team is made up of volunteers from Smoky Mountains Hiking Club and partners and staff from Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

We had 17 volunteers on the first day and 11 on the second day. Tons of work was accomplished and set the stage for another week of great work next weekend.

Here's a glimpse of day one, January 4, 2014: 

Boards edging the pool will help support the floor trusses. 

Tony & Larry demolished the old gear closet where
 a new exterior door will be added. 

The new closet has a peg board
for backpacks. 

Digging the window well was muddy business. 

This team was rockin'! They moved a ton of landscaping
river rocks where the future stairwell will be installed. 

I caught a quick picture of Don and Nancy before they got away.

 Here's a look at day two, Jan 5, 2014:

A knee wall was added to also support the trusses. 

Once the pool is decked this big room will
be used for trainings and workshops. 

Waning daylight signals the end of the work day. 

Window well hole dug 6 X 6 X 6.