Frank Thomas from
Strawtec, who ran the strawbale workshop in Mountain River last October and the
one in Canberra that Karim attended in 2008, held another workshop in Dungog a
few weeks ago. When I realised this was only 60km from where Mum lives, and
knowing that I had a LOT to learn before building our own strawbale walls, I
jumped at the opportunity to attend. So off I went courtesy of Betty Boop…
We were only in the
design stage last October, so I didn’t really know what details to look at during
the Mountain River workshop, but now that our frame has been constructed and I
know all the ins and outs of our home, the workshop was incredibly educational.
We got hands on experience with a huge variety of tasks, one of which I particularly
enjoyed was trimming the fluffy edges off the bales so they sit flush against
each other in the wall. I learned a great deal, but in the end came to the conclusion
that attending two workshops does not give me the skills and experience I need
to build strawbale walls that will remain intact for hundreds of years. So we’ve
decided to get Frank down to Tassie Mania to hold a Strawtec workshop to raise
our strawbale walls, which will probably be at the end of November.
The wiring was
installed this month and our planning efforts appear to have paid off, as the
lights and switches do seem to be in the right place when you walk through
the home. The main posts being recessed 15mm in from the straw bale line allows
the electrical conduit to run straight down the posts, and we’re installing power
points in the skirting boards, so most of the electrics won’t interfere with
our bales or render at all.
The plan has always been
to build a strawbale window seat in front of the round window, and we’ve been
considering its design so we can construct an adequate footing for it to be
constructed on. We thought it would be beautiful to carve a back rest out of an
old tree stump, the roots of which blend into the earthen floor, with the base
blending into the strawbale bench seat. I know, I know… what were we thinking
(again)! As with many other things about this home, we weren’t sure if that was
achievable, but I’ve since tracked down an artist who makes sculptures from
tree trunks that are saved from clear fell areas, Eddie Freeman, and we might
be able to do it. Jack has installed a piece of ply in one quarter of the frame
to show Eddie where the round window will be positioned, so he can carve a back
rest in the stump that’s in sympathy to the window. This has also really
highlighted just how spectacular the view is going to be, and seen as it’s to
the east, I think this will be where I undertake my morning coffee during the
sunrise ritual.
Another artistic
dream that has now become a reality is some feature lights in the dining,
kitchen and lounge, made from scrap metal by James Simpson, who is Jolly’s
brother-in-law. All of the lights will feature scrap plumbers coil, which is used
for un-blocking sewage pipes. We think that's quite fitting considering there
will be poo in our floors and walls. These old leaf springs from a car will be
the main component of the dining room pendant light.
All the roof sheets have
been installed now, the roofers just need to come back and do some trimming then
install the gutters and fascia. This means we are completely under-cover and can
continue with the build rain, hail or shine over winter. The next major project
is the stone wall, which we’ll be able to see from both the lounge and bedroom.
Yep, this means we have to lay a double-faced stone wall, but you know by now
how we like to make things as hard as we possibly can. Take a good look at this
gap and picture a beautiful stone wall being there by the next blog update
(highly unlikely, but worth visualising anyway).
We met a builder that
has recently finished his own two storey stone house only 2km away, and he’s
been kind enough to give us all the training we need, from stone selection
through to working the stones and building the wall. It would make sense for
Ben to be in charge of working the stones, because him with a diamond disc
blade on the angle grinder and large steel chisels just fit like a glove. Ben
and I spent a day choosing our first 1.8 tonne of rocks and delivered them to
site, which involved handling about 30 tonne of stone in total that day. They
now cover the lounge room floor, but this is probably only one fifth of the
amount of stones we’ll need.
Tim, Bree and I have
been scrubbing them for the past couple of days to get all the mud off them so
the mortar will stick properly. Our arms are aching, and we haven’t even
started building the wall yet. No doubt our biceps will be as monolithic as the
stone wall is by the time we’re finished!
To get an idea of
what the wall will look like, and to experiment with different mortar colours,
we continue to follow Bree’s advice and have done a display board.
Last but definitely not
least, during my walk through the garden this morning I realised you haven’t
met a new addition to our family. This is Freddy, yes he has boobs and an
extreme case of varicose veins, but he does a great job of keeping the hawks
away from the chooks and brings a smile to our faces.
