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Nov 20
Love1

The First Ever Rocket-Style Griddle Oven

By Cob Oven, Rocket Stove
Rocket-Style Griddle & Barrel Oven

The first fire ever in the first rocket-style griddle oven ever!

One of the exciting projects going up at the recent Natural Building Colloquium was this amazing rocket stove-style griddle oven. It’s a wood-fired griddle with barrel oven, both heated by the same fire — in this case, a downdraft fire similar to what you see in the now classic rocket mass heater design. This was designed and built by two mass heater wizards, Max Edleson of Firespeaking and Flemming Abrahamsson of Fornyet Energi in Denmark. It was the first of its kind ever built, and it was really sweet to see the griddle oven take shape over the week.

See below for a sequence of construction images and the finished product. Too cool. I wish I could have taken it home with me.

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Nov 11
Love0

Natural Building Colloquium 2015: A Community of Builders

By Uncategorized
nbc20 group

The NBC20 crowd

What do you get when you assemble 150 natural builders and seven days in the middle of nowhere, New Mexico? A whole lot of jabbering, that’s for sure. Seriously though, the recent Natural Building Colloquium is what I’m referring to. April and I just returned from a long stint out west, where we participated in the 20th (!) anniversary Natural Building Colloquium (NBC). Twenty years ago (21 to be really precise), the idea was hatched to gather individuals from across the country to share ideas and inspiration, and to further the goals of the natural building community. And thus the Colloquium was born. A lot has happened in the time since the first gathering, and this year’s event provided a great opportunity to reflect on the history of the movement.

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Nov 10
Love0

The Return Home…

By Uncategorized
Red Soil, Kingston, New Mexico

I’m back from the foothills of the Gila National Forest in NM… where the sun shines bright and the soil is deep brown & beautiful

It’s one month later… and we’re back in Kentucky after a rather long road trip. I’ve been enjoying the break from the computer/internets, to be frank… that’s no offense to you though, dear reader. It’s nice to be unplugged for a good stint. I am, however, excited about sorting through my photos from New Mexico and the Natural Building Colloquium to share here. It might take me a few days. We have a moving truck from Dancing Rabbit to unload and I suspect the return to remodeling the house here will be swift.

All is well… keep posted for some insights from the Colloquium and more.

Oct 30
Love0

New Mexico! Colloquium!

By Uncategorized
kingston new mexico

Sunny Kingston, Mexico: home to the 20th anniversary Natural Building Colloquium

April and I have been in Kingston, New Mexico for the past two weeks for the 20th anniversary Natural Building Colloquium. Last week we were surrounded by 150 incredible natural builders from all over the globe. This week we’re helping finish projects that got started and cleaning up after the craziness that was the gathering. It’s been a dizzying time… it’s been a real privilege to be surrounded by so much building knowledge and experience. What a joy to meet so many people whose work I’ve been following for a while! (What is this “colloquium” business, anyway? There’s a good history of the gathering in the newest editon of The Art of Natural Building.)

I don’t have much time (or bandwidth) to really get into details here… it will have to wait until I get back home in another week or so. Until then, here are just a couple photos! It was a great time and I wish I had even more opportunity to soak it all in and meet more of the people in attendance.

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Oct 13
Love0

Replacing a 2×4 Wall with a Timber Frame

By Carpentry, Timber Framing

We just accomplished one of the more exciting items on our remodeling to-do list — we raised a timber frame between the kitchen and living room. Before the frame went up, we methodically removed the original 2×4 wall. The intention here, of course, was to really open up the space and facilitate a better interface between the living and cooking areas, provide more light to the kitchen, and allow the heat of the (not yet installed) cook stove to move more freely though the house.

I’d say it’s lookin’ pretty good right now. I managed to capture a little video of the actual timber frame raising… watch the video above to see how smoothly the frame fits right into place in the opening we created by removing the stud frame. The video also illustrates some of the steps we took to ready the house for the new frame.

Click ahead for some photos of the new wall, as well!

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Oct 09
Love0

Don’t Try This At Home

By Timber Framing, Bent Raising

timber-frame-wall-remodel

We’re about to lift this timber frame into position inside our new house that we’re currently remodeling. Exciting times ahead… more news soon once I have a second to write. I’m also preparing to depart on a very exciting trip to New Mexico.

p.s. No, it won’t hit the ceiling… we planned for that!

p.p.s. I love working with poplar after so much fussing with white oak… what a dreamy wood!

Sep 30
Love0

Autumn is for Remodeling

By Homesteading
New House in Kentucky

Our new home in Kentucky, very unlike our other homes

Last fall, we traveled back to our former home in Missouri to bring our straw bale & timber frame house to completion. It was six weeks of non-stop work, including finishing the interior clay plaster and exterior lime plaster, wiring the house for electric, loading the living roof with more topsoil to fill in some bare spots, shoring up our custom wood spiral staircase… all for the purposes of making the home more sellable.

This fall, we’re working on something a little bit different. We’re right in the middle of remodeling our new house here in Kentucky, a very different home from the one we had built from the ground up in Missouri. It’s a very conventional stick frame structure, with vinyl siding, an asphalt shingle roof, fiberglass insulation, and very thin walls…

It’s an odd feeling to own such a conventional home after living in my own natural homes for the past seven years. However, we’re taking a lot of time to personalize the space and give it a big boost in the aesthetics and functionality department. Things are shaping up nicely…

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Sep 23
Love0

Restoring Vitality into the Land

By Homesteading, Permaculture
east slope into draw_20007536583_l

This land represents so much powerful potential for health

A few weeks ago, I took photos all over our newly acquired land to have good documentation for the future. In the coming years, we will no doubt re-envision this place, build new infrastructure, shape the land, and introduce new plants and animals. It’s exciting to think about tapping into the potential of this land, and restoring more vigor and vitality.

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Sep 20
Love0

I Love This Barn

By Timber Framing, Design
Southeast Side of Barn

The Whole Systems Design barn

I love this timber frame barn. Spending time in this building was a big highlight for me during the recent Permaculture Design Course I just attended in Vermont. Most of the “classroom” activity happened in this barn, as well as meals, playing ping pong, and general hanging out. While it’s not so much an agricultural barn (at least not currently), it’s a barn nevertheless, and I think it’s a great example of a well-designed multi-purpose space.

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Sep 14
Love0

2015 Permaculture Design Course Highlights

By Homesteading, Permaculture
Walking Around the Pond

Circling the upper pond at the beautiful Moretown homestead site

Three words come to mind when I think about the experience of participating in the Whole Systems Design Permaculture Design Course: full, filling, and fulfilling. It was an intensely packed 10 days of learning, and the long hours were thoroughly nourishing. Exhausting at times, but totally rewarding all the same. There was so much to think about and discuss that it was hard to pull away and find some decent sleep at night. At the closure of the course, I came away deeply satisfied, more confident than ever before in the journey towards establishing a home for myself that’s in alignment with my vision.

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