“Extreme Makeover” at Guan Ai School
Diane Geng | Posted on June 17th, 2008 in Integrative Rural Education Program, Other Organizations, Programs, RCEF. 
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Hammers were swinging at Guan Ai Elementary School as a team from the non-profit organization Canada
Wood came to put together two donated wood houses. One will be used as an activity room and the other as much needed space for teachers to meet and work. Currently, teachers only have small drawers in their cramped dorms to store things and there is no office or meeting space as all the existing rooms are used up as classrooms or dorms.
The houses were built by students of Canada Wood College, a training program that teaches wood-frame construction. The hardworking staff, Brad, Steve, Dave, and Chen were assisted by local villagers, as well as RCEF’s Jiang Peng, Henry Hu, and volunteers Merrybelle Guo and Translation Committee Director Hua Zhenyu. Guan Ai students enjoyed watching the whole process and even got to play ping pong and try out stilts made out of extra wood. Here’s a letter Vice Principal Sun Huimiao wrote to Canada Wood:
Dear Canada Wood,
After you heard from the Rural China Education Foundation that Guan Ai Elementary School was pressed for space, you enthusiastically extended a helping hand and donated two wood buildings to us. After arriving on June 8, you started to work. In these few days, you have not only worked so hard, you also made time to play with the students. Students really liked learning to play Frisbee. The ping pong table you made was also really great to use. Some third grade students wrote their feelings about the buildings: “We’re so happy our spirits feel like flying.” Here, you’ve used your own hard work, good attitudes, and care to influence the children. You used your own two hands to create things and inspire students. I think that these two wood buildings are not just two beautiful additions to Guan Ai’s school yard but have also erected a bridge of friendship between China and your countries.Today, the work is almost done. Guan Ai School students want to present you a gift of their performances. I also represent all Guan Ai School teachers and students and all the people of Houjia Village to express a very sincere: “Thank you!”
Sun Huimiao
Vice-Principal, Guan Ai Elementary School
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Steven Liu (blog author) says:
Added on June 17th, 2008 at %I:%M %pIs that chipboard? Aw, I was kinda hoping that it was gonna be made of big round Canadian logs…
Still, it’s a fine lookin’ building, and I’m sure it’ll be put to good use.
Wei Ji Ma (blog author) says:
Added on June 17th, 2008 at %I:%M %pI am glad that the students now have an activity space and the teachers a meeting room!
Maybe it is high-density fibreboard?
From Wikipedia:
Particleboard is cheaper, denser and more uniform than conventional wood and plywood and is substituted for them when appearance and strength are less important than cost. However, particleboard can be made more attractive by painting or the use of wood veneers that are glued onto surfaces that will be visible. Though it is denser than conventional wood, it is the lightest and weakest type of fiberboard, except for insulation board. Medium-density fibreboard and hardboard, also called high-density fiberboard, are stronger and denser than particleboard.
A major disadvantage of particleboard is that it is very prone to expansion and discoloration due to moisture, particularly when it is not covered with paint or another sealer. Therefore, it is rarely used outdoors or places that have high levels of moisture, with the exception of some bathrooms, kitchens and laundries, where it is commonly used as an underlayment beneath a continuous sheet of vinyl floor covering. In such an installation the edges must be properly covered upward against the wall and joints and non-covered edges must be properly sealed against moisture penetration. A higher quality material not subject to expansion is underlayment-grade plywood, which is constructed without interior voids in its layers to better resist the high local pressure from objects such as stiletto heels.
Bradley Q says:
Added on June 17th, 2008 at %I:%M %pThe material on the walls of this building is ‘oriented strand board’ (OSB), which is an engineered structural product. OSB can be used in place of ply-wood on a wood frame building. One benefit of OSB is that it makes efficient use of the small pieces of wood that would otherwise be waste-wood.
A proper “building envelope” needs to be created to finish this building system whether you use OSB or ply-wood. Painting is not a good option for either material. In this case, the building was wrapped with a weather-proof membrane called Tyvek, and then a stucco coating was applied.
When the exterior is finished with stucco you can’t actually tell that it is a wood frame building. It doesn’t matter if you use stucco or cedar siding on the exterior, this building will perform very well in an earthquake and it is well insulated, which will be appreciated during the cold Shanxi winters.
Steven Liu (blog author) says:
Added on June 17th, 2008 at %I:%M %pWow, learn something new every day!
Love how you mention that it’s earthquake-proof. Haha, seems that everyone thinks that we get quakes all the time now, when in actual fact there hadn’t been one in over a decade previous to Wenchuan. The insulation though, is important, as it’s freezing cold over there EVERY year.
Diane, do you have any pics of the finished building? Wanna include one in this post? I’m quite curious to see what it looks like.
Wei Ji Ma (blog author) says:
Added on June 18th, 2008 at %I:%M %pThanks for the explanation, Brad. I’m glad the building will be well-insulated. What adhesive was used in the OSB? As I understand it, the release of formaldehyde in the finished product is sometimes of concern.
I would also be interested in seeing pictures of the finished buildings!
Paul says:
Added on June 18th, 2008 at %I:%M %pThe adhesives used in Canadian construction plywood and OSB are typically exterior in performance. This means that they have been permanently polymerized when the glue is set in a hot-press so there is virtually no off-gassing of formaldehyde or other volatile organic chemicals. Wei Ji Ma’s question is a good one because some panel products use so-called interior quality adhesives which do off-gas irritating chemicals. When we ship to Japan we have to certify that the off-gassing is virtually nil.
Wei Ji Ma (blog author) says:
Added on June 19th, 2008 at %I:%M %pSounds good, Paul. Thanks for taking the time of explaining it to us. I’m glad that formaldehyde and other potentially carcinogenic chemicals won’t be of concern here. Since the buildings will be used by young kids, it’s particularly important.
Office Design says:
Added on July 30th, 2010 at %I:%M %pGuan Ai Elementary School lovely make over by wooden furnishings. Its a great piece of team work.