Bale-Raising Prep

Friday 31 October 2014

Not quite finished in the music room, but we had to turn our attention to preparing for tomorrow: finding the tools and equipment we used last time, setting up work areas and shopping for provisions in case a crowd turns up.

West wall of the music room - first one with the plaster all finished

North wall - second to be finished

Internal (south) wall, all the high level plastering finished, just a few panels still to lath

East wall - still a lot to do, including the last remaining exposed section of bale

 Time to do the important prep for tomorrow's bale raising - a visit to the winery for supplies

 Setting up the clay-slip pond, sieve, and bale-brushing station - to coat the bales with clay-slip before building.  This acts as temporary weather-proofing, and helps the plaster stick

 And finally, the all important barbeque - but on close inspection we realised we had a problem:

... that's my hand visible through the hole in the bottom.  Oops, time to rush out for a new one.  Okay, all ready for tomorrow.  Exciting times!

Lathing fit to bust

Tues 28 October 2014

With everything set to go for the East bale wall, we're just waiting for a three to four day break in the weather.  We have overcast days with potential drizzle forecast until Friday, so we are waiting till the weekend for the Bale Raising (the day we invite everyone who's ever expressed an interest in bale wall building to come and see what we do and perhaps get involved).

Meanwhile, we're trying to finish the interior walls in the music room.  As soon as we have a new bale wall all the focus will be on getting external plaster onto it, and we'll need the scaffolding tower outside.  So all the high level stuff in the music room is being prioritised, with Paris, Dave and I variously lathing, stuffing and skimming all the remaining sections.

 This creature showed up on one of the laths, looking very aggressive about being disturbed

 Dave took the time to use some old breeze blocks to build up the floor level under where the stove will go.  Firebricks on top of this should bring the hearth just a little proud of the floor.

 The internal wall of the music room, over the door.  The highest wall in the room - all to be lath and plastered.  About half done at this point.

 At lunchtime Tuesday, we ran out of sand, and as it is 'Ochi' Day (the day the Greeks said 'No' to the Fascists in WWII) it is a major national holiday and everywhere is shut.

 So we turned our attention to cladding an exposed bit of the front of the house near the front door with sailcloth, as the polythene is starting to disintegrate ...

... and then went for a walk, during which we found this incredible olive tree with a three metre diameter trunk!

Topping the wall

Sunday 26 October 2014

In fact, the only remaining requirement for the bale wall is to fill in under the base frame with supporting stones.  We'd decided it was easier to put in the frame level, and then pack it out underneath, rather than try to build up to a level.

The weather is looking possible for the bale raising to be next Saturday, and the more time the wall has to dry the better, so I sacrificed my day off, Dave made me two mixes and I had a happy time putting a jigsaw together.

Stones lined up dry ...

 ... then mortared in.  The troughs will be filled with gravel to assist drainage of any moisture that does ever get into the bales.

How quickly we're ready!

Saturday 25 October 2014

What a day!  Rowan was making and fitting the window boxes because he said, 'It's easier later on if they are square.'  Hmm, I think that's a comment on Dave and my woodwork!

There's one little space that I haven't been sure whether to have a window in or not, because it would be pretty small due to a diagonal brace, but then I thought, what about an arched window?  Rowan said okay, and rustled one up.

 Through the ... arched window

 All the boxes in.  Looking like some fancy art installation (perhaps)

 Rowan's sister Jasmine came by, and helped level for the base frame.

 Jade also reappeared, and cut lengths of blue plastering mesh, which were fixed to the wood frame to help the eventual cohesion between the internal plaster and the wood frame

 Jasmine, Rowan and Jade swarming over the house, doing everything at an amazing speed, so that

 by the time we got to sit down and have a glass of something and take stock,

we realised that, all of a sudden, we were virtually ready for the next bale-raising.

Pressing on

Friday 24 October 2014

We bought a little cast iron wood stove on Thursday, then went down to Mamma Mia to have a word with Spiros about fitting it.  He can be trusted to arrange a proper fire-safe fitting, just as soon as we are ready.

Rowan started making plywood window boxes - into which frames will eventually be fitted.  The rest of us ploughed on with the plastering to get the room ready for the little stove as fast as we can.

All the window boxes constructed (including one upstairs) and varnished ready for fitting tomorrow

Working in the rain

21/22 October 2014

After a rainy (and increasingly cold) Monday, (which gave us the chance to go for window panes), Rowan and Paris were back on Tuesday and rainy Wednesday.

Rowan installed the rest of the pillars and finished the 'box girder' structure.  It is definitely over-spec'd for what is needed.  Note to self.

 With bad weather expected, we had to wrap the east face again, if only roughly, and Dave fitted window panes.

 Wednesday was drizzling, so we decided to try plastering through it.  Only problem was the rain that got into the mix while mixing, we had some very sloppy plaster on Wednesday!  But look at the glass in those windows - how posh is that?

 Paris on the straw-bale scaffolding, still stuffing dollies, but making her own laths by now.

I'm still on the high wire, lathing and then plastering these high level sections in the top corner

Daybreak

Sunday 19 October 2014

The first Sunday in a long time that we haven't had to be up for work at Nisos - so I was awake at dawn.  Which meant that I caught this lovely sunrise in our newly opened east face.  Fabulous vista.  Pity we can't make this wall all glass, but it doesn't make any sense ecologically or economically - glass is either too hot or too cold, less is more. 

East Face Excitement

Friday 17 October 2014

Rowan had finished building and installing the music room door and window frames - what fun, will get some glass soon - and was ready to start work on the supporting framework for the east face.

 Dave started taking the sailcloth down from inside the studio

 while Rowan pried free the batons

 to expose the East face: we haven't seen this for a long time!

 Some time later, Dave and Rowan had constructed this 'box girder' of left-over rafter wood.  Probably much stronger than we will ever need, but it is what we had, and no harm in having it too strong.

 Except that it is very heavy.  Dave worked out a way to hoist it up using blocks and tackle and lots of rope, one end at a time

 and we all got involved hauling ropes and passing tools until the first bolt was in.

 The second end went in more easily

 and there it is!  Ladder frame and lintel all in one.

 Rowan fitted the first pillar to help hold it over the weekend.  The 'box girder' is needed because we don't have a full-sized foundation below the terrace.  The original idea was to have a utility room where the terrace is now, but this did not get on the official plans, although only an internal wall foundation was poured.  So, at least for the present, we will carry the bales over the green-lathed area and get 3/4 of the wall baled.

Even Jade (Rowan's youngest sister) turned up to help

Plasterer Paris

Weds 15 Oct 2014

So, after the base coat of plaster goes onto the bales, we are left with the wood frame 12cm proud of the walls.  To achieve a nice half-timbered finish, we had to come up with a way of filling the wall sections to bring the final plaster coat flush with the front of the timber.  After some trial and error, I came up with a way of part-lathing each section, and then fixing long-straw twists (incorporating a little plaster) in behind the laths.  This could then be finished with chopped straw filler to create a level surface for a final skim.  A lot of work, but relatively cheap materials which retained the integrity of the original straw/lime concept.

I set Paris off on this technique, and she rapidly made it her own: creating beautifully neat, well-behaved twists in ordered rows.

 First, grab a handful of long straw, rubbed with a light coating of lime plaster

 Form into a 'corn dolly' shape, folded in at each end

 Stuff behind laths placed at approx 12-15 cm intervals, and make level with chopped-straw in plaster filler as shown in lower third above.  The plastic bag is protecting electric fittings where a back box has been screwed to a vertical baton.

 Rowan, meanwhile, has been in his workshop making door and window frames, and has shown up to construct the music room external door.

 Paris in action

 Leaving the long-straw stuffing to the experts, I got on with lathing the internal wall (no bales on this one).

 And then climbed the scaffolding to lath, then plaster, the top diagonal spaces - too high for stuffing, laths are quicker (if more expensive).  What are those two laughing about behind my back?

We decided this section was the ultimate in dolly-stuffing.  Beautiful neat rows - how does she do it?  Definitely required an artist with artwork photo.