Part 5- Cord wood and straw bales (almost)
Part 5 Cord wood and straw bales
At this point the foundation is complete and level with the exception of the West side to the left in the picture. The front section of the wall is probably about a foot lower than the rest. The doorway is one break but the other side we chose to slope it and figure it out later. We chose to stack cord wood and cob mixture to level that portion but before we could go to much further we needed to establish the framing for the front windows and the doorway. I really had no idea what I was doing but like building a fort or any other project, trust yourself to be able to figure it out. This project after all is also about breaking all the rules of standard building! I was using materials I had gathered for free so I chose this post given to me from a friend for helping him fix his truck! His gift was two poles, the other I used in the center! Thanks Michael!I used two 6x6 posts notched and a header built in for the door fram support. The center frame sits on a treated plate on some tar paper. The 6x6 posts were also notched at the top and the header was built into the post using a drill and a chisel inset it deep into the post. A plate is also nailed on the top. A few braces kept it in place until I had something else to attach it to. The bottom plate is bolted into the wall so it wont ever move. So, moving along to the cord wood leveling my building platform, the wall!
This wasn't rocket science but we had tested it prior to doing it. As the last season ended we took some of our subsoil, sifted it, tossed it in a cement mixer that we got for free with some straw and water and behold, a perfect mix. We did not need to add any clay either. We did later but for now it worked perfect. We built a small stack on the ground and assembled it and frosted it in the same mix with a trowel. To my complete surprise it endured to winter in direct contact with the elements, rain, snow, freezing, thawing. I kicked it and poked it until it finally broke. I was fairly convinced it was the good stuff right from the ground! So, with a bit of apprehension we built this small section to level this section of the wall because we needed a flat, even surface for the straw bales to lay on. So we sifted out the rocks, mixed up a batch of mud (from sub soil and straw) and made a frosted looking Hostess treat! Natural building is very forgiving. I will get way more into the mix when we get to that section.
At this point we had a level surface to start stacking the straw bales. The cob mix completely encases the wood so no bugs can get in and no rot can occur. Later after the straw bales were added it was covered over again and again until there is no trace that it is even there. All you see is a cool sloped wall with no explanation or concern of how it got that way! I love it! Lets get caught up with some pictures and then I guess we will add some straw bales and see what happens next! Part 6 will have some straw bales I assure you!
Be sure to go to the upper left hit back and check out some other posts!
At this point the foundation is complete and level with the exception of the West side to the left in the picture. The front section of the wall is probably about a foot lower than the rest. The doorway is one break but the other side we chose to slope it and figure it out later. We chose to stack cord wood and cob mixture to level that portion but before we could go to much further we needed to establish the framing for the front windows and the doorway. I really had no idea what I was doing but like building a fort or any other project, trust yourself to be able to figure it out. This project after all is also about breaking all the rules of standard building! I was using materials I had gathered for free so I chose this post given to me from a friend for helping him fix his truck! His gift was two poles, the other I used in the center! Thanks Michael!I used two 6x6 posts notched and a header built in for the door fram support. The center frame sits on a treated plate on some tar paper. The 6x6 posts were also notched at the top and the header was built into the post using a drill and a chisel inset it deep into the post. A plate is also nailed on the top. A few braces kept it in place until I had something else to attach it to. The bottom plate is bolted into the wall so it wont ever move. So, moving along to the cord wood leveling my building platform, the wall!
This wasn't rocket science but we had tested it prior to doing it. As the last season ended we took some of our subsoil, sifted it, tossed it in a cement mixer that we got for free with some straw and water and behold, a perfect mix. We did not need to add any clay either. We did later but for now it worked perfect. We built a small stack on the ground and assembled it and frosted it in the same mix with a trowel. To my complete surprise it endured to winter in direct contact with the elements, rain, snow, freezing, thawing. I kicked it and poked it until it finally broke. I was fairly convinced it was the good stuff right from the ground! So, with a bit of apprehension we built this small section to level this section of the wall because we needed a flat, even surface for the straw bales to lay on. So we sifted out the rocks, mixed up a batch of mud (from sub soil and straw) and made a frosted looking Hostess treat! Natural building is very forgiving. I will get way more into the mix when we get to that section. 
At this point we had a level surface to start stacking the straw bales. The cob mix completely encases the wood so no bugs can get in and no rot can occur. Later after the straw bales were added it was covered over again and again until there is no trace that it is even there. All you see is a cool sloped wall with no explanation or concern of how it got that way! I love it! Lets get caught up with some pictures and then I guess we will add some straw bales and see what happens next! Part 6 will have some straw bales I assure you!Be sure to go to the upper left hit back and check out some other posts!
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