28/07-02/08/2021: Marking the foundation points

01/08/2021: Admiring the final marked drill points.
28/07/2021: Disaster struck in the first day we arrived for this stint. We found bad rock beneath established vegetation, where we had planned to place the beam that forms the back wall of our cabin. The only solution was to move the string lines yet again and orientate the cabin footprint to avoid this patch of bedrock. So, our first task for this trip was to draw out version 3 of the string lines!
28/07/2021: The bad bedrock from a different angle. We had to dig up a lot of soil to assess it.
29/07/2021: We got out the beams again to mark out the new footprint of the cabin, rotating and moving them forward (i.e. towards the water) from the previous position.
29/07/2021: The cracking contraptions used to hold the beams up and keep them level.
01/08/2021: We used pallets to hold up the beams, stabilised with scrap pieces of wood. Rebar was drilled into the bedrock and used to attach the string lines. Unfortunately we began running out of wood and rebar, so had to make a pitstop back to Nuuk to get more. We luckily found some more at some of the construction sites in town, and could get back to the cabin site with plenty more materials.
01/08/2021: Another pallet holding up the opposite beam. The dog is lying where the cabin decking will be installed.
01/08/2021: Batterboards were placed between the rebar so that the string lines could be adjusted if needed. The pink string line is for definiting edges, whereas the white string line denote centre lines.
01/08/2021: The dog helping in the sun as we set up the string lines.
01/08/2021: We used pythagoras’ theorem to measure the distance of the diagonals (i.e. the hypothenuse of a right angle triangle) to check that the strings lines were correct.
01/08/2021: Once the string lines for the interior centre lines and cabin edges had been set up then we could start to remove the beams. It was a nerve-racking moment to remove to beams as they had been our guides. Once they were removed, we could set out the final centre lines and finish the string lines array.
01/08/2021: Once all the string lines had been finished, we could use a plumb line to identify the points to the drill which we marked with white chalk and yellow spray paint. We marked out 30 drill points, in a 6×5 array.
01/08/2021: One of our drill points. We shifted this one slightly so that we could drill into better rock. Generally, the drill points can move up and down the position of the string line, but they cannot be moved laterally.
01/08/2021: A beautiful sunset and a rainbow came out once we had finished marking out our drill points. It must be a sign!
02/08/2021: Tucking our beams and equipment back under the tarps, ready for us to use them again when we return next time.