Our timber frame house plans are complete, and now we are prepared to proceed with acquiring our timber. We are providing the plans free for download for folks interested in viewing the 3D drawings and floor plans. Read ahead for more!
The Straw Bale Building Workshop at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is now open to applicants! Come join us in July 2012 for a comprehensive 10 day straw bale construction course, where you will learn valuable skills you need to know to build your own straw bale house.
You’ll get hands-on experience stacking, securing, and pinning bales, and plastering the walls with local clay. Enjoy and learn from the incredible experience of helping to build an actual home in a well-known, inspiring ecovillage community.
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March 2013 Update: We are now offering a new Timber Frame Workshop for 2013 in August. Check out the details!
I am pleased to announce that folks can now read about and apply for the Timber Framing Workshop we are hosting at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, June 10-23, 2012. This is shaping up to be a unique and very exciting opportunity for folks looking to gain real building skills in an incredible setting!
2012 Timber Framing Workshop students will spend two full weeks at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in Rutledge, Missouri learning the historic craft of timber framing using mortise and tenon joinery, as well as experiencing and learning some of the fundamental connections between natural building design and sustainable lifestyle alternatives.
In pondering the floor insulation options for Strawtron, I’ve come to a bit of a question mark in the sheep’s wool department. Originally, I had planned on doing some light clay straw in the timber platform, between the floor joists, but I’ve come to acknowledge that the R-value of this method is lacking.
The Strawtron timber frame plans! (SE corner view)
I’ve been exchanging many emails with Tom Cundiff over the past month or so about the timber frame plans and drawings for Strawtron, our new house. I’m excited to now show off these great 3D drawings that he has come up with!
Here’s the lowdown on the new house design… Read More
Conceptual drawing of our new house (north view)
Things are definitely shaping up in our new house design process. We are super excited to be collaborating with a few folks on this project, very notably Tom Cundiff of The Edgeworks, who is assisting with the design of a slick timber frame for what we are calling “Strawtron”, our new straw bale timber frame house project.
This fall, we plan on breaking ground for Strawtron, a three room, passive solar, straw bale-insulated house with a timber frame, greenhouse for passive heat and extended living space, screened-in north porch, and 1/2 story loft with a west-facing balcony.
But there’s plenty to do before that happens…
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 website 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. In 2012, we started offering Natural Building Workshops, so you can learn essential hands-on skills to build your own natural home.