Playing On a Construction Site at Night

Most parents would strongly discourage their children from playing on a construction site at night.  My parents take me to the construction site.

To be fair, we don't actually hang out inside the in-progress-house.  We head to the beach out the backyard.

On Tuesday night, we got there around ten pm and saw the moon rise.  Then, trying to be very, very quiet, we watched dark shapes of mother turtles slide up the shore to the dune, where they flung sand behind them to make their nests.

Before that, we had gone out to dinner at a nearby restaurant.  See the bottom of this post for more on that.*

And before that, while it was still light out, we gave a guest a tour of the house.  During the tour, I noticed stickers like these on the windows:

"What do those numbers mean?" I asked my dad, and he explained.

The windows are designed to withstand hurricanes.  The number 65 on the left means that the window can withstand pounds per square foot of wind blowing inward.  There is suction pressure on the backside of a house, so the 70 on the right means the window can withstand 70 pounds per square foot of wind pressure going outward. 

I was confused, so my dad illustrated this concept by pushing me towards my right-the direction the hurricane wind is blowing in- then running to my other side to pull me in the same direction he pushed me-the suction pressure trying to suck the window out.  I think I may have made it more confusing than it is just by writing it down.

The windows are also rated for impact.  They have several layers of glass and air space between some of the layers, so if they are hit with flying debris, they don't shatter.  This may come in handy when Dad teaches me how to fly the drone.


*We went to a nearby restaurant called Ocean 302.  It's awesome.  This is the part where I advertise my blog:  If you like food stuff, check out The Blergh.

Also check out The Blergh's Instagram. @theblerghblog

Stay tuned for frequent updates on the construction of the ultramodern home so groovy that sea turtles swim by just to see it.

Stucco & Turtle Tracks

The exterior stucco is progressing and we should see some color on the outside in a week or so.  Check out all the turtle tracks and nests on the beach.

Turtle Nests Everywhere!

Under the guise of the night, turtles shuffle onto the shore, lay their eggs in a nest by the dunes, and scoot back into the ocean.  The baby turtles face many dangers from the time they are laid as eggs to the moment that the first salty wave breaks over their head.  Mostly, we can't ensure their safety, but we can help:  Firstly, by keeping a close eye on pets.  Secondly, by installing turtle-safe lights.  These lights are required along beaches because won't confuse the turtles as they make their way towards the ocean. 

Installing turtle-safe lights is just one of the precautions we have to take for this house.  My dad just finished setting up a lightning protection system.  Additionally, with the stucco still in progress, the windows and doors were layered with plastic as protection.

The aluminum roofing is up.  When I saw it from far away, it reminded me of Vector's house in Despicable Me, because the blue roof almost camouflaged with the noontime sky.

I didn't get a photo of the roof, but I thought
this was a cool angle.

In other news: some errors with the windows were fixed up; and the ocean is still a little chilly, despite the thermometer hitting around 95 Fahrenheit every day.  (We still swim, even if it's a little cold!)

 Stick around for frequent updates on the construction of 65 Degrees, the lair of a surfing mad scientist.