Christmas and beyond

24-30 December 2013

This is a shot of the back of the house the evening before we got all the tarps up.  I expect it'll be some time before we get the tarps back down.

 Christmas Eve was dark and drizzly, lucky we got those tarps up.  Realising we'd worked flat out for at least three weeks, we took it easy.  Dave went out and pruned this little tree that had seeded itself in the wrong place, and I hung a bit of tinsel on it and stuck it between a couple of the remaining bales.

 Then we went out to check our boat and Pete's, then wandered into George's where an impromptu festive gathering was happening.  

 Christmas Day was still overcast and intermittently rainy, so we needed no excuse to laze about before strolling down to Amanda's house for Christmas supper.

 The weather stayed bad, getting worryingly windy over the next two days.  We cabined up and fretted about the plaster and the straw and the tarps.  The chicken made a nest in the newly walled music room, must be cosy if the livestock move in!

 Worryingly blustery days - but luckily the wind was from the south and the tarps held, although the one taking the brunt of it in the photo above did rip apart in places, but the rope threaded through held, so it stayed up enough to protect the walls.

 Saturday 28th, the weather turned back sunny again, and we did more of the same - plastering, tying in laths on the upstairs part, and stapling blue mesh.  Rowan called by, and we did some lengthy window thinking.  It seems likely that we didn't make the plywood boxes quite right, and will have to fiddle about to put them right.  Hey ho!  The photo above shows our lemon tree - which after three years' effort has finally managed to ripen its one lemon.  We intend to make a ceremonial lemon and honey drink out of it.

 George and Philly sent us these lovely paper angels in a Christmas card, and Dave hung them off the car rear-view mirror - safer than the house, less draughty.

Then on Monday, after an early morning dash to the post office to get the car tax paid before the queues started (it's a very inefficient system), we went with Rowan to the woodyard to get the makings for the window frames (for him) and the rafter boards (for us).  Woodwork again next, as without these, we can't finish the plastering.

Keep watching the skies!

22-25 Dec 2013

So there we were, on our own again on Sunday morning, me making plaster mixes, Dave getting on with the plastering.  Hurry, hurry, hurry, while the weather holds!

The slower pace of the day allowed me time to take photos of myself in action!

 And Dave hard at work

 And some technical shots for those of an enquiring disposition .. .  This is one of the corners, tied round with blue plastering mesh between two long laths, one on each side.  This strengthens the corner and helps the plaster stick.

 We did something similar at the windows, although there are various technical problems still to be fixed around the windows - the most vulnerable rainwater penetration site.

 Here are a couple of newly installed long laths - they are tied back to the wood frame through each bale course as yet another anchoring mechanism.  In addition, and unphotographed due to the busy-ness of the past few days, there are short stakes through each lower course into the one below, up to the lintel frame.

 Another self-photo, me tying the long laths.  We tied them with baling twine fixed to screws in the side of the frame, as we didn't want lots of pieces of string visible around the frame.  When the gaps between the walls are plastered the screws will be hidden,

  Martin and Maggie stopped by to collect the pan they'd left full of pea and ham soup on day one

 By Monday, 23rd, the weather was changing, and rain was forecast on the 24th, so the priority was to tarpaulin the walls ...

 ... with sufficient air gap to encourage the plaster to go off and condensation to form well away from the wall.  And to give us room to still work under the tarps if we wanted.

So there we are, the whole of the north face of the house wrapped up like a Christmas present just in time for Christmas eve.

Baled Out - Saturday afternoon

Saturday 21 December 2013

With the winter solstice over at lunchtime, we can start looking forward to longer, warmer days now (soon, please) although we can't complain about the weather - so far we have had days of crisp bright sunshine, how lucky is that?

I had to go try to sort out a puncture in the car tyre, and came back to find Dave had thrown himself enthusiastically into the plastering.  Before lunch I'd been helping to tie in the long laths that are just visible above the plaster, covered in blue netting.  We're putting these in as an extra holding mechanism at intervals around the walls.  So we have short stakes, ties, long stakes hammered through two courses from the second level up, and these laths, also tied back to the wood frame.  We have to use the bale needle to poke through from inside to wrap twine round the lath and back.  I've been tying baling twine for three days now ... ouch!

 

 

 Pete, cutting blue mesh and stapling it on around the new woodwork ready for plastering.  Pete made the supporting frames under the big window boxes, shown in the photo below.

 Dave looking daunted at the plastering yet to be done!  Still more laths to cut and fix and net as well, but maybe we can be all plastered up in another two days?

 Robin, fixing laths, an inside job.

 With Jade - in charge of cutting and storing lengths of twine for the tiers-in.

Early evening, everyone left for home and Dave gone off to do a gig - with what reserves of energy I can't imagine.  Just me and the cat.  The cat very curious about these strange things called 'walls'.  She's never experienced them before and she's not going to like them ...

Probably just us from tomorrow, people have lives to get on with.  Absolutely hugely grateful for all the help and enthusiasm and energy and youth that has been brought to the project.  Wow!

Baled Out - Saturday morning

Saturday 21 December 2013

Well, would you believe it.  Day Three, and the Smiths were coming back for more.  Today we had an even fuller house, as the new arrival, Robin, on holiday from his job in Barcelona, decided it would be fun to join us.

Dave spent the night wondering how well plaster would stick to the bales.  I slept like a log.  Dave was up early making clay plaster to try it on the dips and bumps in the bale face.  I crawled out of bed, aching all over, and washed up again - it's quite a marathon to wash up for so many people when you're boiling hot water in the gas kettle and rinsing in ice water from the tap (sympathy, please).

 Dave electric-drill stirring the clay plaster.  It took quite some effort to make the plaster, but when he tried it on the bale face it just fell off in lumps.  This was a serious low point, and it was only just 9 am.  Worried that we'd have to take the bales all down again if we couldn't get plaster to stick, there was only one thing to do - make a mix of lime plaster - extra sticky for a first coat, the books say.

 Paris arrived and gave the music room north wall a quick shearing to trim the long straws.

 Lime plaster sticks - hurrah! hurrah!  Crisis over, Dave happy again ...

 ... until Rowan discovered this - he was scoring through a bale to put supporting legs under the kitchen window frame, and found it was full of dry mould, just powder inside - horrors!  Dave and I looked at it helplessly - it was in the lowest course.  

 Rowan and Robin, however, levered the upper courses up with my enormous crow bar (I said it would come in useful for something!) slid the offending bale out and slid in a new one.  Job done.  Dave and I open-mouthed in awe.

 Rowan, Jade and Robin, taking it easy for a moment in the sun.

Lin, Pete and Paris, clearing up after lunch (more chicken soup, with spinach pies this time).

Baled Out - Friday afternoon

Friday 20 December 2013

We carried on after lunch (this time I had made chicken and noodle soup - soups are great for December building sites). 

 Kicking those bales into position

 Three o'clock, and only a few spaces left to stuff

 Pete and Rowan cutting a bale in half lengthways to fit an awkward gap - this was surprisingly successful, maybe because of the density of our bales.

 

 Dave having a moment of deep thought - or total exhaustion, perhaps.

 Rowan getting the last few in.  He just put a 30kilo bale on his back and walked up the ladder.  I'm on the inside, in the studio, helping haul into position before tying off.

 Repeating the bale kicking manoeuvre on the other gable end.

 

 End of Day Two - all bales in position.  A few lintel gaps still to stuff, but the main job is done.  Hurrah!  Still days away from a lazy day with our feet up, but at least it's another milestone reached.

Baled Out - Friday morning

Friday 20 September 2013

There's no stopping those Smiths - they were well up for Day Two.  Start time was 10am to give Dave a chance to get his overnight ideas sorted out and the lintel frames made before the workforce arrived, while I had time to do the washing up (boring!)

The Smiths had collected a newly-arrived son late Thurs evening and spent the night talking, but this didn't seem to impair performance in any way.  We'd had an early night and slept well, and felt battered in every limb, muscle and finger-tip. 

 Early morning, Friday - the sun once again streaming into our living room, now that a large proportion of the bales have been moved out.

 Inside the music room, west end,

 and looking east, almost all walled in.

 Dave finished the ladder frames, so Rowan fitted them, then stapled more blue netting up at the high level

 Paris still bale splitting - it's getting more technical now, with those eaves to manage

 Rowan hacking corners off the bales with an old saw, to fit under the eaves.  Most people who build with straw bales have 'hipped' roofs, where all four sides slope down to the walls so there is a flat top all round the walls.  We didn't plan for straw bales, and we have a 'gable' roof - two slopes with a pointy bit in the middle.  The slopes don't lend themselves to straw bales.

 Look, me in a picture - tying those bales in from the mezzanine level.  The bale tying involves part-screwing a 50mm screw into the wood frame, tying on baling twine and draping it out over the bales below.  When the bale is fitted, the twine can be pulled tight over the top and made fast to another screw in the wood frame.  When we eventually plaster inside, the screw heads will disappear behind plaster.

The drill hospital.  Rowan brought two of his, and we have two cordless, all on rotating charging to keep us powered up.

Baled Out - Thursday afternoon

We carried on after lunch.  Mark from the band came at 2ish, and Rowan, who had been at work all day, arrived mid-afternoon and virtually built the higher levels single-handed!

 Most of the third course was on by the time we stopped for lunch

 Mark took on bale splitting

 Lin shared painting with Jade

 Robbie and Pete did the lifting

 Everyone stopped for afternoon tea, and then Rowan arrived, just as the rest of us were flagging, and injected a new wave of energy ...

 Installing a lintel ladder frame over the music room door and window, shot from the mezzanine landing

 Making a late lunch for Rowan, to keep him fuelled up

Our first part-bale in course five - cut and squeezed and hammered by Rowan on one side and me on the other - fitting snugly under the eaves.  We've reached the roof!  (Even if it is the lowest point)

Rowan was eventually persuaded to stop as the light was going.  I had pre-warned Ola Kala George that I was bringing nine hungry eco-builders for supper, and he had made us a fantastic stew with a cabbage, leek and orange salad starter.  Everyone was very impressed, very full and justifiably proud of themselves!