building
participants on a straw bale course in Oregon run by Andrew Morrison. (strawbale.com)
June 1st... As I write, I am sitting in the lounge of the Washington state ferries terminal at Anacortes, waiting for my sailing across to Sidney, BC. I'm on my way back from Oregon after attending another workshop put on by Andrew Morrison of strawbale.com. This time it was a three-day intensive plastering course.
Although much of what Andrew offered us this weekend was the same as the plastering component of the seven-day workshop I took last September, there were several reasons I wanted to attend this course. Andrew packs so much information into his courses that some of it just didn't stick the first time, so going back allowed my to fill in the gaps in my memory. Also, I knew from his blog site that he himself had recently gained valuable information from a very experienced Scottish plasterer and was excited about sharing this knowledge with others. And, not least, this weekend also allowed my to get some more practical hands-on practice at plastering. The fact that Andrew offered the whole thing for free was merely the icing on the cake!
Once again, the course did not disappoint. In addition to reviewing what I had learned before and the physical practice, I came away with a knowledge of new (or very old) techniques including 'Harling' and 'batching'. The weekend also helped my to clarify some of the things I don't want to do, such as putting niches into strawbale walls! In my opinion they are an absolute nightmare to plaster and trying to get them all the same is virtually impossible!
No niches for me, thanks!
June 17th...
Today we submitted our application for a variance to the setback from Markham Street. Now we must wait for three weeks for the results, at the next meeting of the Board of Variance. We are hoping for approval to reduce the setback from 7.5 meters to 3.5 meters. As I mentioned in one of my previous journal entries, our building site is sandwiched between the road on the west and the 30 meter Streamside Development Permit Area (SPDA) along Beaverdale Creek to the east.
The SPDA is intended to protect fish habitat - with which I have no argument - but it leaves us with a narrow strip of land that tapers from 4.9 meters at it's widest, down to 4.5 meters. Given that the proposed building is 8.3 meters wide (not including the foundation trench) we obviously need a variance and it seems better to take it from the road rather than the fishees!
As part of the process of putting together our variance application, we drew up new plans and took a few photos that have now been published on a new photos page. I'll be adding photos and plans and anything else that seems appropriate from time to time...
June 20th... For those who might be interested in following the progress of this project but don't want to keep logging in to see if there is anything new, I have created a mailing list. If you would like to receive a brief email whenever I expand or update the site please send me an email at naturalbuildingsite@shaw.ca.
All you need to do is put 'Add to mailing list' in the subject line. If at any time you decide you no longer want to receive updates, just send another email entitled: 'Remove from mailing list'. Simple!
June 24th...I had a great and very encouraging phone conversation with Eric Berger today. Eric is the lime-stabilisation 'expert' at Chemical Lime's head office in Texas and I want to thank him for being so generous with his knowledge and time.
Not only did our conversation reassure me that using lime-stabilised rammed earth for my foundation stem wall was completely viable, but I learned a great deal about the process of lime stabilisation as well!
My next step in designing the foundation is to get my soil tested in accordance with the ASTM 6276 specification to establish the correct ratio of lime to mix with my clay-rich soil. Armed with this information I will be able to calculate the amount of lime I need to buy (in addition to the lime for my wall plaster).
This is exciting stuff for me as I have been concerned by the fact that I could find no information on the internet to support my desire to use this material and technique! Over the next few days I hope to do a major edit to the foundations page to include all my new-found knowledge!
Although much of what Andrew offered us this weekend was the same as the plastering component of the seven-day workshop I took last September, there were several reasons I wanted to attend this course. Andrew packs so much information into his courses that some of it just didn't stick the first time, so going back allowed my to fill in the gaps in my memory. Also, I knew from his blog site that he himself had recently gained valuable information from a very experienced Scottish plasterer and was excited about sharing this knowledge with others. And, not least, this weekend also allowed my to get some more practical hands-on practice at plastering. The fact that Andrew offered the whole thing for free was merely the icing on the cake!
Once again, the course did not disappoint. In addition to reviewing what I had learned before and the physical practice, I came away with a knowledge of new (or very old) techniques including 'Harling' and 'batching'. The weekend also helped my to clarify some of the things I don't want to do, such as putting niches into strawbale walls! In my opinion they are an absolute nightmare to plaster and trying to get them all the same is virtually impossible!
No niches for me, thanks!
June 17th...
the proposed site, showing the outline of the building as well as the setbacks.
(click on the image for a larger photograph)
(click on the image for a larger photograph)
Today we submitted our application for a variance to the setback from Markham Street. Now we must wait for three weeks for the results, at the next meeting of the Board of Variance. We are hoping for approval to reduce the setback from 7.5 meters to 3.5 meters. As I mentioned in one of my previous journal entries, our building site is sandwiched between the road on the west and the 30 meter Streamside Development Permit Area (SPDA) along Beaverdale Creek to the east.
The SPDA is intended to protect fish habitat - with which I have no argument - but it leaves us with a narrow strip of land that tapers from 4.9 meters at it's widest, down to 4.5 meters. Given that the proposed building is 8.3 meters wide (not including the foundation trench) we obviously need a variance and it seems better to take it from the road rather than the fishees!
As part of the process of putting together our variance application, we drew up new plans and took a few photos that have now been published on a new photos page. I'll be adding photos and plans and anything else that seems appropriate from time to time...
June 20th... For those who might be interested in following the progress of this project but don't want to keep logging in to see if there is anything new, I have created a mailing list. If you would like to receive a brief email whenever I expand or update the site please send me an email at naturalbuildingsite@shaw.ca.
All you need to do is put 'Add to mailing list' in the subject line. If at any time you decide you no longer want to receive updates, just send another email entitled: 'Remove from mailing list'. Simple!
June 24th...I had a great and very encouraging phone conversation with Eric Berger today. Eric is the lime-stabilisation 'expert' at Chemical Lime's head office in Texas and I want to thank him for being so generous with his knowledge and time.
Not only did our conversation reassure me that using lime-stabilised rammed earth for my foundation stem wall was completely viable, but I learned a great deal about the process of lime stabilisation as well!
My next step in designing the foundation is to get my soil tested in accordance with the ASTM 6276 specification to establish the correct ratio of lime to mix with my clay-rich soil. Armed with this information I will be able to calculate the amount of lime I need to buy (in addition to the lime for my wall plaster).
This is exciting stuff for me as I have been concerned by the fact that I could find no information on the internet to support my desire to use this material and technique! Over the next few days I hope to do a major edit to the foundations page to include all my new-found knowledge!