18 May Jobs: (2) Strawbale Construction Apprenticeships May 29 – August 31 2012

Strawbale Construction Apprenticeship May 29 – August 31

Current opening for 2 entry-level positions on strawbale construction crew.

Learn the basics of strawbale construction including wall/roof framing, bale installation, assisting an electrician, earth plasters, earthen floor construction and roundwood framing. 

Pay $8/hr + food

contact:  kindra@claysandstraw.com

Applicants should have:
1. Willingness to learn and interest in Natural Building
2. Physical ability to perform manual work in hot weather with a positive attitude 🙂

We are a family run design-build "natural building" crew based in Austin, TX.  Our crew builds high quality, beautiful, efficient homes using non-toxic materials.  Weekend volunteer opportunities also available.

The Set-up:  For each project site we set up a full kitchen on-site and take turns cooking to facilitate fresh, healthy food for the crew during construction. We are meat-eating-vegetarian friendly, we purchase locally and organically as often as possible.  Most of us live in Austin and camp on site during the week to eliminate the daily commute.  Apprentices are responsible for their own camping-sleeping set-up, transportation and lodging during weekends/rain days.  As a community we set up a kitchen,
outdoor shower and composting toilet on site.  Everyone contributes to the daily functioning of our camp.  Children are present, we keep a family atmosphere.  A beer at the end of the day is great, heavy drinking and illegal drugs are not acceptable.

The project: Our current project is a re-build for wonderful clients who lost their home in Bastrop fires.  A 1500 sqft strawbale-infill with 600 sqft in porches.  This is their “dream house” that they hope to live in the rest of their lives.  The owners are their own general contractors.  Our part in this project  includes … framing, metal roof, bales, assisting the electrician, interior plaster, exterior plaster, earthen floors and trim.
We will not finish all these before September, but we will get all the base layers in.  There are opportunities for fall work, this can be discussed in August.

The site, having recently burned in a forest fire, is barren.  No topsoil, no trees, good wind. We will be working as a community to make ourselves comfortable. Creative solutions welcome!

We are on a rural 55 acre tract down a bumpy dirt road.  Nearest convenience store is 10 min. drive, nearest grocery about 20 min. Austin is a 60 min drive.  Nearest free internet is 20 min. Cell phone service is good.

Daily Work: we try to work 40hrs/week over 5 days, except when it rains.  In the summer we start at 7:30 am.  In general we try to pair an apprentice with a experienced person for working during the day, you will learn through activity and observation.  Some tasks are just repetitive.  As an apprentice you would frequently be assigned those tasks, and we try and let people
rotate through different jobs.  Questions are very welcome, but ultimately we need you to stay productive. We encourage “working while talking”.
Sometimes an apprentice would like to take on an advanced activity but for speed sake we might need them to watch as a more experienced person knocks out the task.   If a question requires a long answer we will sometime delay the answer till dinner when everyone can be part of the response.  Everyone takes water and bathroom breaks as they are needed, there are no assigned break times.  We use power tools, ladders and scaffolding. Safety is very, very important. There is no “workers-comp” to cover accidents.  Please give advanced notice if you need to leave early or take a day off.

Weather – summer is very hot, we work in 100+ on a regular basis.  We have pressurized water on site and so mediate this with working in soaked shirts etc.  You will need the physical ability to do manual labor in high heat and full sun.

To see some of our work, see our website…www.claysandstraw.com