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Jun 06
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Video: Two Beautiful Low Impact Roundhouses in Wales

By Resources, Video

I was very happy to discover this video on Tony Wrench’s website the other day. It provides a little tour of Wrench’s low impact roundhouse, and Simon Dale’s new house at Lammas, in Wales.

If you’ve done any searching for beautiful natural buildings online, it’s likely you have seen Simon Dale’s original low impact woodland home. But Simon’s got limited images of his new house up, so this video gives a better impression of the design. Check out that killer big greenhouse!

Definitely very exciting to see a bit more of Tony Wrench’s and Simon Dale’s work here. These two have provided me with a lot of inspiration for my own home, and they’ve also consulted me with on some things, too. Can’t thank them enough.

Gorgeous!

May 29
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Pier Foundation Designs for Straw Bale Timber Frame Homes

By Foundation, Timber Framing

This post is a call for help. I am seeking information, images, anything related to pier foundation design for straw bale timber frame homes.

I am specifically hoping for detailed accounts of how to construct a pier foundation of stone for a straw bale timber frame. Or even a wood pier foundation, if it’s actually possible.

We are planning to construct our new home on a pier foundation, and I cannot wrap my head completely around how to design the pier foundation, which we may use urbanite (broken concrete) to construct. I do not want the house to have ground contact, for fear of moisture wicking up into the structure. The house will likely have a pier foundation with insulated floor platform.

I am specifically interested in how far to dig down for the piers, if the stone foundation would better be continuous, or other recommendations. Any info./links are appreciated!

May 24
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Making Mortises with a Boring Machine

By Hand Tools, Timber Framing, Video, Wabi-sabi Kitchen

This is one incredibly sweet tool: the boring machine. A boring (or mortising) machine is a hand-operated drill press, usually equipped with a two inch auger bit, that allows the builder to bore holes through timber in order to make a mortise pocket.

This particular model (I forget the manufacturer) is one that Tom Cundiff brought along with him to our timber framing workshop weekend. We banged out a few mortises a lot more easily with this tool than any other could possibly do. (Of course, not including electric drills.) We value hand tools very highly and use them nearly exclusively on our construction. Needless to say, we’re going to have to seriously look into obtaining one of these…. and to think we passed one up at the local flea market last year! Ack!

 

May 21
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Video: Making a Timber Frame Peg

By Hand Tools, Timber Framing, Wabi-sabi Kitchen

Thomas recently had this awesome little peg-making setup made by a friend, and we had the opportunity to try it out last weekend during our timber frame workshop.

It’s super simple and results in very uniform pegs, as long as you have straight grain wood to use. In this case, we were hitting white oak splits through the bench.

It’s essentially a bench with a sharpened rod projecting through the top that cuts through the wood as it is driven through from above with a mallet. Once the wood is hit all the way through, you have a 1″ peg at your disposal!

Check it out!

 

May 11
Love1

My Boing Boing Interview: How to Build Your Own Hobbit House

By Media, Resources, The Year of Mud Book

Avi Solomon recently interviewed me for a bit on Boing Boing, titled Brian “Ziggy” Liloia on How To Build Your Own Hobbit House.

In the interview, I talk about my decision to build with cob, the great rewards and challenges in building your own home, the community building experience at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, and more.

If you’re new to this blog (or even if you’re not), please check it out!

p.s. Want to learn even more about how to build your own cob house? Check out The Year of Mud: Build a Cob House book!

 

May 09
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Wild Bee Swarm Lands in Cob Wood Shed

By Cob Woodshed, Photos

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Wow…. this was too awesome not to mention here. Today, a wild bee swarm made a home in my cob wood shed. We’ve got some empty hive boxes stored in there, and over the past week, I’ve noticed a lot of bees coming and going through the door of the shed.

And today, a great big ol’ swarm came buzzing through the village, and gathered at the entrance of the wood shed — they were moving into the hives stored inside. It was truly an amazing sight!

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Apr 20
Love1

Retrofiting a Cob Window Sill

By Cob Building, Cob Shelves
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Carving out the window sill for a retrofit

One of the great things about cob is how immensely sculptable the material is. But the sculpture doesn’t stop once the walls are dry. You can always come back to a wall with a shovel, pickaxe, machete, or other sturdy tool and do retrofitting fairly easily. I recently decided to redo some of the window sills in the house that were straight cob, and instead install some wood boards to make them more functional.

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