Ok. The long-delayed and long-anticipated reciprocal roof raising finally happened over this weekend on Saturday. It went smoothly, despite a bump here or there. The whole thing was up within a few hours.
However. I am going to take it all down and do it again (!)
There are some imperfections. The peak of the roof, or the inner ring is not centrally located, making the span on the west side of the house significant longer than on the east. The skylight hole is not totally circular (see above), which is ok, but again: could be better. There are a couple other things that could be improved, too.
Sometime soon, the poles will be taken down, and then hoisted up again, and it will be even better. More balanced.
I’ll wait to get into the nitty gritty of reciprocal roof raising until then.
Today, I found some red oak borer larvae living in some of my pin oak rafter poles. At least one of my roundwood rafters has been lying in the grass (on some pretty measly sticks of wood to keep it off the ground) with all of its bark intact since perhaps April.
Needless to say, I wasn’t happy to encounter them tunneling through the wood. I’m not sure how serious this issue is (thankfully, the wood wasn’t completely riddled). I cursed their existence generally. But I think the pole is still good to go for the reciprocal roof construction.
This whole roof business has been a bit like walking blindly down an alley for me, since I have never worked with pole wood or built a roof (or even helped to build one). I have been quite uncertain about the whole process thus far: whether or not my poles are strong enough, whether or not they are long enough, whether or not they are seasoned enough (this I know is not the case: most of my poles were only cut in March, but I’m going for it anyway), etc.
Well, I guess I’ll know at least some of these answers on Wednesday when I have a roof raising party and get the reciprocal roof assembly built!
194.5 batches of cob stomped by foot and applied by hand and you get:
Yesterday afternoon and this morning, I put some final touches on the cob walls, leveling them in preparation for the soon-coming reciprocal roof. After I smoothed out some of the last cobs, I took a minute as I stood on the lean-to trestle, just staring down at the walls which now easily tower over my head, and I wondered in amazement.
It has been quite a journey to this point, moving over 40 tons of material. That’s a lot of earth. More specifically, it’s been 194.5 batches of cob so far. All this over 57 days (which were not all full work days, mind you.)
And it’s not over yet, but this massive portion of the process is, at least. Here are some photos of the structure.
Interior, looking southwest.The bed will be positioned along the far wall, under the window. The joists will support a 7.5′ wide, 22″ deep storage shelf.
The north wall interior, with nooks and a shelf at the foot of the (future) bed. The rocket stove will be to the left of the window. Exterior backside, looking southwest.
Entryway with storage nooks. A gigantic corner bookshelf.
Here’s a couple of photos of the 99% complete cob walls. I figure I’ll be able to finish them off tomorrow, perhaps Sunday if it takes a couple more batches than I expect. Reciprocal roof: here we come!
Also, in the top photo you might notice a post near the entryway. This black locust post will bear one of the reciprocal roof rafters, making for a nice little overhang near the entryway. Call it a really small porch, maybe, but this should provide some decent extra coverage from the elements.
I’m still seeking work exchangers for the month of September to help work on my cob house. Although the cobbing is nearly complete, there is still plenty of work ahead, and September should largely consist of building the reciprocal living roof. Exciting times are indeed ahead.
With the help of my superstar work exchangers Dan and Danielle, the cob walls are nearly complete. Unfortunately, D&D departed today to begin their own pursuits, but I am hopeful that I’ll be able to complete cobbing by myself by the weekend. I suspect it will take 10 or so batches to level out the walls in preparation for the reciprocal roof – no problem! (My estimations are historically inaccurate, but I feel pretty confident about this one.)
It’s amazing how tall the west wall (see above) is/feels, compared to the rest of the house. A little bit of slope can go a long way.
Last night we had a third campfire in the house, and several folks have suggested leaving the house as is, without roof, because of the dramatic light cast by the fire on the walls. It’s quite a sight. Maybe I’ll have to design a retractable roof…
Recent highlights the past week included cobbing above the south window, removing the door brace (ahhh for easy entering and exiting!), and sticking in most of the deadmen for the roof rafters. It feels more and more like an actual house with each passing day.
This weekend, I had a strong urge to do some cobbing after dinner, during the sunset hours. So, last night we (myself and Dan and Danielle [my two work exchangers], later joined by Liat) ate dinner and stomped a batch of cob as the sun went down. By the time we were done stomping, it was super dark and pretty dang difficult to actually get the cob on the walls, but we managed.
After that first batch of cob, we figured it would be a good idea to make a campfire inside of the house. Ted and I set one up, and the house glowed like a giant woodstove. It looked great from the road, with a bright orange aura.
There was a full moon that cast a great light on the walls as it rose towards the sky later that night.
(Satisfied after today’s good progress – See the new cob at the top of the wall there?)
With help from my most enjoyable new work exchangers Dan and Danielle, I am inching closer and closer to the roof of my cob house. Today marked the completion of one of the few remaining and more challenging elements before that happens, though — installing joists for a wide shelf positioned above the (future) cob bed.
Yesterday, we built a joist rig with some 2×4s that could be buried in the cob: three 38? long joists attached to one long 2×4 banged out with lots of nails. This whole thing was placed on the cob wall and leveled, joists braced, and then cobbed in place. Hopefully the joists will be strong, as they are buired in all 16? of the cob wall. The shelf will be 22? wide and 7.5? long and will mostly be for storage.
Time will tell whether or not the joists are buried in enough wall to support the weight of potential clutter on the shelf. I am hopeful!
About The Year of Mud
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.