The Story So Far....

A short video of where we are up to. . . . 

Day 2 on site

Luckily a very beautiful Kentish day!

The willow weaved plinth wall was lined with waste plastic sheet from the polytunnels. The voids were then filled with bark from the pruning and lined again with another sheet of polythene to act as DPM.

Initial stakes are inserted and the first bales are laid.

Staking down each bale as it is laid for rigidity and to keep the walls in line.

Cross bracing door opening put into place to keep the bales tight and upright.

Losing light on the third course of bales. Time to call it a day

Day 1 on site

Started on site today with the willow weave plinth wall.

Site all marked out and leveled, ready to go!

weaving the willow in a twining fashion, to get the tightest weave possible for filling.

End of day 1. 

 Early start tomorrow to get the rest of the willow cut and weaved, ready for the straw bales.

Willow Weaving

For the natural plinth wall, I wish to make the border out of willow weave. 

When this is done properly it looks very neat and beautiful 

I had my first attempt this Christmas....

Little more practice needed.

For the plinth wall we need 150mm of tightly packed willow weave, which I can waterproof and build the bales directly onto.

Using some of the cuttings we had another go at a required height.

This was assisted by some local children.

Even though the snow has halted anything starting on site, I can construct all the elements under cover ready for the quick erection.

Crit Day

Crit Sheet

Presentation day - Due to weather conditions I did not have much physical work to show on site. 

We presented to our tutors, and guests for 20 minutes, in powerpoint form. 

The feedback was all positive, (the sheet above) .

I had various models to show at 1:50 how elements would go together 

Tyre foundations with plinth wall.

Possible adaptation into mortise and tenon joints

willow weaved plinth wall.

Main points from the crit: write-up wise, get my facts and sources figured out.

build the best possible for the site, and then have write up and theory behind the adaptations.

My Ideas on a Natural Plinth Wall

Triangulating Bales

Currently Straw bale buildings can only be applied to the level of the eaves, and cannot fill Gable ends due to their shape. 

But I am sure this is possible? 

I am going to test this theory on a couple of my own bales.  

Being able to build the bales up into gable ends will not only create a consistent building material, but will also make sure the insulation and air tightness is consistent throughout the wall, leaving no gaps.

Wish me luck.....

Home Grown Holiday Homes!

Check out this designer, who has built Straw Bale holiday homes in Yorkshire!

The Journey.

Introduction

The goal of this journey is to Create a Home Grown House, as carbon neutral and as low-carbon footprint as possible.  I want to build with what I have on the site, in a scale and manner which would require no or minimal machinery input, and to prove to myself and to others, that building sustainably and intuitively doesn’t have to cost the earth, but it can be built using it.

Since an essay on Bill Dunsters’ BedZed in my 1^st year of Undergraduate studies, I have been highly interested in all forms of sustainable and zero-carbon design.

By the year 2016, all homes should be zero carbon, an ambitious plan set out by the UK government.  People may think this is completely unobtainable.  But it is very much within reach. 

When I first started initially thinking about zero carbon and low energy housing, I felt that it was all just a sales gimmick, the new trend in construction.  I felt like clients were getting fooled into thinking that if they bought an air-source heat pump or installed rainwater collectors then they would be single-handedly combating climate change.

But when all was put into practice, I realised that the key is off-setting.  It is all good and well building with rammed earth to be low-carbon, but how does that earth get there? If it is off-site then you need trucks to deliver it, and if it is on-site then you need JCBs to dig it up.   This energy used in transportation needs to then be off-set by your building. 

I still find it comical seeing some products available on the market labelled carbon neutral, made in China! Think of the carbon footprint which that product has already created before it has even reached the building site.
That is one of the disadvantages of technology, it needs to be powered, transported and prepared.

All we need is shelter, but the modern world has us having bespoke kitchens and bathrooms, safe electrics and plumbing, pvc worktops and laminate doors. Not exactly your natural home.  Natural homes in modern terms I think relates more to the materials used, especially in the finishes, lots of wood, beautiful earth and lime plasters, wood ceilings and trims, all of course incorporated tastefully in a code approved structure.

There are many instances now where people are taking building their own, ideal homes into their own hands, shows like Grand Designs and self builders are adapting to their surroundings to become more self-sufficient, something which I think all homes should try a hand at.

Cheese Floor

Medieval Cheese Floor

Notes from on site

An earthen floor is not the obvious choice for a building of my size, but as we do not have proper foundations and as I am working with straw, these are a bit lighter than other masonry building materials. Heavy building materials need proper foundations. This being a fun experimental project for TV is an exception. The weight of clay will be kept to a minimum as its only 75mm thick. It will sit on a home made site sourced alternative to battened plywood between the floor joists.

The main components used here were sand and chalk, with clay and milk as binders. Clay shrinks as it dries and cracks; sand, grit and chalk reduce the shrinkage. You can of course just keep filling the cracks up with more clay until it looks ok.

 Generally: too much sand = a crumbly mix; too little sand = a cracking mix.

The Cheese Floor

The Cheese floor is a medieval method of adding a fine finish to a earth floor.

Unpasteurized milk is said to be best.  Though there are no exact measurements for any of it.  Guess work is the best way forward. I will start testing when this rain stops!

the laying of the floor.

Sketchings out on site

Sketching/Doodling... the best way to remember is not to forget....

on site sketches

on site sketches

Alternative options for making the base and top ladders out of the Branches and Timbers I have at home on site.

Using a timber frame with mortise and tenon joints with pegs to hold the bales in compression.

This will eliminate the need for wires and lorry straps and can make a very aesthetically pleasing feature to the finished building.

For temporary structures like the one I will be erecting, Tyre foundations are useful if you have them lying around like we do.  They are easy to ram with earth and also have a bit of give from concrete foundation rigidity. 

Rippledown Pictures

More Photos courtesy of  Mark Saich of our Bale Building Course at Rippledown Environmental Education Centre

Lisa cutting stub stakes to length for the top ladder 

Jonathan and Daphne and I making a simple window profile

Driving in the stakes is hard work!

Lisa and I splitting bales for the window frame.

Daphne and Darren Splitting Bales

 Jonathan sharpening stakes.

Darren and I checking the end profile for plumb

Third course up and ready for first stakes

Daphne and I driving the first stakes in

Almost there!

Trimming the walls with a hedge cutter

All Done!

Best Bale Book!

Best Bale Building Book

So far with all my reading, this book by Babara Jones of Strawworks (formerly Amazonails), is the best one I have come across:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Building-Straw-Bales-Practical-Ireland/dp/190032251X

"Strawbale Building makes sense" Babara Jones

Straw Bale Building Course

Straw Bale Building Course

Rippledown Education Centre, Ringwould, Kent CT14 8HE

I have just participated in a 2 day strawbale construction course, led by Mark Saich, of Green Building Solutions. 

Day one:

We went through a thorough grounding in the History and techniques of straw bale building, case studies and the basic dos and don'ts. 

Meet and Greet - Small group of us from various backgrounds.  Farmer, Scientist, Homeowner, Carpenter, Environmentalist.

Followed by a small presentation of the History of Straw Bale Construction, then the Uses and various creditable case studies.

 Construction started by cutting fixing and bolting the base plate (which would sit on top of the plinth wall.)

constructed using lengths of 2x4

10mm holes were drilled into each step of the ladder to hold the base spikes.

The most important factor for the start was for the base ladder to be completely straight and plumb.  This we did by wedging up the timber frame.

After lunch (amazing lunch!). we had a group discussion on our methods and work situations, as well as the role of straw bale construction in the modern construction methods.

By the end of day one we had  3 courses of straw bales built up with axe sharpened stakes driven through the 3rd layer, straight downward to stabilize the bales.

There was great skill required in splitting bales using new twine and hybrid knitting needles. 

 

Day two

This started with the introduction to the new classroom build in straw bale - non load bearing - to see the plaster work and the options of framework and finishes.

We formed a sub frame for a window from 2x4 timber with chipboard pieces for diagonal bracing.   The window frame had to be made to size to relate to the amount of compression that would occur in the bales.

As we continued to build up the bale courses (6 in all) it was surprising how sturdy the stack felt, with just timber stakes hammered into them to hold their position.

 

The top ladder was cut and bolted together with holes drilled through the steps just as the base ladder, with small stakes driven through into the top bale for fixing. 

The walls were compressed initially using lorry straps and then permanently fixed with wires. overall the wall compressed down 50mm, whilst being constantly measured with a spirit level to stay plumb on all surfaces. 

To smooth the straw we trimmed the bales using a hedge-cutter.

The two days was very inspirational and educational.  And this has given me the confidence to now design and construct my own build.

http://rippledown.com/eco-courses-kent/straw-bale-courses/

http://greenbuildingsolutions.co.uk/about-green-building-solutions/