Last Week In Mansfield

Hooray! The final week of our job in Mansfield is upon us (I know I said the same thing last week but these jobs inevitably blow out by a few days. The seven niches in the job, which have to be charged as extras, took a minimum of three hours each, which adds up to a bit over two days labour for one person, and the first four weeks of rendering we had to cart water to the site, which took 45 mins per day for one person, about 12 hours all up – so it all adds up!

 

Because of the fairly high quality of the work done on our current job, and the unique finish we get with lime renders, the builder in control of the job has asked us to quote some rendering of brickwork on his own house and small extension in the township of Mansfield.

I’ve often rendered internal walls in strawbale houses where the owner or designer has specified walls in brick to provide thermal mass, and it’s nice to know that the finish on the brickwork can be done to match the render on the inside of the strawbale walls. Of course, after rendering, the walls can then be painted, lime washed, wall papered, whatever you like!

The finished render on Stephen and Fiona’s job looks pretty classy, and we’re very proud of it. We’ll post lots more photos’ of the job after the clean up is done, and as soon as the whole job is complete, with furniture, cabinets and kids!

 

Until next time,

Hooroo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mansfield June 6

 

 

 

Well, it’s the final week of our job at Mansfield, and I must say I’m looking forward to spending some time at home. We’ve been working away for about 5months now, and I’ve got to admit, it’s getting a wee bit tedious. Our youngest daughter, who’ll be turning one in July, took her first steps a few weeks ago, and I wasn’t there to see it.

Anyway, that’s enough of my tale of woe, let’s talk about building!

Over the past month or so, we’ve had a rash of enquiries about building in strawbale from the Yarra Valley, many of them from people who are looking for a competent designer who knows a bit about strawbale. The only job I’ve worked on even remotely near the Yarra Valley was at Kinglake West, about 5 or 6 years ago, and I can’t even remember the client’s name, let alone who designed it.

If any folk out there are in the process of building or planning a Strawbale home and have been satisfied with the job of their architect, designer or draftsperson, I would seriously appreciate it if they could drop me a line and let me know some details!

Similarly, If you’re a designer who is strawbale savvy, or even if you’re just interested in giving strawbale a whirl and would like to know more, drop me a line, as I’m interested in building up a database of names and contact details to pass on to interested parties.

Of course, this doesn’t only apply to the Yarra Valley, but anywhere in Victoria, New South Wales or South Australia, which is pretty much the limit, area wise, that I can cover without my traveling costs becoming prohibitive.

Any input from interested parties would be most welcome!

We’re also compiling a list of strawbale friendly tradespeople, and though this is a long and arduous process, soon we’ll be able to pass on details of builders, plumbers, electricians etc who are competent and keen in dealing with ‘alternative materials’ in general, but strawbale in particular.

Ok. We’ve got a lot of enquiries to answer via email so it’s bye for now!

 

Here’s a couple of photos taken during the week to give you an idea of where we are at.

Photo 1: North facing – Big double doors to the kids bedrooms for passive solar heat gain. Note how lovely and straight the corners are!!

 

 

Photo 2: The same doorway and the two next to it, from outside, looking at the north facing wall. Note that with only 2 and a half weeks to go until the shortest day of the year, almost all of the doorway is in full sun, giving the greatest solar passive heat gain.

Mansfield Update June 1st

On our current job in Mansfield, Fiona has requested seven niches be put into the strawbale walls. These look great if they’re done pretty neatly, but can look pretty rugged if you don’t pay close attention.

Fiona has two totally different looks in mind – one is the classic look for a niche in a strawbale wall, about 350mm – 400mm high, arched top, flat back and a little sill on the front, projecting about 50mm or so from the surface of the wall, while the others are square, again with a flat back, and no projecting sill – a much more modern look.

 

 

The first photograph here shows the first of the arched niches after it’s been cut out of the wall and first coated. I’ve always cut them out of the straw wall, after compression, with a 100mm angle grinder, but it can also be done with a chainsaw.

ALWAYS TAKE EXTREME CARE – it doesn’t matter how long it takes to perform this part of the job as long as you’re in one piece when it’s finished. It’s dangerously easy to hit a piece of baling twine inside the wall, causing the grinder or saw to get very out of control very quickly. If possible, cut through the twine, grab it with a pair of pliers and pull the whole length out of the wall – it won’t make a bit of difference to the wall, as it’s all compressed by the wire and gripples. Generally, the baling twine is positioned 100-130 mm from the surface of the bale, so cut your way into the bale for 100mm or so, and then poke around with your fingers or a knife until you find it. It’ll make a quite distinctive ‘pop’ when you cut it, and then it can be pulled out from around the bale. Don’t forget that each string will have a corresponding one on the bale above or below it. Depending on the position of the niches in the wall, you’ll also have to be aware of where the trench-mesh reinforcing is, as hitting the mesh with a chainsaw will ruin the chain in seconds. If the mesh is in the wall where the niche needs to be, make sure the wall surrounding the niche has a good heavy first coat of render on it, then cut through the mesh with a small angle-grinder. If the straw inside the niche does happen to catch fire, just pat it out with a rag and keep going, the render on the wall surrounding it will prevent the flames spreading up the wall. Contrary to popular belief, it’s almost impossible to burn a strawbale wall once it’s been rendered – even if it’s only first coated.

After cutting out the basic shape of the niche, it’s then coated with render in the usual way, taking care to ‘evolve’ the shape of the niche required as you go. The final shaping and finishing are done with a plasterer’s small tool and a damp sponge.

Our second photograph shows a finished niche in an east-facing wall, which looks somewhat gritty due to the flatness of the light; however, it will finish up smooth with a good coat of lime wash or lime paint.  

Until next week,

Hooroo,

Mark