The Plans Are Approved!!!

Started by jwv, February 12, 2006, 11:29:02 AM

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jwv

#25
May 22, 2006, 10:39:39 PM
Quote
Quote I just don't think the owners really saved any money and I suspect most of them end up spending substantially more.

Regards,
Dan



As with any building, the saving comes on the front end with how much you can do yourself.  On the back end the saving comes in utilities.  We will heat this house with a small wood burning stove that will be used mostly on the colder mornings.  We will use salvaged wood.  The previous house had a propane stove which we used minimally and stayed very comfortable. In the summer, we can cool down the mass at night and stay pretty comfortable.  We will have a 12 SEER heat pump. (We hit triple digits here last week and have a couple more months of that to go.) The siting of the house is great. This is an aspect of building any house that I cannot stress enough. Respect the sun!

Then there are the intangibles, and I know it gets written about and talked about a lot but the "feel" of a strawbale house is just different. I can't explain it, so I won't try.  The aesthetics of housing often get short shrift in modern building.  Scale, proportion, color, light, sound are so important to how we feel in built environments.  I think in those areas with strawbale or cob you get a lot of bang for your buck.  Can you make a warm, inviting, cozy stickframe home?  Sure, strawbale just takes it to a different level.

Judy

jwv

#26
July 12, 2006, 10:25:41 AM
It's a Roof!





That's TallBoy applying the final trim to the gable end.  How does he do that with his legs?!? He's been such an important part of this project and learning a lot.  Mostly that swinging a hammer is not the way he wants to make his living, but it's a skill he will always have and an understanding of the building process that no one can take away.  You never know what the future holds and the more skills you have, the better prepared you are for life.

Now on to window and doors!

Judy

Sassy

#28
July 12, 2006, 01:04:46 PM
The house is looking great!  Really enjoyed looking through the links on earth plasters etc.

jwv

#29
July 12, 2006, 07:34:28 PM
QuoteThe house is looking great!  Really enjoyed looking through the links on earth plasters etc.

Sassy, did you look at the gallery photos at the Artesano site? Beautiful stuff!  We did an adobe floor in our studio but it looked nothing like their adobe floor. But, it's like I tell the boys all the time, "Don't expect to be an expert the first time."

I have so many ideas now I can't wait to get started on the plastering. Remind me I said that later. :P

Judy

glenn-k

#31
July 13, 2006, 09:38:40 AM
Spoken from someone who knows--- looking really great, Judy and Daddymem too.

Sassy

#32
July 13, 2006, 12:47:15 PM
Artesano was the 1st site I looked at!  Beautiful floors.  I need to read more & see what they harden & seal the floors with.  The best outcome we had was with the entryway floor in the "conversation pit" area.  That was poured fairly wet & allowed to crack, then grout placed in the cracks & sealed with several coats of linseed oil.  I love it - it's virtually indestructable & I can keep it shiney by applying a cement cure & seal coating over it periodically.  I hope we can duplicate it in the main area of our cabin when we get to finishing that.  It was made with clay, sand, straw (I think) & water.  The floors we used a little bit of cement in aren't near as sturdy & are more upkeep, although still minimal.  Keep the pictures coming!  I enjoy looking at your blog.  I've kinda come to a standstill as I don't have digital pictures of the property & when we 1st started building.  

Sassy

jwv

#33
July 30, 2006, 06:48:26 PM Last Edit: July 30, 2006, 06:57:59 PM by jwv
Update-windows!!

Judy

jwv

#34
August 21, 2006, 08:30:25 PM
It seems as if injuries are contagious after reading about ChatyCady!  :'( Last Fri Rick went to the site and found that some lowlife (there is a special place in H**l for someone who steals tools!) stole the cement mixer and on the very day we had a small footer for a mechanical closet to pour. So then the Mister is pi**ed and has to go to ACE to pick up cement, falls hauling it to the truck (I'm OK, I'm OK!). Carries the bags, mixes and pours and then has to have the neighbors bring him home.  Long story short, he fractured his kneecap (YOWZAA :o). Back to the ortho guy tomorrow to hopefully hear he doesn't have to have surgery. I've been attempting to take up the slack...

More later,

Judy

Sassy

#35
August 21, 2006, 11:41:56 PM
I'm sorry to hear about your husband's injury... gee, hope he doesn't need surgery - I never knew knee injuries were so painful!  Sounds like you're picking up the slack... you are really moving along, though on the place - hadn't seen that last picture you posted of the windows - I'll take a look at the blog again.

glenn-k

#36
August 22, 2006, 01:41:17 AM
I know the feeling Judy - some doper probably got $20 for my $600 welder stolen in Monterey a few weeks ago.

Amanda_931

#37
August 22, 2006, 09:22:51 PM Last Edit: August 22, 2006, 09:29:39 PM by Amanda_931
No surgery would be good.

(I've posted a link before to the book Pain Free to universal laughter--it won't make broken bones all better, but it might, if surgery is optional but recommended, make that not necessary.  I feel better, but forget to do the exercises, probably need to check and do the set for my knees since I sprained one a few weeks ago)

Nice windows, by the way!  You did put the whole window/door series in with "standard" framing, or am I seeing wrong.

I really like the window seat with bales up to the bottom of the windows, but with that long a run of window door window, not that much room between them, it may have been a lot more trouble than it was worth.

jwv

#38
November 27, 2006, 08:34:15 PM
Anyone in Arizona wanting to get dirty?

When people asked how old she was, she would say 1009365, more or less, because she was so glad to be alive that she counted every day a birthday.


She had some disagreement from her knees about the actual figures though. . . Storypeople
I didn't get to go to Napa, or to Burning Man so to celebrate my 18250th day...

I'm having a Plaster Party!

Saturday 12/9

We will provide lunch

We'll be doing interior plaster so bring some "playtex' like gloves and wear grungy clothes, bring water and a folding chair if you have one.

Your options are:

Show up around 8am and get the low-down on earthen plaster application and start throwing mud or,
Stop by anytime during the day, say Happy Birthday and have some cake or,
Send an email "Sounds uhhhhh interesting, good luck with that and Happy Birthday!"

Thought I'd let you know what was going on-we've been working like crazy... after the knee injury of DH we've had to makeup time!

Judy

Sassy

#39
November 28, 2006, 03:59:10 AM
Thanks for the invitation  :) but we'll have our hands full around here... have a lot of plastering to do myself - ya'll welcome to come to the underground cabin after you've been to Judy's strawbale house!  

Looks really nice, Judy.  Enjoyed looking through your blog, hadn't seen it for a couple months.  The workshop you attended sounded fun & interesting.  

Amanda_931

#40
November 30, 2006, 09:14:38 PM
OK it's not this Saturday so I don't have to choose between your place or a bale-raising up in Joelton TN.

Which I kind of doubt I'll make either.

But it sounds like a lot of fun.

The grass on my straw-clay wall has died, so the next time we don't have frost for a few days we may do some plastering down here.
'

jwv

#41
June 05, 2007, 07:24:25 PM Last Edit: June 05, 2007, 07:29:09 PM by jwv
I know I've been scarce around here but the finishing and moving took it all out of us.  We just sat around for a couple of weeks and contemplated our bellybuttons.  Now we've kicked back into gear to get the little  (neverending) details finished and start on the wall and general landscape stuff.

Here's a pic of the cabinets.  Remember, I said I wanted to paint them.  Somehow, I ended up with hickory cabinets that will NEVER be painted!  It's a long story, one of those marital compromises.  They are beautiful. And the kitchen is very functional in such a small space.  I love it. The countertops are poured concrete and the cutting board is fixed-great addition.  All of the appliances (except fridge) are from eBay or Craigslist.


And then there was the whole wall discussion-I think this is the winner!  It will help use some of the rocks we have left on the lot.

The way I look at it, we can gradually add those rocks once the "basket" is built.

Judy
There are more pictures at the blog of course.

glenn-k

#42
June 05, 2007, 10:55:01 PM
Pretty uniform size rocks -- did you screen them or just lots of them similar size?

Sassy

#43
June 07, 2007, 12:23:10 PM
Very nice - I'm glad your husband won out on the kitchen cabinets - the wood grain is very pretty.  I bet it is nice having the custom shelving - I am always losing stuff in the back of cupboards & in the high up cabinets.  The shower looks beautiful!  That's a clever idea for the fence - must have been time consuming!  I love rocks  :)

jwv

#44
June 07, 2007, 05:40:19 PM
That's not our fence, just the idea we're borrowing.

What isn't time-consuming if you do it yourself?  I have way more time (and rocks-and just not in my head!) than money. ::)

Judy

jwv

#45
July 28, 2007, 09:38:31 AM
Got the wall finished Some of the rocks came from the lot but we did have to  :P  buy :P some (I wanted to haul some from the wash but I got that "Have you lost your &%#@*? mind?" look).  We lifted about 4 tons of rock into buckets and then poured them into the baskets. Good way to increase upper body strength.

We also bought a used pop-up truck camper and have been escaping the extreme desert temps on occasion.  But now it seems we need a bigger truck.  :o

Anyway, life goes on.
Judy



glenn-k

#46
July 29, 2007, 12:26:46 AM
Looks good, Judy.  My wife loves rocks-- the mind problem -- good question. :)
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