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2017 | THE TEMPLE
PREBUILD SCHEDULE
When we receive notice of the grant notification, we will launch our website and announce to the community that we have been selected. We understand that this is a collaborative project, and the Temple is most successful when many people participate at all levels. We already have a dedicated and talented team working on the Temple, and we intend to introduce many newcomers and veterans to this incredible project.
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2017 | THE TEMPLE
PREBUILD SCHEDULE
LUMBER MILL
Once we are awarded the grant, PG&E agreed to reroute the inflow of logs directly to Chris Hatler’s Sawmill. PG&E will transfer liability of the logs to us there. It’s a short distance from where the logs are currently being sent and ground into chips. Hatler will do most of the milling. Hatler’s Mill can make boards up to 16’ long, but we will have a few special columns in the temple. Hatler agreed to let us use the sawmill property to mill some specialty lumber (up to 32’ long boards) on our own using a portable saw mill. Pete Phibbs on the Temple crew knows how to do this and has access to a portable mill, so the crew will camp at the mill on weekends to do this work. This will be pretty sweet! As an aside: Chris Hatler said he wants to start his own annual festival on his 98 acre property. Maybe we’re on to something here?
SONORA, CA PG+E FACILITY
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2017 | THE TEMPLE
MILLING STRATEGY Hatler’s Mill has been family owned and run since the 60’s. But larger competition forced his dad to shut down in the 90’s and they no longer do commercial milling. With the recent increase in CA milling demand, he is trying to get the mill open again, and we will be one of his first large projects in a while. Our contract and business with his operation will help him greatly. He’s even offered to let us use his property as a build site…… FREE OF CHARGE! Since they basically charge by the cut, and not by weight or number of logs, it’s actually much cheaper to get larger dimensions of lumber milled than it would be to purchase them. We have based our design strategy to use these larger lumber sizes to keep our milling costs down. It’s a unique opportunity to use a lumber product (say a 4x8) that would be extremely expensive to purchase in a store, but actually about the same cost to produce as a 2x4.
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2017 | THE TEMPLE
We will do the vast majority of the milling through Chris Hatler’s operation, but will also do some of our own milling on his property. Portable sawmills can cut just about any board length, and PG&E said they can get us a log that’s 32’ long. We will attempt to make specialty columns that are cruciform in shape, but Hatler said this will be time consuming. Might be worth the effort…..
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2017 | THE TEMPLE
We will also rent space at American Steel Studios. We intend to only rent a few thousand square feet of space, and use it in tandem with the space at Hatler’s mill. The space here won’t be free, but will be a more accessible option for people who can’t spend as much time away from the Bay Area. The pre-assembly tasks done at American steel will be more repetitive and easier for someone to get into if they only have one day to give to the project. It’s also a convenient location for large group meetings because of it’s proximity to so many people.
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2017 | THE TEMPLE
Temple crew volunteers will cut the boards to size. The modular system we have developed allows for many copies of each length. Volunteers without much experience can learn how to use saws safely, doing a simple, repetitive job. We will use jigs to allow for the repetitive work to be done accurately and quickly.
Once the boards are cut to size, 2x4 spacers are nailed to each side of the board. This work can also be done with a jig to assure consistency and accuracy. The spacers will allow for easy stacking assembly of the boards and provide some structural stability.
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2017 | THE TEMPLE
Once the pieces are built, we will test assemble each segment. This will give the crew practice with the system, and less experienced crew members can learn from skilled crew. As segments are completed, they will be labeled and disassembled for easy transportation.
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2017 | THE TEMPLE
We will pack up all the pieces and truck them up to Gerlach. We have an official response from the state of Nevada that it’s ok to cross the state line with this material.
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2017 | THE TEMPLE
Building a Temple requires love. Building a Temple in 20 days requires love and a lot of work. Emotional demands aside, the most challenging component of the temple is the accelerated construction schedule. Building a project of this scope in such a short time frame will undoubtedly exhaust the crew, but that’s what we’ve come for. It’s on the lead artists to ensure that we harness the incredible drive of the crew and design the project to run as smoothly as possible. We understand that Burning Man opens on Sunday, and so does the Temple. The schedule shows a completion on Friday, so we have some flexibility for weather delays.
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2017 | THE TEMPLE
When we arrive on Playa, we understand that there will be nothing there for us but a flag in the ground. We will start by performing our site survey and making our first marks on the land. The site survey will allow us to direct trucks as they arrive and to start setting up camp. We will rent our own VR’s to unload the trucks in the early days of the build while HEAT is still mobilizing and not at full capacity. This will enable us to get a head start on the build while remaining radically self reliant. Before we unload the trucks, we will stake recycled vinyl tarps to the ground under all material and camp storage areas. This is the first step of our LNT plan. As our camp infrastructure is set in place we will be able to accelerate our production, but the first few days are critical as we set up what will be an extraordinary undertaking.
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2017 | THE TEMPLE
Working in the desert during the heat of the day is challenging. Other crews have dealt with this by working at night, and breaking through the day. We feel that this is actually counter-productive, as it’s difficult to sleep in the heat of the day, and people don’t naturally work well in all-nighter scenarios for days on end. It’s also against HEAT’s preferred working hours, and we respect HEAT operators as much as any of our crew members. Our plan to address the challenges of working in the heat of the day is to start earlier in the morning.
Temple 2017 Daily Build Schedule: 07:00 Breakfast 07:30 Begin Work 10:30 Morning Break 12:30 Long Lunch Break 02:30 Resume Work 04:30 Afternoon Break 07:30 Dinner
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2017 | THE TEMPLE
In addition to starting early, we are using an assembly strategy that can be done away from the main site an under shade. When we do carpentry and framing in the main site, we have to work in the direct sun, which slows down our pace. By doing more of the framing and assembly of the segments under shade, we will increase the crew’s productivity. Keeping the work at ground level will reduce the need for ladders, which will be much safer. It will also allow for more people to be working at once, and reduce our dependence for HEAT’s scissor and boom lifts. Once a segment is completed, a VR will carry it to the main site for placement.
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2017 | THE TEMPLE
Our design this year allows for the temple to be built in stackable segments. The segments are no larger than a car, and can be lifted by a VR or a small crane. This will allow us to do lifts in mild winds and not put high demand on HEAT’s larger cranes. VR’s will do most of the heavy lifting on the project, and we will rent our own machines to ensure that we are able to do work without utilizing HEAT. We will have at least 4 professional VR operators on our crew to run or own equipment. During assembly, we will use temporary supports to keep the structure from falling over. We have experienced structural failures in heavy winds and understand that this is CRITICAL. Supports will be installed immediately following the placement of segments because strong winds always come at the worst time.
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2017 | THE TEMPLE
Once the first three levels have been placed, the structure will be stable. We will be able remove the temporary supports and begin to place the upper levels of the temple with a crane.
During this time, we will also be working on placing the fence around the perimeter of the temple, and placing altars in the courtyards.
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2017 | THE TEMPLE
The spire is the largest, most risky lift of the build. We will coordinate this and other crane operations in advance with the HEAT team.
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2017 | THE TEMPLE