Went to the job site early today because a few classes had to be moved around this week. Today was the first time I pounded a tire! Whoa, what a simultaneous workout and PIA! After putting several layers of corrugated cardboard on the bottom to create a floor, we filled the tire about halfway with dirt. At that point, we then switched over to the sledgehammer and pounded the dirt into the sidewalls of the tire. Then, more dirt. Followed by more sledging (laying it flat to cover more square inches with each strike). Finally, we filled to the top of the tire with dirt and had to ensure it was level with the tires that had already been done. Had to take four measurements per tire with a level. If part of the tire was not level, we had to use a pickaxe and fulcrum to pry up the sidewall of the tire, then fill with more dirt and sledge. If it was too high, usually a tamp down on the tire with a sledge took care of it. We also had to ensure we were plum with the layout string. The staff member we were paired with--Sean--was so patient with us and such a nice guy. We even got to tag our tires! Check out my initials in green below!
We also learned how to properly install a "squishy" today. A squishy is a smaller tire that gets crammed in between two larger tires (the oddly shaped tire pictured below). So, you fill a squishy in largely the same manner you would fill any tire. The tricky part is getting the thing in line with its neighboring tires. Sean is a very strong guy, and even he had some difficulty getting this unruly thing in place. Not sure how that's going to pan out with my theoretical future build...I have at least an entire winter to devise strategies though, I suppose.
Additionally, we got the chance to use a mini jackhammer tool today. It was pretty useful and came with several different attachments. We used the spade attachment pictured below to dig through the compacted clay and dirt. We used the other skinnier pointier attachment to drill through rock that was messing with our ability to lay the first course of tires flat.
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