Friday, December 6, 2013

the Strawbale Studio part II

Here is a video I found online where Deanne gives a brief tour of The Strawbale Studio.
She is offering internships in January and Feburuary!



This is a picture inside The Strawbale Studio sculpted out of cob. I like the branch added at the top. 

Deanne and Phoenix in front of the in-progress hobbit sauna.


Holes for pipe inside the sauna where the wood burning stove will go. 

A fish sculpted on the side of the rocket stove.



A spiral hut

A soon to be children's house 

Inside the children's house. The floor has the exhaust of the rocket stove running through heating it.

 Deanne at her rocket cookstove made of thrown together bricks
One thing I love about Deanne--everything is useful and everything is art.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

the Strawbale Studio

          One of the instructors at the cob workshop that I took is Deanne Bednar. Deanne is an amazing artist and has done illustrations for books like The Hand-Sculpted House .  I was impressed to hear that she is building cob and strawbale houses in the midwest. Previously I had heard that people in the midwest had all kinds of mold problems with cob because of our high humidity.  THEN I head that Deanne was building a hobbit sauna! I had to get in on that, as any sustainable building sci-fi geek would . . .





          I made a visit to Deanne's Strawbale Studio in Oxford, Michigan. My Phoenix, my friend Lexi, and her daughter willow came along. We all mixed cob together. One thing I love about a cob construction site is that kids are always welcome.

         Deanne also thatches roofs (as seen on the Strawbale Studio roof) and builds Rumford fireplaces, has a beautiful outdoor cob fire oven, and a rocket stove too.  Because I am learning about rocket stoves right now (and building my first one) my favorite part of the visit was talking about rocket stoves, watching the Ernie & Erica & Paul Wheaton's rocket stove DVD, and talking about Deanne's upcoming rocket stove workshop. My other favorite part was just spending time with Deanne's creative and lively personality (we practiced NVC too). 






 Picture below of a traditional wall plastered over with an earthen/clay based plaster and rocks to look like a rock wall. I plan to do this in my retrofit. 
outdoor cob fire oven, hand-sculpted





Living roof





Farm shed on the outside


cozy on the inside. A Rumford fireplace built by Deanne






More to come on The Strawbale Studio and Deanne's Hobbit Sauna in the next post



Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Building with Cob

This year I participated in the Natural Cottage Workshop from September 28-Oct 11.  http://naturalcottageproject.com/wordpress/
We built a cob cottage from foundation to rafters during this time and learned about how to go about putting in, or having the main systems put in, as well as discussing building permits and codes.  There were design nights where individuals presented their plans an got feedback from the experts and other members of the group. Overall the course was thorough and informative and we all left feeling we had gained family. 
 We started with the foundation. The purpose of the foundation is to keep water away from the cob.  Start by digging a trench, next add drainage with gravel and a drainage pipe/hose that slants away from the structure. The stem wall/knee wall needs to be 14-24 inches above grade.  We completed the stem wall with natural stone and a basic cement mortar.

 On day 2 we began mixing cob by foot. The mix was 2:1. 2 buckets of a sharp sand (here manufactured sand because it is very sharp and will hold together well) and 1 bucket of clay. Add water to desired consistency. We stomped and pushed the mix until it began to burrito when we lifted the tarp over. Next straw was added. To mix in the straw we used twisting movements.
 The stone was wet with a brush or sponge and cob was laid onto it ensuring a level surface with no slumping shoulders. We left overhang on purpose so that it could be trimmed back to a more level surface and reduce the number of plaster coats required later.
 At the end of the day this "spine and ribs" pattern left on top allowed quicker drying and quicker building the next day. Each day we could plan to build about 2ft higher. If too much wet cob is added the wall may slump and/or fall.
 Here is a gringo block. This wooden block set in the wall allows for attachments. Gringo blocks may be set in a cob wall every 2ft where an interior wall will be to allow for attachment.
 This is a drawing from lecture. On the bottom is a drawing of how to build on cob walls. The center of the three pillars shows shouldering (bad).
 Here Christina is showing window placement with leveling an temporary supports until the windows are cobbed in.  The windows have extra wood on the sides to key into the cob. A lintel will be placed over the windows to spread the load of the roof. Every column of cob that carries a load needs to be at least 2ft.
 Here Christina is showing us "speed cobbing" where someone is throwing her chunks of tractor mixed cob and she is quickly thumbing in large amounts.
 Our wall is growing!
 Gringo blocks are attached to the side of this cabinet that is being cobbed into the wall, saving time and space.  The wooden blocks securely key the cabinet into the cob.

 The back of the cabinet has strings and wood to hold the cob. The smooth wood on the back of the cabinet will not hold the cob as well as the pointy sticks and string.
 The front window area will have a built in bench.
 We stripped, snedded, cleaned, and ground these poles. Then we learned to gouge the rafters to fit onto the main beams.

 Here a cedar post was cut and sanded then oiled with a linseed oil blend to act as a lintel.
 I snuck this picture in from another building. This cob fireplace heated the room on a rainy night and at breakfast the next morning the thermal mass of the fireplace and the roof were still letting off heat even though the building had open doors and windows. Here we worked on a cob floor and laid some earthen tile into the cob as well.

 The bench and window area with lintels. I got to put in a shallow niche for some unsuspecting window bench reader to place her coffee on in the future.
My first niche!
 This is where we got! Looking beautiful.
This workshop was a great experience and I plan to be blogging soon about my cob adventures at moonCatlife!

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

back in The blog

After taking a hiatus I will be blogging again soon. There is much to catch up on and many new developments at moonCat.

I am collaborating with Sarah Haas to put together a tire pounding party on September 21 & 22 of this year. We will be giving a talk together at the Moline Club Independent Scholars evening on September 12.

Sarah is here at moonCat exploring intentional community with us on her travels for her Raw Art Tour. She is an inspiring movement artist who shares our passion for sustainability and natural health.

Check out her video and the link to Sarah's website at:

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/raw-art-tour-phase-2

http://www.sarahhaas-rawart.com/