Winter has been a dizzying series of snowstorms, flooding, bitter cold nights, tornadoes, and everything in-between. We’re in that sweet transitional spot now – longer days, warming temps, and that spring cleaning itch starts really kicking in. Not just spring cleaning, but continuing on with all sorts of projects in preparation for spring and summer. We’re so summer-oriented around here because the workshops demand that so much be ready and in place prior to kicking things off. This year, our workshop season is nearly a full month earlier than normal so we’ve been chipping away at projects as time and weather allow throughout the cold winter months, including lath walls on the pavilion and infill framing on the “Kentucky kura.”
Pavilion Progress
Installing the lath in the pavilion has been particularly satisfying because every little bit of new work starts to bring the vision closer and closer to reality. The lath is nothing more than ripped dimensional lumber fastened to very lightweight infill framing. It gets fastened with a pnuematic stapler, so other than the ripping it’s pretty quick work. The framing is installed carefully to account for enough of a reveal on either side of the wall once the plaster is applied.
As soon as we have a week above freezing, I’ll start applying more base coat plaster to the lath walls. Recently, Nick and I took time to do some cleanup work, too – trimming pegs and wedges, refinishing some of the beams. You know that feeling when you finally get around to something that’s been bothering you for like, uhhh… 2 or more years? The task itself may not be huge, but the satisfaction level is really high. Ahhh…
Kura Planning and Prepping
The vision for the kura is taking shape. The new infill framing is for accepting light clay straw insulation, part of which we’ll do during our May Natural Building Essentials workshop. I’m particularly excited about the exterior finishes for this structure. We’ll be working on this during our Japanese Plastering Workshop later in the summer. The exterior will be some combination of lime plaster and charred siding. The plan for the building itself is (much needed) storage and art studio space.
I’ve been researching mini splits to get a handle on the process of installation, energy requirements, all that fun stuff. It’s highly likely we’ll pursue that option for this new space so it’s more usable throughout the seasons.
Solar Comes to South Slope
On a related note, we’ve been in talks about getting a grant to help fund a new solar project. The hope is to install a grid-tie solar array to help offset electric costs and feed surplus energy back into the grid. I’m not sure yet if a backup battery bank is in the budget or not.
We’re working with a local non-profit who has been instrumental in helping us make sense of the prospect. Part of that project includes running power out to the pavilion and kura, and planning for future “electric expansion”. We’ve been running extension cords for years from the current shop, so it will be nice to have another power location for events, classes, etc.
That’s all for now. More to come!