strawbale healing space

2011-09-19T18:33:00.001-04:00

With the help of Darriel we are installing a stone walkway. Also new is a home made rain chain composed of recycled lighting stuff acquired at the Community Forklift

2011-09-15T12:26:00.000-04:00

Some earth moving behind the complex to open up a back yard and beat back the evil wilderness.

Rooflet over entry

2011-08-30T17:50:00.002-04:00

An extension was added to the roof over the entry to keep the door area dry. Just in time for Irene.

Window Boxes

2011-08-04T16:51:00.003-04:00

We made some window boxes out of left over oak flooring. By some coincidence the plastic boxes at Homey's were a precise fit. Clean living I guess. Just back from the Natural Building Colloquium in Bath NY. Another great event this year.

Tidying Up a Bit

2011-07-06T12:02:00.003-04:00

We are getting close to being done for now. A couple of coats of lime wash with cement colors on the ecohouse gave a nice color. The living roof is planted with sedums. The entry has a slate floor, wood steps made from spalted silver maple are in place to treatment space and ecohouse and some shelves for books and the kitchenette are up.

Sedums and growing medium

2011-06-30T21:54:00.002-04:00

I visited Emory Knoll Farms two days ago and bought four flats of their special mix of sedums for this (Maryland) bioregion. They are such pretty little plants and resilient too. They recommended a growing medium produced at Stancill's Clay pit. Terry and Emlyn Stancill were generous with their time and knowledge.

Living roof preparation and fresco over lime plaster

2011-06-29T16:47:00.001-04:00

Dragonfly

2011-06-24T08:23:00.001-04:00

a nice waltz

2011-06-24T08:16:00.000-04:00

Find more songs like Josefin's Waltz at Myspace Music

Entry Floor and Steps to Ecohouse

2011-06-17T09:03:00.003-04:00

The slate floor is done. Grouted and sealed. We left the piece in the geographic center of the floor loose so we can make or buy something with a compass rose on it to go there. There were a few odd cuts of silver maple left that had been neglected and some spalting took place which gave them a pretty nice look. They made for perfect steps to the Ecohouse.

Slate Floor and Living Roof prep

2011-06-07T08:54:00.003-04:00

We installed a Vermont slate floor last week. Mixed colors in a repeating pattern. Now we are finishing the living roof. The drainage layer uses broken up cinder block and leftover cement mixed with perlite that was then broken into little pieces.

Bamboo floor in Ecohouse

2011-05-13T21:48:00.001-04:00

Flooring and a Wood Stove

2011-05-07T18:04:00.002-04:00

Kappy and I went to a local quarry Tri-State Stone where they also sell Vermont slate flooring single sizes and patterns. We found a nice mixed color pattern that comes in 10sq.ft. boxes. We needed 18 boxes and that is exactly how much they had of this style. Good luck I'd say. Today I installed the flue for the Jotul woodstove and made the first fire.

Spring 2011

2011-05-04T17:47:00.002-04:00

We are beginning the final phase of construction. Things left to do are: slate floor in the middle space, pine floor in the ecohouse, living roof over the bathroom and some plaster details. The buildings weathered the DC winter with no problems and has served Kappy's breathwork practice quite well.

November Photos

2010-11-19T11:54:00.001-05:00

Here are some shots of the buildings as we put the project down for the winter. I'll be back next Spring to finish.

Entry Details

2010-11-08T18:27:00.003-05:00

We used more of the knotty pine panelling from Rebuild Warehouse to finish the entry. Next year we will do something more permanent with stone. Right now its getting too d... cold to worry about it.

Bathroom finished

2010-10-29T15:50:00.001-04:00

Bathroom Sink

2010-10-11T17:09:00.004-04:00

Installed the bathroom sink today. There was the requisite one small leak easily fixed. Also painted the entry to the Ecohouse with a clay paint that used carpenter's chalk for color.

Entry Doors and Windows

2010-09-29T13:34:00.002-04:00

At last I get to do some Glory work, the kind that changes the appearance and gives the illusion of significant progress. Funny how you can chip away at some little thing for hours or days and change nothing visually and then... The doors came from Rebuild Warehouse and the windows either came from there or someplace like it. There seem to be more of these recyclers popping up.
Habitat for Humanity is one nationwide example.

Bathroom Floor

2010-09-26T11:00:00.002-04:00

We raided some dumpsters at counter top shops in the area and found a wealth of raw material. Most of the pieces we got are around 1.25" thick and come in all colors. I found a Target tile saw on Craigslist. The design grew spontaneously.

Ceiling

2010-09-23T09:05:00.002-04:00

We got some nice pine tongue and groove at the Rebuild Warehouse and put it up in the middle space as a ceiling.

Front gets Plastered

2010-09-16T17:26:00.004-04:00

I made a mix of red and white clays from a dig near here. I figured if Kappy didn't like the color it could be another brown coat, can't have too many of those

Lime Plaster with Georgie Donais

2010-09-13T19:32:00.002-04:00

With the skilled assistance of Ms.Donais an appreciable amount of wall area was covered with lime plaster. We even attempted a fresco of sorts which was to be a throw away but the owner, Kappy Laning, liked it so it stays. We used Red Top gauging plaster with a type S lime and mason's sand. I wanted to experiment with the gypsum to see how it handled. I bought some retarder just in case. At times it set up in fifteen minutes so we kept the batches small. There was very little cracking, just in areas where the plaster was put on thick or without pressure. The coats were thin, less than a quarter inch. We used prickly pear juice also. I'm not sure exactly how much it does but I like the idea and it doesn't seem to hurt. We put in a small amount of sticky rice soup since it seems to be the rage as well. No pozzolans this time.

Perlite Insulated Floor

2010-08-30T10:20:00.002-04:00

I rounded up all the woven poly bags and pleaded with Diane, the neighbor that has horses, and began to transfer the perlite to the bags and place them in the dug out floor space. I found the larger sacks(23"x39") to be better than the common "sand bag" size(14x26). There I tamped them down, which was pretty easy. The perlite stays a little squishy but after filling the gaps between the bags and laying down the first layer of gravel things were satisfyingly solid. Subsequent tamped layers of damp,clayey soil and CR8 (crusher run) sharp gravel made things very sound.

A visit to the Perlite Factory

2010-08-21T11:05:00.002-04:00

We are going to try Perlite as an insulator in a slightly below grade floor. I looked around here in DC and had marginal luck finding perlite or information about it. Somehow I found the Pennsylvania Perlite company and they answered all my questions. They have a plant in York, PA which is just under 100 miles from here so I rented a Uhaul trailer and went up. They can regulate the density of the product by varying the heat used to "pop" the raw material which comes from out west. I decided to use a density or around 7 to 8 lbs per cubic foot. It is called block fill and is used to insulate concrete block walls by filling the cavities. Ron, the site manager, told me that perlite is used in almost everything from paint to hand cleaners. I took some samples of different products. On the way back I found an oriental grocery store and bought sticky rice flour to try out lime/sticky rice plaster. Apparently it was used in the Great Wall and recently some scientists studied it to see what the reaction is that makes it harder and more impermeable. Near as I can tell the rice soup affects crystal formation in the lime. I am also trying some pre-popped perlite with lime putty to see if has any pozzolanic properties.

Bathroom walls are up

2010-07-07T17:20:00.002-04:00

I put up the last of the diet bales and Kappy filled in the gaps with cob/slip straw. They are held in with bale twine and roofing nails. We put up a big fan to help dry things out. It has been around 100 degrees and mildly humid. Not bad working in the shade.

So far so good

2010-07-02T08:11:00.003-04:00

We put up the skinny wall yesterday. The combination of chicken wire and a couple of horizontal 1x4s made the wall very stable. Kappy has been mixing and applying cob patch between bales. I was able to get two skinny bales out of one normal bale. The straw near the edges was just too unstable. Before cutting with the Woodmizer I tied an additional string on each mini bale.

Skinny walls

2010-06-30T21:48:00.002-04:00

I am going to try filling in a 2x6 wall with sections of bale. I have done this kind of cutting before with an electric chainsaw but since we have a Wood Mizer on site I think I'll use it. I tried one bale and only lost the first cut. I think it will be tough to get three cuts out of one bale. Two in the center part seems more likely. Lots of straw for cob and plaster left over. Plan is to put up chicken wire on one side and tie bales to it as well as to each other and to the studs. Once plastered it should be bomb proof

camera on a stick

2010-06-25T09:49:00.006-04:00

here is a shot of the front of the complex. yesterday I put the rooflet and decking on this side of the middle space. now the rain stays out and I have a place to work in the shade. it has been HOT lately here in DC.

Rafters over the Bath

2010-06-13T16:57:00.007-04:00

The rafters are in place over what will be the bathroom area. The roof will be very low angle due to some upstream constrictions. Because of that we are going to try a little green roof here. We have pond liner and DC is pretty wet.

Middle section roof and clerestory windows

2010-05-22T16:20:00.004-04:00

I found some nice windows at the Rebuild Warehouse in northern Virginia , just south of DC. They were sets of three, 16" wide by 48" tall and easily separated. I also found a screen door , some nice 2x6s and I forget what else. I had also gone to the Habitat for Humanity Restore and found a very nice set of french doors, the kind with real mullions.
.We are blessed with many fine stores selling recovered building materials here in the greater DC area. So now I am sifting through all the lumber laying around from the Ecohouse move and some obsessive sawmilling a long time ago. Its either dig it out or the poison ivy takes over the stacks. It feels real good not to go to Homey's.

Middle Space Construction

2010-05-09T16:26:00.007-04:00

I am joining the two buildings now. The beams are left over from the Ecohouse move last year. They are 6x6 we cut with the woodmizer from tulip poplar at Romey Pittman's family land. There will be clerestory windows north and south sides to bring in as much light as possible. The studio weathered a harsh DC winter with no problems beyond a gutter ripped off by record snow.

A little nicer now

2009-11-12T17:57:00.010-05:00

There comes that moment when preparation and patience pay off. This week was it for this building. Finishing the floor allowed me to install permanently the benches and bring in the things that make a space nice to be in. Kappy has been decorating the space and has already used it for her breathwork practice. She even dug out her sewing machine to hem the curtains.

Two coats of linseed oil

2009-11-07T17:22:00.002-05:00

After sanding we put two coats of boiled linseed oil cut with mineral spirits on the floor. I also built a little rooflet to keep water off the sill.

Finishing the Floor

2009-11-05T20:06:00.002-05:00

Finally getting to the floor, I have been finishing things from the top down, ceiling, walls, windows and now the floor. It was donated by Stan Fowler, former park ranger at Glen Echo here in DC. Old oak of different origins and conditions. Some of it sat outside , somewhat exposed to the elements. A lot of the boards were beyond recovery but most were still good. They sanded down with a fair amount of work. I think I hauled away two full wheelbarrow loads of sawdust. Next step will be to give the floor a coat of linseed oil.

Gable Windows

2009-10-31T09:58:00.005-04:00

Thanks again to Rob Roy for helping us cut and install windows for the gable ends. We purchased 3'x7' lights of glass and are cutting them to fit. Unless my cutting improves I'll be visiting the glass store soon.

Benches and Windows

2009-10-27T19:39:00.001-04:00

We have built two benches with storage space and one has a leaf to turn it into a bed. Also we purchased 3'x 7' lights of double strength glass which with the help of Rob Roy Mackey we will turn into gable windows. The plan is to make them double pane which while not thermo pane will be a bit better than single pane.

The Kitchen Sink Episode

2009-10-10T13:44:00.006-04:00

The stud wall has a slip straw infill and lath strips for plaster adhesion. On the outside I painted the strips with a sanded primer. Inside plaster was clay, sand, cellulose and straw. Outside I decided to include just about everything I had used to date in the mix. That would be: clay,lime,sand,brick dust,blow in cellulose paper,shredded paper,straw, horse manure and prickly pear cactus juice. I wanted an even wall so I tacked up 3/8" screed strips over the studs. There has been a little cracking right along the spaces left after removing the screed strips. I have been filling those as it dries. The weather is perfect, about 70 degrees, light mist, cloudy.

Plaster Experimentation

2009-09-19T20:33:00.003-04:00

We have been playing around with various permutations of natural ingredients like pure powdered clay which we got from near here and processed, blow in cellulose,horse poop,shredded paper a la Ed Raduazo,mica from Philadelphia,wheat paste, sand with nice little mica bits from across the river at a sand pit, prickly pear cactus juice, chopped straw and probably a couple other things. I am trying to get a handle on the properties of these ingredients and come up with an idiot proof mix. Not quite there yet but getting close. My latest plaything is clay paint, I am using just the colored clay we have and wheat paste along with a bit of mica. I paint it on then while it is just leather tough I give it a wipe with an almost dry sponge to smooth it. Otherwise it dries kind of rough and airy. Thanks to Carole Crews who has been a sounding board for some of my ideas. No need to re-invent gunpowder as they say. Georgie Donais was down to help a couple weeks ago, she had some good ideas also, along with a nice touch with a trowel. With some luck she'll be back. Next plaster will have shredded paper, horse crap , clay and sand. Perhaps more blow in cellulose which is awful nice to work with.

Very Advanced Beginner Plastering

2009-09-07T16:56:00.004-04:00

Finish interior plaster

2009-09-07T16:40:00.001-04:00

Ceiling is Done

2009-07-11T21:04:00.003-04:00

Today we finished the ceiling. The boards are from a Silver Maple cut down on site a couple years ago so it had some nice spalting in parts. It is very nice wood to work with. We dried it inside Kappy and Sam´s house over the winter. Thanks to Rob Roy Mackey we got the big table saw working. Rob has a method to make three phase motors work on standard home 220 volt current. It involves another three phase motor that you spin by hand to get it going, it then adds the third phase. Not sure exactly how it works but it does. The saw is a Delta Unisaw. We used a wobble dado to cut the rabbets. The wood was coated with boiled Linseed oil. It really brings out the grain features. We are also doing lots of plaster color samples . Next week the floor will go in. We have a lot of recovered oak T&G from an old amusement park here in DC called Glen Echo.

Brown Coat

2009-06-24T21:43:00.005-04:00

Josh Dibb along with Jett and Zeke put on the brown coat today.

Plastering a Cob bench and wood heater in Alexandria,VA

2009-06-22T17:48:00.002-04:00

Mollie Curry and Steve Kemble invited me to help them plaster a piece of cob art they produced. The plaster was an American Clay product called Marittima. It was colored with a special blend also American Clay products. It went on nicely , thickness about like a credit card.

2009-06-17T18:44:00.001-04:00

Play time

2009-06-16T20:06:00.005-04:00

Now we get to play with clay, plaster mixes, horse poop, hammer mills and roto-tillers. Made another trip to the excavation site to get as much clay as possible before it goes away which may be real soon. Romey Pittman went and spoke with the men on site at the dig and they may send the pile to her place. That would mean there would be enough clay to do a whole lot of natural type building! Romey is building her new home now and plans to use a lot of clay plaster inside.

From cricket crawl

Plaster Party

2009-06-14T17:54:00.005-04:00

We had a very nice and well attended plaster party on Saturday. Got the whole house plastered with the scratch coat. We used sandy soil from the foundation dig and some pure clay Sam found on the way to work. We dried and ground up the clay and mixed it with the sand. Bomber. Check out the video! Major thanks to Ed Raduazo, he brought us a hammer mill, a ton of buckets, some tools and a batch of his famous shredded paper cob to make faces on trees . Thanks, Ed!

Plaster Preparation

2009-06-10T21:10:00.010-04:00

A niche

We are almost ready to put on the scratch coat of plaster. Walls have been weed whacked to flatten them out (but not too much).
Some people think a strawbale wall has to be a little wonky otherwise it just looks like drywall. We decided to spray on some boric acid and Borax solution to prevent mold, bugs and fire. We nailed double layers of 15# building paper over the wood to bridge it. You can get cracks at these junctions. Over that we put plastic mesh. A niche or three was carved into the wall, some wood blocks were also put in at the site of a shelf. Some casing bead was placed around the bottom of the plaster so it might end in an organized fashion. Plaster stop was put around the top of the wall for the same reason. I know I'm forgetting something important but I don't want to anger Dios by trying to equal her. Plaster will be three parts of the stuff we dug out of the ground ( mostly sand with a little clay) and one part pure clay Sam found by chance at an excavation site on his way to work. It is an amazing pile of clay of various hues. We chopped it up with the roto tiller and let it dry for a day and a half, grinding it several times during this time . It dried up pretty quick. Ed Raduazo is going to bring his hammer mill over on Saturday and we can grind it finer. So there you go. Exciting stuff, no?

Down to Solid Ground

2009-03-31T21:01:00.002-04:00

We finally got the foundation done, since we weren't sure how it was going to happen the best path seemed to be patience. We wanted something simple and not too resource intensive. Rob Roy gave us some more creosoted 10x12s from the old Matapeake Ferry docks. The next step was to somehow have the rubble trench rise up to the beams. We got the house in the best configuration on blocks, the floor was never going to be level since it was built on a slanted surface so plumbing doors and window was the way to go. The house was still way up on blocks but at least we had a reference to measure down from all the way around. Then the beams were hoisted up and tied in place over their ultimate resting places as a combination of fast setting concrete and filler such as old bricks and pieces of broken concrete were placed in rough forms. The beams were then lowered and jiggled into place in the wet cement. After a day and a half of setting time the mix was hard enough. All went well, down jacking the house proved to be tricky, especially since two of the high lift jacks were acting up.They were the new ones, the old ones were perfect. Guess they don't make 'em like they used to. We had to use all of our tricks to get the house close enough to call it good. Then came disassembly of the support structures and threaded rods, installation of doors and window and voila. I am going home for a month or so and will take up the project upon my return so stay tuned!

Roof is On

2009-03-18T19:46:00.002-04:00

Today was a hot, sunny day. Perfect for putting the roof panels on. With help from Sam we got the four panels up and joined well enough for tomorrow's predicted rain.

Progress Update

2009-03-17T19:48:00.004-04:00

Today was one of those glory work days. Added the windows to the healing space and with the help of Shawn and Sam we put the trusses in place and even got one roof panel up. The bales went into the walls over the weekend . Pretty darn quick when everything is ready and there isn't any notching to do. We seem to have a several day window of good weather so tomorrow we'll finish with the roof.

2009-03-15T21:00:00.001-04:00

2009-03-14T08:04:00.001-04:00

Video of the Move

2009-03-10T09:55:00.003-04:00

New Digs or "All over but the Shouting"

2009-03-09T09:50:00.004-04:00

Yesterday we jacked the building up and blocked it to remove the trailer. It took a fair amount of jockeying to get the trailer back through the soft ground. Fortunately we had the Pole Truck, a 1958 Ford truck that someone installed a boom and winch on. It is ugly but inside its heart is pure gold. We set up a snatch block on a stump behind the new site and pulled the works back into place. With a little persuasion we got the building situated directly over the previously constructed rubble trench foundation. A quick tarp job and "Bob's your uncle".

Apothecary of the Move

2009-03-07T21:21:00.004-05:00

Bone tired
Tire
Snaking
Outside like wisdom master
Inside strong like bear
grrr
Venerable tire

As Good as it Gets

2009-03-07T19:03:00.003-05:00

The move went off very smoothly this am except for a no-show by the inspection cops. The crane crew was there before 5:30 the crane shortly after. As you can see in the photos it was a very big crane this time. We scrambled to prepare the trailer when it finally got screened and released, the placing of the house was impeccable, we cinched it down and with the help of our friend Luis Garabay made it to the edge of DC where he left us and we crossed into Maryland and proceeded with no problems to Sam and Kappy's house. The road in was still muddy from Sunday's snow but today was actually in the 70s if you can believe it so things were drying out fast. We jiggled and joggled and got the house within 10 feet of perfect and left if for tomorrow. A couple of Yuenglings and some deserved rest. Yay!!!!!!!! By the way, this crane had a scale and the weight of the the building , deck and tackle was 7.5 tons.

New Date March 7 for ecohouse move

2009-03-04T22:46:00.006-05:00

breathwork studio March 2 '09
After last week's practice run we are ready to do it for real now. A one hundred ton crane will be there, hopefully with a way to measure the weight of the building. I haven't been able to get solid figures on weight for a strawbale structure. Chris Magwood has weighed plastered walls and we based our guess on his information. Still there is some finger crossing involved. The ground is damp and snowy in places after the big storm last Sunday. Thursday and Friday should help dry things out. Here is a photo of the breathwork studio. The ecohouse will placed just to the left of it and then connected with an entry area.

Why it was Good That we Didn't Bring the EcoHouse Back

2009-02-28T21:17:00.010-05:00

Sam Here:

Eric kindly invited me to blog a bit and so I shall. Actually today wasn't that disappointing as I think all the team members (Rob Roy, Mike, Eric, Kappy, Randy and myself) felt happy that we actually pulled off getting all the permits, vehicles, inspections (bomb-sniffing dog and all), and times down without a hitch. We even had all the parts, tools, gas, doughnuts, and coffee we needed.

So when the building didn't load, it was something that was easy to accept and we had fun putting things back together. We were friends, everyone worked well together, and nobody got their ego or their body hurt.

Usefully, when we got done we did a dry run trying to back Rob Roys '57 trailer and '75 dump truck at the house and worked out some problems that would surely befall us when loaded for house.

Mike, former ballet star, attaching ball to spreader bar.

Eric Hempstead waiting for his crane to arrive

Kappy, on camera.

Rob Roy, waiting to ride off with a strawbale house

Saturday morning Feb.28

2009-02-28T13:57:00.007-05:00

Maybe next time... or...The little crane that couldn't

2009-02-28T13:41:00.004-05:00

The big day came, we did the mandatory last minute , hair on fire stuff fixing the truck last night, got up at 3:45 am made it downtown on time, waited for the crane then watched as it became clear that them little strawbale houses be HEAVY. The crane sank a pad into the grass, creaked ominously with the weight of the building and the boss man said "Put 'er back down, crane's not big enough". So now back to square one, set another date and do it again. The Capitol Police were helpful and seemed to have a good time watching . They led us out of downtown with lights flashing ,running right through red lights up Capitol East and out of DC.Thanks guys! And thank you Ray and John at the Botanic Gardens. We'll get it right soon. Thanks to Mike and Randy who showed up to help and to Pat McCardle who came down to film the event. Eileen and Tommy came by the house to help on that end. We had a good lunch and talked of things natural.

Off with the Roof!

2009-02-26T22:36:00.000-05:00

Only two days left until the move so off with the lid. It was built to come apart in four sections. Thank you Steve Kemble , all that thought is paying off. There were a few hidden fasteners that had to be dealt with, otherwise it all came apart as planned. Rain is planned for tomorrow so we tarped it up and crossed our fingers.

The Brains Behind the Operation

2009-02-24T13:55:00.000-05:00

This is Rob Roy Mackey the mastermind of this scheme and owner of all the machinery responsible for moving large objects directly and indirectly responsible for the success of this undertaking. Also in the photo is Dan who has been helping us these last few and mightily crucial days.

Almost ready to lift

2009-02-23T18:32:00.000-05:00

Today we built a framed floor and attached it to the building. It was a very windy day so we'll wait til thursday to remove the roof. The folks at the Botanic Gardens have been extremely nice and helpful. Ed Raduazo came to help today. Ed knows at least a little about almost everything and loves to help out, thanks Ed! He is better known for his amazing Cob structures and art.

Ecohouse in the Air!

2009-02-22T22:09:00.000-05:00

Today we managed to jack the ecohouse about a foot off the ground and build most of the deck that will be its new floor and help it make the trip out to Sam and Kappy's intact. Exciting stuff.

Getting ready for the Historic Move

2009-02-21T19:08:00.000-05:00

Today we started dismantling the ecohouse and preparing the base for lifting. We will then build a deck under the house which will become its new floor. Rob Roy,Dan ,Sam and me, Eric all put in a long day and have another one tomorrow. During the week we'll come back and finish details to be able to hoist it first thing Saturday morning.

Bale work begins

2009-02-17T17:53:00.000-05:00

I put the few bales we have left over from the ecohouse into the bays to see how things measure up. I talked with the local bale supplier to reserve about 75 bales for next week. We are due for a good rain tomorrow so we'll see if things get wet.

Roof is Finished Today

2009-02-15T19:20:00.000-05:00

Today I finished putting on the Ondura roofing. It went quite well and I like the look . Judging by the roof on Sam and Kappy's house I'd say its got many years of solid protection ahead. It is fun to contemplate filling in the walls with bales and easy to jump ahead to windows and the rest. This is the part where all the hard work and preparation pays off. Next weekend we start to dismantle the ecohouse on the mall. Then the week after that we move it out here. Rob Roy has all the permits in order.

Half a Roof

2009-02-13T19:40:00.000-05:00

Today I got half the roofing up, it is pretty nice to work with this Ondura, you have to be sure to get the nail in right the first time as pulling them can mess up a sheet quick. I had to pre-drill some of the tougher boards. We had big winds yesterday and some good gusts today so I had to be real careful. No problems though. Tomorrow I'll go get the rest of the roofing and finish the north side.

Amina la carpintera

2009-02-10T19:25:00.000-05:00

Today Amina came by to help with the roof. We worked mostly on details. We decided to go with Ondura roofing. It is a pretty locally made product, comes from Fredericksburg, VA. It is made from 50% post consumer recycled paper impregnated with asphalt. Sam has it on the house and it is holding up well. Standing seam metal roofing would have cost around $2600, commercially available metal roofing , also vertical seam would have been about half that, Ondura is about half of that or $600 dollars for a 500 sq.ft. roof.

Wetting the Bush Celebration

2009-02-08T19:21:00.000-05:00

Last night we invited people involved with the project and friends of Sam's and Kappy's children. Wren , Anna and Stuart attend a local high school and have some very cool friends that came. The main contributor to the project is Rob Roy Mackey, he has loaned us big machinery, donated wood and helped out with planning and design. Thanks Rob! We celebrated the roof framing being up, this is traditionally the time to hoist a cup to wish the building a long , good life. First Kappy gave thanks then all of us said something. It was great. We burned a big pile of brush from the area we cleared for the studio. Spuds in foil and hot dogs cooked over coals were dinner. The moon was almost full and the sky clear. Yesterday and today the temperatures were in the high 50s, maybe 60s. A nice respite from cold weather.

Ready to Roof

2009-02-05T17:05:00.000-05:00

Today I finished putting up the roof sheathing. It looks like today will be the last of these pesky cold days for a while. Wind and twenty degree temperatures are a drag. Anyway, we are going to have our "Wetting the Bush" ceremony this Saturday. It will coincide with a nice, fat moon and hopefully warmer temperatures. We plan a bonfire with friends and some nice wine to toast the building. In Chile they call it "Tijerales" when the roof structure is up and the owner puts on an "asado" or bbq for the workers.

2009-02-03T11:56:00.000-05:00

Work continues at a relaxed but steady pace. I have been helped recently by Mr. Josh Dibb of Baltimore. He is a musician but enjoys building. He knows the value of a sixteenth of an inch. We put up the rafters and are now beginning to put the roof sheathing in place. We are looking at standing seam panels to match the roof of the ecohouse. Current plans are to move the ecohouse here around March 1, weather and bureaucracy willing. Sam Droege, Rob Roy Mackey and myself, Eric Hempstead, attended a meeting with the Administrator of the Botanic Gardens and the gentleman responsible for crane operations last week. They couldn't have been more helpful so we will have excellent support for the move.

Ridge Beam

2009-01-23T19:28:00.000-05:00

Today, with the help of some egyptian technology I raised the ridge beam and placed it on the posts. I used two dry saplings as ramps and with a come along and some nudging got the beam up and in place.

2009-01-12T19:10:00.000-05:00

Its been a while since I posted. I was doing more of the same, cutting boards. At last I'm going vertical and it feels mighty good. We are gearing up for the eco house move. That's the little building on the mall at the Botanic Gardens. We figure sometime in early February. Stay tuned! We have been using both boards we cut on the Pittman's land and lumber salvaged from the Glen Echo Amusement Park renovation. That stuff is amazing. Old oak and pine posts. Super stable and the growth rings are sooo tight. Its a pleasure to work with. A few nails to pry out or just close your eyes and push a little harder on the circular saw. Thank goodness for carbide blades.

2008-12-16T20:48:00.001-05:00

A shot of the woodmizer in action

2008-12-11T14:56:00.000-05:00

We have taken a small detour to saw up some more boards for the roof and walls. The Pittman family has graciously allowed us to cut down some tulip poplar along the high tension right of way so we hauled the woodmizer over and have been making 2x6s and other boards that might be useful. Tulip poplar is a fairly soft, easy to cut wood that has a nice straight grain and few knots. The heart has a nice green tone. Here we can see Jenny operating the mill.

2008-12-06T14:50:00.000-05:00

The sub floor is finished, now we can start with the skeleton. After talking with Kappy and Sam we decided to go with a ridge beam and rafters with a drop cathedral ceiling similar to the eco house. Another idea Sam had is to mill some tulip poplar for the ridge beam and rafters rather than buy wood. Sam has a woodmizer portable sawmill and it does quite nice work. Yesterday I sawed up some spalted sycamore into one inch boards. Jenny had a good time learning to use the nail gun to secure the subfloor.

2008-12-03T10:42:00.000-05:00

We are installing sub-flooring over the joists in preparation for a salvaged oak floor. The sub-flooring boards have come from several sources, some are from the Glen Echo Water Plant, circa 1950 others were supplied by our main source of wisdom and materials, Rob Roy Mackey. Another excellent source is the Community Forklift http://www.communityforklift.com/, a recycled building materials outlet in the DC area.

2008-11-22T17:00:00.000-05:00

Here is the ho-made lumber rack slash canopy for the pickup. Jenny and Eric made it in their spare time and almost froze their kahoonies off.

2008-11-21T16:13:00.001-05:00

With the supervision of legendary Rob Roy Mackey we finished the floor joists. As you can see it is trying to snow also.

2008-11-18T21:26:00.000-05:00

some google sketchup shots of new building.

2008-11-18T21:15:00.001-05:00

Here's a shot of the eco house that is on display at the Botanic Gardens on the Mall in DC. It is strawbale with some fantastic plaster on the inside. With luck we will have it out here in Maryland after New Year.

2008-11-18T19:59:00.000-05:00

Today we placed and bolted the sill beams. They are 10x12 timbers from the old Matapeake Ferry dock. They fit nicely on the brick piers and have a very solid feel. Barrett Snow came back to help us, he is an up and coming stunt man, check out his site: www.barrettsnow.com. Jenny Nazak is also here , she lives in Austin, TX and has graced us with her presence for a while. It actually tried to snow a little today. Pretty cold and breezy. Kappy is recovering from donating a kidney to her friend Lee.

2008-11-10T17:23:00.000-05:00

Today is Monday and I finished off the piers and filled them with concrete. Now we just wait for them to harden before placing the 10"x12" beams which were recovered from the old Mattapeake ferry terminal . Before the bay bridge across Chesapeake Bay you had to use the ferry which ran from 1919 to 1952.

on site board stack and foundation piers

2008-11-08T18:14:00.000-05:00

Building a space for healing

2008-11-08T18:00:00.001-05:00

Kappy Laning has been a Breathworker for many years and decided she wanted her own special space to practice. She and her husband Sam Droege have done extensive remodeling of their home with strawbale and timber framing so they wanted a simple building that used locally available and recycled materials to reduce the carbon footprint. There were several trees on the land that were not fairing too well so they were cut down and turned into boards with a Wood Mizer portable sawmill. Sand from a foundation trench has been mixed with broken concrete and local gravel to form piers. Windows and beams will come from Rob Roy Mackey who collects just about everything. Rob Roy also loaned us his winch truck and dump truck. We will be getting recycled boards from the Community Forklift, a building material recycler near here. Straw bales will come from a local farmer. We have several volunteers helping us and Barrett Snow, up and coming stunt man has been hard at work for several weeks. At this point the piers are almost done and as soon as the concrete and mortar have hardened we will place the foundation beams and go up from there.