If you’re building a timber frame with hand tools, it’s helpful to have a few types of hand saws in your arsenal. There are many many types of saws that you could use, and at the end of the day it boils down to personal preference. Me? I like to try new tools from time to time, and these are two that I find very effective in the cutting process — a Japanese anahiki saw (or timber saw), and a Japanese ryoba saw (or two sided saw).
We just wrapped up our 7 day Timber Frame Workshop and I’m finally catching my breath. Whew. Timber framing has a steep learning curve so it’s not the kind of thing you can easily jump into, willy-nilly. It takes some warming up and getting used to lots of new terms, tools, methodologies, etc.
Timber framing is, first and foremost, an exercise in visualization. Looking at plans and applying layout to a timber, imagining a timber oriented in the building — these are all skills that take some time to hone. It’s a totally different way to approach building the bones of a house because everything is laid out and cut in advance of the pieces being assembled. So it’s immensely helpful to be able to see things in your mind, before they exist in front of you. Essential, even.
White oak is impressively heavy. Green white oak timbers are that much heavier. Today we got our order of white oak, pine, and sassafras, in-between massive bouts of rain. There was flash flooding for most of the day except for a tiny window in which we were able to get 10,000+ pounds of timber on-site and loaded off the trailer. I’m thrilled this day is behind me now. Jeez. Onto the next step! (All of the wood is not pictured here, by the way.)
p.s. The “wedding tent” is still going strong after all these years! Granted, we replaced the canopy once, but… this thing has been a lifesaver for shade and rain protection during our workshops. So goofy looking. Maybe a barn is in order next year?
p.p.s. Oh, how do I know it’s about 10,000 pounds of wood? This handy dandy lumber weight calculator, of course.
We’re just about one month out from the start of our July Timber Frame Workshop. Happily, the pieces are starting to fall into place. This year we’re collaborating with Brice of Timber Frame HQ on this very simple and beautiful pavilion design. Brice is doing the drawing work — we’ll have super tight plans that students will be referencing during the course. I’m excited to have these plans available. Clear drawings contribute to a better understanding of the entire layout process.
A couple of weeks ago, we hosted our first Natural Building Essentials Workshop of the summer. What fun! The weather held out and we had great camping conditions, and April cooked up a veritable feast for our intrepid mudslingers. I think it’s fair to say everyone had a great time, myself included. Check out some photos of the course below!
A white clay plaster finish meets the earthen floor made with site soil
This winter, I had the chance to revisit a home that I worked on last spring. The homeowners have moved in and it was very sweet to see the house in a finished state. It’s a great feeling to contribute work and then see everything tied together in the end. The finished look is great — the earthen floor looks smooth and feels soft on the feet and the clay plastered walls add brightness and texture. Look ahead to see more pictures.
Did you know that you can polish clay plaster so that it has a reflective mirror finish? It looks spectacular, and Benito Steen (son of Athena and Bill Steen, straw bale experts of the southwest) has a new video describing his process for achieving the effect. Benito has done a great job describing the process in clear, simple term. The video is beautiful to watch, too.
Check it out above and learn for yourself how to make a polished clay plaster finish with very simple ingredients. Hope to see more videos like this soon!
Our collection of handmade pottery suddenly expanded overnight last year, and cabinet space was tight. Enter these pottery shelves, which I built over the course of a few cold nights in the workshop. We didn’t want to hide the bowls in cabinets so these are pretty simple open shelves to display them. Plus it’s easy to grab one off the shelf, though I sometimes spend an extra couple seconds deciding which one will be juuust right…
Clay plaster base coat application in process
Clay soil is one of the most ancient, rudimentary, yet effective building materials on the planet. Besides being naturally abundant across much of the earth, clay has unique properties that make it not only suitable but very desirable as a natural building material. Clay is used for the production of fired brick, sun-baked adobes, cob, and natural plaster finishes.
In this very basic introduction to clay soil, I will highlight some of the unique water-loving features and other useful attributes of clay when it’s used as a natural building material, particularly as a plaster finish.
It’s 2018, and that means The Year of Mud hits double digits this year (!). Ten years ago, I started The Year of Mud blog when I began my foolhardy journey into the world of natural building. Well dang. I’m not one to boast, but it’s been a lot of work to keep this website chugging that whole time. I certainly had no idea where I was headed when I decided to “build a mud hut” all those years ago. But one thing is for sure: natural building has been a huge focal point of my life since I first stuck my hands (and feet) in a batch of cob.
Hi there, I’m Ziggy. In 2008, I launched The Year of Mud while building my first natural home. This blog is a collection of personal stories and experiences building with clay, straw, and wood over the past 15+ years. A few of the things that get me fired up are natural plasters, timber framing, & Japanese architecture. Since 2012, we’ve been hosting Natural Building Workshops so you can learn essential skills to build your own natural home.
