A 24'x18' straw bale lodge

[Jens]

 

Maybe you've spent too much time on job sites Glenn!  Or maybe that wise crack runs really deep.  I'll have to remember to tell my wife that one.

[fishing_guy]

I'm voting for the deep cracks...not that I really want to see THAT picture again...but...

[glenn kangiser]

[Drew]

The irrigation system is all set.  The test field and two orchards are on timers.  I get EVo data every week from CIMIS and calculate the amount of water I need to put in the ground.  The seeds are hard at work and the trees are flowering.  It's time to get back to the building.

Dan and I built window bucks last weekend.  These are the 2"x4" and plywood open boxes that will be in the bale wall to hold the windows.  They went pretty quick, though we used some left over (um, yeah) 7/8" floor sheathing, so they are really heavy.  Those windows ain't going nowhere.

Here's a picture of me actually working.  No, really!



Here's Dan.  After the battery on the circle saw quit she finished the rest of the sheathing cuts with a hand saw.  She said she was too lazy to get the generator for the corded saw.  Uh huh.



We put the bucks in place on the floor to get an idea of what the view will look like.  They'll actually go in about 32" higher.  Here's the view to the east.



And to the west.



The 200 gallon water tank has me coming back to refill it every week, so I get to make up a bunch of jobs to make the trip pay off better.  I get to bleach the well again and clean Cassa Guacamole from the winter rodent guests.  The fishing line deer fence is holding up so far, but I think I should leave a few heads of lettuce inside to see if it really works.

The plan is to finish the flashing and bale base work this month and place the bales on Memorial Day weekend.  I admit that I am nervous about that part.  We need to get the bales in, lathed, and stuccoed before any rain comes.  Yes, I know we are in a drought and it doesn't rain after May.  But I am superstitious.  Whatever.  I'll tarp and do the best I can.

[Alasdair]

looking good - nice view too. 

[Bishopknight]

Drew its looking great! I like how you are working on the orchard and garden concurrently 

[Drew]

It was supposed to get up to 104 out in Palermo today.  Fortunately it only made it to about 100.  Still, this coastal boy is not built for that so Dan (She is brilliant.  Have I mentioned that before?) suggested that we work on the roofing at night.

It's not like we were playing roof hockey.  We were tied off and had florescent shop lights set up.  We worked from 6:00 pm to 10:30 pm Saturday and again from 6:00 am to 10:30 Sunday.  We only had to work with a dark sky for a couple hours and it was way more comfortable than it would have been at 3:00 in the afternoon sitting on black asphalt shingles.





At the end of the working day we have only 9 more courses to go, the trimming, and roof edge to put on. 

Last weekend my dad and I put on the faccia boards, drip edge, most of the felt, and 8 courses of shingles.  More importantly, we hauled six and a half squares of shingles to the roof.  To do this we made a sled out of some plywood, a 2x4, and some Simpson strap.  The straps kept the board from catching so bad on the rafters and faccia boards at the top.



The Old Man was the top guy for the 58 or so trips (We put 1/3 of a bundle on each load.  The sled was heavy enough.).  I just moved and loaded the shingles while he pulled them up.  He's an IT systems guy like me, but was born on a farm.  The thing is that he keeps putting in work days like that.  I hope that stuff doesn't skip a generation.

I'll be getting 125 rice straw bales on Friday.  Here comes the main event!

(How long have I been building this foolish thing?)

[Redoverfarm]

Drew a little late but you could have used a ladder to skid the bundles to the roof without that dead lift. With a rope and pulley at the top and someone just walking up the ladder to keep them on track. 

[Drew]

We thought about that, John.  It came up early on. We ended up not doing it because:

1.  The tall ladder we have is one of the fold up kinds.  It has a knuckle or two on each side we'd have to get past.
2.  The Old Man didn't want anyone on the bottom side of the bundle if anything went wrong.  He's soft that way. 
3.  The angle we'd have to use for the ladder was pretty steep, even at the lowest relative point on the roof.  It wasn't much better than hauling straight up. 

A longerladder that was an extension ladder would have helped, but not the one we had.  I like the pulley idea.  That could help keep control of the load.  I'd need to find out where to secure it, but that won't be hard.  Maybe I'll pick one up just to have it around for next time.

The baling and stucco work will be interesting.  We get to figure out how to reach some out of the way spots.  Maybe those 3D computer games I used to play will come in handy.   

[MountainDon]

What's the roof pitch?

[Drew]

12:1, Don.  All you need down here well below the snow line.

[MountainDon]

I was wondering more about the rain not running off fast enough, or being blown up under the shingles if wind driven. IIRC, the minimum pitch for basic asphalt shingles is a 3 inch rise to a 12 inch run (3:12).

[glenn kangiser]

I usually use roll roofing on the lower pitch roofs but it may work OK in our state.  No doubt that those babies will glue down in the Ca sun, but I believe Don is right.

[Drew]

Hmm.  When I think about it, it's actually 2:15, which makes it a 1.6 in 12.  Ow.  I hate to think this late at night.  Anyway, I have 30 year shingles over 30 lb felt.  A couple weeks of North Valley July weather and we'll have one big chewing gum square.  I'm not too worried about it coming up, and if it does I just guess I'll have to do something about it.

I've got trees far enough away not to fall on the place but perhaps close enough to be something of a wind break.  We shall necessarily see.

[glenn kangiser]

Blown rain gets in on a flat slope easier, but I have had a small similar roof at the other place with no problem.

[Redoverfarm]

Glenn I had heard that also. Anything less than 3/12 goes to rolled roofing.  They also say not to run metal on anything less than a 3/12.  I am sure that is for the snow& ice which you probably don't get it that often.  CA weather is a little warmer than here.  The past two mornings it has been 29 & 30F.  Bad for the early gardens.

[glenn kangiser]

Yes - In CA, they use metal as low as a 1/12 pitch in non-snow areas, generally with roll caulking on the joints, but we have done it with no caulking and no problem.

[Drew]

We baled over Memorial Day weekend!  I went up early Friday morning and got things set up. Dave and Dan came up at 7:30 am Sunday and we cranked until 4:00 Monday.  We even got some more roofing in after dark on Saturday.  Here are some pictures...



Getting ready for the bales.



I met the rice farmer and his driver in Palermo and guided them in.



They even let me help unload and stack the bales!



Next stop was Home Depot to pick up 18 bags of gravel and a roll of roof felt.  I need an open bed pickup so I can stop shopping like a dweeb.



Supper most welcome.  They call it a "burrito" because "Jesus" was already taken.



Bale Alpha. 



This is what I got done on my own.  Dan and Dave were inspired and came the next day ready to work!



Pieces of vinyl flashing made placing partial bales WAY easier.



It sure helped sliding them along the courses, too.  After the first course we could place them all from inside the building.  This made the work a whole lot safer.



King David upon his throne.



A right farmer's lunch of quiche and brown rice and vegetable thingies (I call them spider cakes).  Wash it down with a Fresca and pick my teeth with a 20d nail.



One of our better looking construction workers.  She's also a demon at figuring out how to get a bale "way out there" without getting hurt.



The waiting window bucks make a great place to put tools out of the way.



Once we got the air to stop running through the sun, it cooled off a lot.



We blocked a window with bales so we could slide other bales on top of them to build the back wall.  That was another great idea from Dave.



We're not done yet, but here's the 28 bales remaining from the 126 we started with.



An elevation.



Another.



Another.



And another.

We have a few more whole bales and a bunch of partials to go.  We've filled in the cracks between the bales, but we still get to even out the faces of the walls a bit and get the stucco lathe on the outside.

I am trying to do some research on a stucco sprayer, but can't find any at the usual places.  Anyone know if they are a good idea for a project like this, and if so, where I should look for one?

[Redoverfarm]

Drew you are past my area of expertise when it comes to building with bales.  Most of my life I have baled, stack and feed straw and hay bales but never built with them.  My hats off to you.  I do have a few questions.  Is there any structural security until you get it parged or stucco?  I think I would have to use some baler wire through the bales and anchor them to what structural support you have.  The wire would be easy to punch through the bales on either side of your post and diagonal bracing then twisted to secure. Even noticed that you have chicken wire on the interior.  I could even be wired to that.  I would be afraid that given the right amount and direction of wind that they could be blown out of alignment.  Bales stacked interlocking in a pile are usually secure but in a course stacking there is not much support.   How are you going to attach the wooden sills for the windows if there is plans for any? 

Looking good for a city boy though.  Watch them fancy boots on that straw it's slick on the floor.  But it looks like Dan is keeping up on that part.

[glenn kangiser]

That's great, Drew.

I think you need the Tirolessa stucco sprayer and a decent sized compressor - or there are plans available to build your own if you are into tinsmithing.  I have a copy somewhere.


http://www.papercrete.com/tiro.htm

http://mortarsprayer.stores.yahoo.net/tisp.html

[Drew]

Hey John,

Thanks for the good word.  The first course of bales rest on two PT 2x4s laid flat and parallel with gravel between them.  The outside 2x4 has a bunch of 20d nails sticking up to hold the first course of bales.  The bales are tied to the posts with plastic twine and the whole treatment gets stucco lathe inside and out.  The bales are also stacked in the interlocking pattern.

The windows will come out flush to the outer edge (No sill) and I'll flash, caulk, and trim the edges.  They'll have that nice curve on the inside, but not where the water can give me trouble.

Thanks for the lead on the mortar sprayer, Glenn.  That's the ticket.

[ScottA]

Wow that looks good Drew. You guys have been busy.

[Alasdair]

Looks great! Interesting to see all the different mediums used - I'm especially looking forward to seeing how you finish it.

[gandalfthegrey]

Look what I found while looking at land in Northern CA.

Drew you sure get around.

http://www.freshmanfarmer.com/category/coyotehouse/


http://www.coyotehousefarm.com/

[Redoverfarm]

A celebrity among us I see. 

Drew when I commented about the interlocking stack I was refering to 90 degrees alternating in a square stack fashion.  I realize that wasn't possible hence the tie wire.   Since your courses are like block or brick until youi get something to tie them together (mortar) they can easily topple.  You could even take # 3 or # 4 rebar and drive down through 3 or so would help.