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Nov 13
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Nearly Completing the Spiral

By Carpentry, Timber Framing, Strawtron
Building a Sprial Staircase

Mortising into the dark of evening

The roundwood spiral staircase that we have been feverishly building for the last five days is about 98% complete. As we simultaneously pack for our trip to Berea, there are mounds of wood chips on the floor of the house, oiled slabs of elm causing the house to smell like a citrus grove, and aching backs howling for a good rubbing.

It’s been an intense project, but the results are stunning. I’ll reveal the full staircase soon, but for now, here’s another glimpse of what we’ve been doing. I can hardly believe it’s come together.

Nov 10
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Our Last (and Greatest) Task

By Carpentry, Timber Framing, Strawtron
Roundwood Sprial Staircase - First 2 Steps

First two steps installed… starting from the top, and working down

We have decided to take on our last and greatest task literally days before we leave Dancing Rabbit for Berea, Kentucky. In these final few days before we move, we are building a spiral staircase in our timber frame house. It is a rather foolish thing to do, but important, too.

We have literally 3 or so days left to try to finish the beast. And it is a beast, let me tell you. Drilling and chiseling 11 mortises in a roundwood post, making an equal number of stair risers with tenons, sawing/planing/gouging/oiling the 3″ elm slab steps… not to mention, having the wrap our puny minds around the layout has been quite the ordeal, to say the least. We are finally in the swing of things now that we have the layout firmly established, but the physical side of the work is still very intense.

Here are a few photos of what we are doing up until the literal minute we leave. Sometimes I wonder about these decisions we make…

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Nov 06
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Earthen Floors Book Due Spring 2014

By Earthen Floor, Media, Resources

Earthen Floors Book

Exciting news on the natural building book front — Earthen Floors, a book all about installing and living with earth-based floor systems, is due out April 1, 2014. Written by two very experienced natural builders, Sukita Reay Crimmel and James Thomson, the book is the first of its kind dedicated solely to the art of making inexpensive, durable, and beautiful floors made mostly of sand, clay, and fiber. There are a host of books that touch upon the topic of floors, but few that delve very deeply into the nitty gritty details. This will be a welcome addition to the natural building library.

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Nov 04
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First Ever Wood Stove Design Challenge

By Heating
Masonry Stove Design by Lars Helbro

One of 14 finalists in the Wood Stove Design Challenge

The first ever Wood Stove Design Challenge and Decathlon is set to go down soon, hosted by the Alliance for Green Heat. The Decathlon will take place on the National Mall in D.C., and is open to the public Nov. 15 and 16. What’s the big deal? This is an amazing event, the first of its kind dedicated to testing all manner of unique wood fired heaters for optimum efficiency. Wood still proves to be one of the most universally common energy sources, but unfortunately, most burning of wood is done in a highly inefficient, unclean manner. These contestants are all hoping to help change the tide.

Fourteen stove design finalists have made it this far, including everything from classic masonry heaters, to DIY rocket stove-inspired designs, to high tech computer-controlled heaters. I totally wish I could be there for the event, but alas, I will have to settle for the news coverage online.

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Nov 01
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National Straw Bale Building Code is a Go

By Straw Bale Building
Straw Bale National Building Codes

A historic day for straw bale construction!

Thankfully, we’ve never had to worry ourselves about local building codes, but there are many, many more folks who regularly struggle with codes when attempting to build a natural home in their area. And so the following news is very welcome, not just for those folks, but for a potential ecological/cultural tidal shift, as well. Earlier in October, an appendix on straw bale building was approved for inclusion in the 2015 International Residential Code for one and two-family dwellings. The IRC is basically the foundation for building codes all across the US. Wow!

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Oct 29
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Cob & Cold Climates: What You Need To Know

By Moisture, Winter, Heating

cold-cob-climate

Some time back, I wrote up an article about why cob is not appropriate for cold climates, based on our experiences living in Gobcobatron for several winters. I continue to get emails from folks saying something like “hey, I live in northern Illinois and really want to live in a cob house… can you recommend some resources?” My usual response is then something like “hold on a second there… I think you need to reconsider… cob may not be the best choice for your location…”

Anyway, it seems clear that folks may still not be up to speed on why cob is not a suitable choice for more northerly or cold climates. I have revisited my original post and added some new information on why cob is not suitable for cold climates.

I hope you’ll check it out. There’s even more to be said, but the basic gist of the issue is there!

Oct 27
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We’re Moving

By Homesteading
Moving to Berea, Kentucky

From the prairie, to the foothills…

This November marks the beginning of a new chapter for April and I, and The Year of Mud. We are officially moving from Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in northeast Missouri to the Appalachian foothills of Berea, Kentucky. After more than 6 years living here, and due to a number of reasons, we are called elsewhere. It is definitely not a small decision. These are exciting times for us, but not without some sadness too. After all, we are leaving our community and our home(s) to start from utter scratch. We’ve invested a lot of our sweat, energy, and emotion into this place, yet we feel solid to say that our vision is taking us elsewhere. Here I’ll describe a bit about what we have in mind.

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Oct 23
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It’s Alive (Or At Least, Will Be): Living Roof Installed and Seeded

By Living Sod Roof, Strawtron
New Green Living Roof: Straw Bale House

Newly built living roof, seeded and mulched… and one day, green!

Finally finally finally… after many months of waiting, we are on our way to a completely finished living roof on our straw bale house. Yowee. Just last week, we completed the lower roof over the east half of the house. After we designed and built our living roof edge detail, we heaved soil up there once and for all. Very exciting. I guess it won’t be truly “done” until it’s green, but I’m happy enough for now!

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Oct 18
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How To Keep Soil on Your Roof: Living Roof Edge Detail

By Living Sod Roof, Strawtron
Living Roof Edge Board

Our living roof edge detail getting installed

The hardest part of building a living roof, other than figuring out how to get all that monstrously heavy soil or sod up there, is designing a good edge detail that will contain the soil at the eaves and gable ends. A good living roof edge detail should contain the soil on the roof, while simultaneously allowing the excess rainwater to drain off, all without puncturing your liner, and allowing for some kind of gutter system. And it should look decent. That’s a lot of design details to weigh, but I think we developed a good set of plans. Check it out.

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Oct 10
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Live Edge Siding: “It Sings”

By Carpentry, Strawtron
Straw Bale House: Live Edge Siding

Our recent live edge siding job on the north porch… here’s the west view

I’ve been meaning to put up some images of our completed live edge siding job for a long, long time now… so here they are. Finally! An individual walking by the other day commented on the siding, saying “it sings”… a sweet compliment, I thought. I would agree. I just love the stuff. The grain, color, curves, and contrast with the plaster on the other parts of the house are very pleasing. I have no doubt we’ll feature more live edge siding in future building projects.

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