Look Ma, no house. Our chosen house site on the back part of the ranch. Once we chose the site, we drilled a well to make sure we'd have water. Then we worked on design to fit the site. Many people, even seasoned builders, will do the opposite, forcing their blueprint onto the site. I strongly believe that the site, the slope, the saving of trees, should guide the design. Consider it when you decide to build.
Be sure to visit our Community Page
|
Footings aren't sexy, but learning how to and using excavating and dirt moving equipment is a blast.
|
It's a good idea to build a model of your house if you're a three-dimensional thinker like me. The principles are the same when you go full size.
Arm of the Spiral's "You Can Do It" series informational DVD's covers construction of the house from radiant floor heating installed in the concrete slab all the way to the home tour of the finished house. You can get ideas about building your own straw bale home while watching us build ours. We even show you some of our mistakes so you can avoid them. Get your copy of Part One today. Click Here!
|
Up go the straw bales. Sucker rods, one-inch high-grade steel recycled from the natural gas industry, are set at four-foot centers into the stem wall. Each bale was lifted ten feet and impaled as necessary on the sucker rod. My brother Ron and I devised a tripod with block and tackle to lift the bales. One-inch conduit was driven through the bale at the proper spot in order to thread the bale onto the sucker rod. Remember, building the straw bale walls (including foundation, footer and infrastucture) is about a quarter of the time, skills and money you'll need to finish your house.
|
Bales were set, bond beam was poured, then the second floor system was built. At last the roof framing has begun. In the meantime ...? Three words: tarps, tarps, and tarps.
|
Coming along. Those dormers slowed us down. Gene, who helped me do the framing and sheathing told me weekly, if not daily, "John, you've got a complicated roof."
|
Cool! We've got the porches done and now the rustable steel is ready to go up. It's beginning to look like a house!
|
Making straw/clay and cob just like our ancestors have for thousands of years. Muddy straw and clay slip fills the voids and then a thicker mixture is used to shape the walls. Severe peaks and bellies are smoothed, but the finished wall retains beautiful, feminine undulations.
|
All the voids have been filled and the walls shaped. Now we'll add a clay slip to the remaining exposed straw and we'll be ready for the natural clay plaster.
|
We hired Mountain Stream Builders and worked with them to apply the natural clay plaster. After two coats of plaster were blown on with a compressor and hopper gun and finished smooth, we painted the exterior with a home made casein-based paint. All dried in and ready to start the inside. Here's another dirty little trade secret: at this point we were about half finished.
Now, check out the "Before and After" page for more photos of interior construction.
Also, we're proud to announce our instructional DVD "You Can Do It! -- Part One" is available so you can start riding that learning curve today. Go on now, click on one of the links. Shoo!
|
