building
(june '09) the current design. hopefully the final one!
(click on the image for a larger photograph)
(june '09) the site, looking north towards the house.
(click on the image for a larger photograph)
(june '09) what the building might look like from our neighbour's deck!
(click on the image for a larger photograph)
(june '09) the view from the roof showing beaverdale creek along the eastern side of the property. (click on the image for a larger photograph)
(jun '09) slaking quicklime! Ben Scott carefully adds the quicklime to the water as he shows me how to make lime putty. doing it under a tree is not recommended, as leaves and bug can end up in your putty!
(jun '09) heat rising! Ben supervises as I use a rake to thoroughly mix the quicklime with the water. steam rising from the bath illustrates the amount of heat generated by the chemical reaction of slaking, so protective gear is essential!
(july '09) construction of the 30 mesh screen used to sieve the lime putty after it has been slaked. two rings of steel were riveted together with the mesh in-between.
(july '09) my home-made tools for screening the lime putty. the cut-away detergent container is ideal for scooping the putty out of the bath in which it is slaked. the screen is supported by bars so the putty can be pushed through with the trowel.
(july '09) how the putty screen works - 1. painting it with primer seems to have been ineffective!
(july '09) how the putty screen works - 2. the pins around the edge support the screen in the top of the burn barrel. The edges of the trowel were ground into curves to help squeeze the putty through the screen.
(july 13th '09) two curious visitors to the building site this morning, unfortunately they then went on to nibble the honeysuckle!
(july 29th '09) breaking ground... our neighbour, Tony Couto, digs a series of holes around the proposed foundation to take soil samples. We want to see if we can use the underlying clay for our rammed earth stem wall and the earthen plaster on the walls.
(july 29th '09) a geotechnical engineer from C. N. Ryzuk and associates supervises the digging in preparation for taking soil samples for testing. I do not recommend this company as I believe they tried to over-charge me and misled me.
(july 29th '09) unfortunately, the 'native' underlying clay at my site may be too deep for me to use, as I would have to dig much deeper than my intented trench depth (24 inches) in order to access it.
(july 30th '09) loading a thick mix of clay soil into a container for a shrinkage test.
(july 30th '09) once filled with the sample soil, the container is left to dry. This test had to be re-done because the sample split along the visible stripe making subsequent measurements of shrinkage inaccurate.
(august 8th '09) North elevation. what the building might look like viewed from the house - looking south east (click on image for a larger picture). These initial designs have been superceded - see below.
(august 28th '09) East elevation. what the building might look like viewed from the east (click on image for a larger picture). These initial designs have been superceded - see below.
(august 28th '09) West elevation. what the building might look like viewed from the west (click on image for a larger picture). These initial designs have been superceded - see below.
(august 23th '09) Tony scraping off the top soil to expose the 'native soil' (clay-rich earth) in a pit just below the building site. From this pit we hope to source the earth that will be used, in combination with lime and aggregates, to make the rammed-earth foundation wall and the earthen plaster.
(august 29th '09) Although not completely dry yet, this picture gives an indication of the amount of shrinkage that can be expected from our native soil. By my calculation it is about 7 - 8 percent.
(august 29th '09) Sedimentation test. After about one month the soil has (mostly) settled out of suspension and it can be seen that there is about 75% clay (on top) and 25% silt with very little sand or larger aggregates.
(January 17th '10) The components of my prototype compression testing mold.
(January 17th '10) My home-made compression testing mold. The hinged halves can be bolted together, and then released to allow the 6-inch by 12-inch samples to be removed easily.
(January 17th '10) The curent design. The floor plan remains similar to the original version, but the roof line has been dramatically altered and improved thanks to John Gower. (gowerdesigngroup.com)
(February 3rd '10) Three branches harvested from five old and diseased chestnuts that were taken down along Cook Street in Victoria. It feels very rewarding to be able to recycle timber from these noble trees in the building. Two of the branches will be used as central posts, supporting the roof in the main workshop area. I hope to turn the third branch into a book-matched table-top eventually.
(February 3rd '10) The three chestnut branches protected from the rain. In due course the bark will be stripped off to aid in the drying process.
(February 13th '10) Two samples of lime plaster. The sample of the left is composed of 25% Lime putty and 75% sand. The sample on the left has about 10% brick dust added to test the pozzolanic effect (if any). If the brick dust works it should cause the plaster to set faster and harder than the other sample. (postscript: the brick dust didn't seem to make much difference in the speed or hardness of the set!)
(February 13th '10) Plaster of Paris end cap on the bottom of a compression sample. The caps, which will go on either end of the samples, are intended to create an even, level surface when crushing the samples in the compression tester. The black plastic mold has been slit all around the edge so that the samples can be removed easily once dry, and was sprayed with lubricant to further prevent binding.
(April 6th '10) My new 'toy' - a Makita Chain Mortiser. Although quite expensive, this tool should make the construction of the all joints in the timber frame much quicker and easier.
(July 13th '10) A 20th scale model of the workshop, cut away to show details of the various elements of the building.
(July 14th '10) An interesting perspective. Using a close-up of a model car in the foreground to create a sense of realism in the photo of the workshop model!
Links... (hover over links for info)
The Living Building Challenge
Fotoprint
John Gower - Gower design group
Chelsey Braham - C D B Design
Earth Futures
BCSEA
SIPDistribution.ca
Chemicallime.com
Perlite.com
Strawbale.com
HomesteadHouse.ca
Eco-Sense.ca
Building Limes Forum
Straw bale fire test movie
Straw bale earthquake test movie
Susanne Dannenberg - visual artist
Goodshepherdwool.com
Elke Cole