November

Bucks and box beam in place ready for the bales. Basically the bucks provide a space for the window jams and the beam is cranked down on top of the bale wall to provide structural integrity. Our technique of having the beam in situ first is a little unusual (the Australian method as opposed to the Amercian apparently; Craig and i just figured it out ourselves!) as usually the required height of the bucks are estimated first and then packers used to fill a gap if required. This is really a very brief and some what poor description but any strawbale book/site details it so well that i just slacked off here! Sorry!

Pergola poles. The roughest looking landscaping ones turned out fantastic; and finished my shoulder off in the process!. Thus here's ends my involvement presently and Nicky has leapt into my shoes very enthusiastically along with..........



Enter Olly and Rich; the two responsible for the fresh burst of energy on site. I think i mixed concrete and lifted hardwood poles as enthusiastically as them once! But seriously, i've been battling with a shoulder injury for several weeks so have decided that i needed some time out. Nicky's been waiting for an opportunity to become involved; and is so far really enjoying it. She's been busy mixing (and colouring) concrete for the internal wall and (guess what!) staining weaterboards. I, on the other hand, am completly exhausted by the children!

Re-enter the 'folly' into the budget. Looks great but has already taken a heap of time and will take some more yet! Stage one; paper and battens. We are using cavibats (http://www.cavibat.co.nz/) to avoid treated timber ones. WE couldn't afford 'Proclima' paper (http://www.proclima.co.nz/)(although it appears fantastic) so used Tekton instead. There'll be plenty more aout the folly so i'll stop here. Also i'm Dad presently so haven't a clue about what's going on anyway!


A couple of interesting issues here. Basically we had planned for a masonry or earth wall here for passive solar gain. Then changed the room dimensions and thought we'd save time/money by having a framed wall instead.

However we have always loved the idea of a masonry heater (http://www.amazon.com/Book-Masonry-Stoves-Rediscovering-Warming/dp/1890132098 (inspirational book)). A friend attended a course last year at a friends strawbale house in Alexandra by one of the foremost heater builders in the States (http://mainewoodheat.com/). Unsure as to whether we would require or even afford one we just made up the foundation (bottom left in pic). A corner of framed walls is over it but has be built so that it can be altered around the heater if and when. A bit of futureproofing i guess. So we then realised that we should have more thermal mass afterall in the room. Out comes the sabresaw (first time as yet!), a bit of cutting, boxing, and mixing et viola, a mass wall within a framed wall that will be hidden behind a thin layer of plaster.