Work continues: packing walls

Although it has been 7 months since I last posted, things have continued here on Cedar Ridge Farm. There is always something to do. When I last posted, my hope was to continue working on the house during the winter. That plan, however, didn’t really pan out, even with a heat source in the house. Nevertheless, since spring has arrived, the boys and I have been working on it.

The primary task we are focusing on right now is getting the rest of the interior walls packed with straw. Once they are packed, we will move on to things like plastering and plumbing. There is still a lot to do in order to be able to move in, but we’re hopeful that we will be able to get things completed by this fall.

Today, we finished packing the mudroom walls and the upper portion of the last wall to be completed in the master bedroom. Previously, we packed the walls in the laundry room.

Currently, downstairs we have to pack the wall between the bathrooms (part of this wall is packed), the two walls in the hallway (pantry and main bathroom walls), and one section of wall near the back door. There is still one room upstairs that needs the walls packed. Our current schedule is to work full days on the house three days a week. It is possible that we’ll have the walls all packed in a couple of weeks. It’s not a hard job; it just takes time. I still need to make an informative video on slip straw.

Here are some photos of what we accomplished today:

First smoke–building the chimney part 2

After getting started on the chimney nearly a month ago, I continued to work on it as the weather permitted and as I had time. The first day on my own, I was able to install the thimble where the stove pipe will connect on the inside, and I was able to continue above it a few courses. The next day required cutting a hole in the roof and extending the chimney above the house.

I was able to take the chimney high enough above the roof that day so that I could flash around it, just in case it decided to rain. For flashing, I used aluminum flashing material that I already had. I put a piece across the front, pieces up each side, and a piece across the back of the chimney. Also, when laying the bricks, I etched the mortar for step flashing on the sides and for the flashing on the back. Based upon a recommendation, I used polyurethane caulk to seal the edges of the flashing and underneath it.

As the chimney continued to build high, it became necessary to set up scaffolding in order to keep it going. I nailed some 2x8s together, leveled up this framework on the roof in front of the chimney, tied it to the portion of the chimney already constructed so that it couldn’t slip out of place, and set up a section of scaffolding on top. This worked out very well. I was able to build the chimney nine feet above the roof with this one section of scaffolding.

I debated making the chimney only 7 feet above the roof, but finally decided on going the full 9 feet. I figured it would be easier to add the extra section of liner and bricks now than it would be to do it later on if it became necessary.

Finally, on October 11, I finished the chimney. It is 20 feet tall, extending from first floor level in the house (it stands on its own foundation). On that day, I laid 14 courses of brick and capped it with mortar around the last few inches of the clay liner. I took down the scaffolding, finished the little bit of flashing that I hadn’t completed (some step flashing on the east side), added a little more polyurethane caulk, and took some photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the end of last week, Dad and Danny helped me get the wood stove I’ve had in the garage for the last several years (it’s one we heated our current home with for a couple of winters after we first moved here) into my truck and on the porch of the new house. Today, Ramiah cleaned the stove. So, this afternoon, I took it in the house and connected it to the chimney.

With the stove hooked up, I decided to build a small fire to inaugurate the chimney. So, this evening, we had first smoke in the new chimney. It was exciting!

Building the chimney (part 1)

Yesterday, a good friend came over to help me begin building the chimney for the house. Previously, I poured a footer and built a block foundation for it, but I hadn’t started on the actual chimney yet. Although I’ve read a little about how to lay brick, I wasn’t quite sure about tackling the project by myself. So, I asked David if he would help since he has laid brick on many different jobs in the past. He was glad to assist.

David showed me the basic technique, which for this job is not too difficult. I’ve laid a few concrete blocks with mortar in the past, and this brick work was easier, as far as I’m concerned. The biggest concern is keeping things level and plumb as it goes up. We used levels to check things on each course. My biggest concern is going straight up to the hole I have cut in the ceiling through which the chimney is supposed to go. We seem to be on line for that.

We put a clean out access door near the floor. I’m not sure how the door I bought for this purpose was intended to be attached, but we figured out how to get the job done.

The thimble for the stove pipe coming from the stove will be just above the narrow window which is on the wall that will be behind the stove. By the time we finished yesterday, we were at that level which is about seven feet off of the floor, having set the flue liner with the hole for the thimble.

I’ll finish the chimney during the next couple of weeks, depending on the weather. It’s been kind of wet here for a few days which isn’t good for laying brick outside. I’ll need to push it through the roof next, so I will be working on the outside. It’ll be interesting laying the bricks as the chimney goes through the ceiling and roof area, but I’ll manage.

I’m happy with how it’s looking. I bought these bricks mainly because the brick place was selling them at clearance price, trying to sell their remaining stock. I ended up buying them for less than 15 cents apiece (less than half price). However, seeing them as they become a chimney, I like how they look really well. It’s going to be a nice looking chimney.

More slip straw

As I’m able, I continue to work on the house. There are many different projects to keep me busy, of course. As things come together, even though there is a lot yet to do, I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We will get it done and be able to move in sometime.

On the first day this week, three families came over to help pack straw in some of the interior walls. We really appreciate their willingness to help. We all enjoy spending time together.

There are still several walls to be packed before they’re all done, but we made some good progress. We packed the wall behind the stairs, the wall on the kitchen side of the pantry, part of one wall in the hallway, and half of another wall in Robert’s room.

One of the most time consuming aspects of slip straw is moving the forms, but there’s no way around that. It’s actually a fairly simple process, and it makes a nice product.

Ceilings

As I took lumber that’s been stacked in the barn for the last five years to have it milled into flooring and began to see how much (or little) I actually had, I began to think about one of my plans. I’ve been planning on putting up a wood ceiling in the kitchen, mudroom, laundry room, and Robert’s room (the room that was going to be the sewing room/study but which we redesigned to be a guest room – Robert is a friend for whom it is currently intended). But, as I saw my supply of wood diminish, and knowing that I have need for more dry boards for base board, moldings, cabinets, doors, etc., I felt a need to explore other options.

I finally decided to put up drywall ceilings in these areas. I will paint them with the same clay paint that I will make for the other walls. It should make these areas brighter than they would’ve been otherwise, and it preserves my other wood pile near the garage for some of the other needs I anticipate.

So, earlier this week, I brought home enough drywall for the ceilings that needed done. I also bought some moisture resistant green board drywall and insulation for completing the root cellar.

I spent time this week putting up ceilings and was able to get them all up by yesterday afternoon. I also had time to begin taping and mudding seams in the kitchen before it was time to quit yesterday. As I like to have it happen, the only waste from the sheets of drywall I bought were small pieces and one piece about 3 feet by 4 feet.

Getting muddy again: plaster and slip straw

There are many different projects to work on in the house. I have the luxury of focusing on just one thing or working on several at any particular time. Sometimes, diversity is nice. It’s also nice to get a particular project or focus completed.

When I got the bags of clay for the finish plaster moved into the house, I mixed up a small batch to put on a wall in order to see how it will look. Because it is powdered clay, it feels very different from the material we’ve been working with that we dug out of the ground. It’s fluffy. I mixed the small batch in a bucket and applied it with a trowel on the living room wall which I had previously plastered (the slip straw wall).

I screened the sand through a window screen to remove the larger grains/small rocks. I mixed it at roughly two parts sand to one part clay. When wet, the plaster is gray in color. As it started to dry, I buffed it with a plastic lid cut out of a yogurt container. This helps to push the grains of sand into the plaster and make it smoother.

It turned out well. Once it dried, it was no longer gray but, rather, white, like it was supposed to be. It was a thin layer of plaster, and I didn’t get it all applied as evenly as I would like. There are areas with a different texture because I wet the trowel to try to help spread it a little more in places. These areas have a different feel and look than the other areas. That’s okay. This was a test patch to learn from. I’m thinking I’ll make an alis (a clay paint) to go over all of the walls when done. The alis will have wheat/flour paste as one of the ingredients to help give it a non-dusting texture. It doesn’t dust badly without it, but you can rub of clay if you try.

Last week, I felt like playing in the mud some more. So, I mixed and applied three batches of plaster to the bales on the front wall of the house, from where I left off on the wall that will be behind the wood stove to the corner of the living room. This coat uses a high clay content plaster and has to be worked into the bales. It’s applied by hand and actually feels good. It was neat to work the plaster around the curves near and above the windows and begin to see the look of plastered straw bale walls in the house.

You can see the plastering job in these photos. When they were taken, the plaster wasn’t completely dry yet. That’s why there are dark areas. I’m looking forward to applying the second coat which will begin to smooth out the walls and fill in the depressions and irregularities that are evident with the first coat. One of the things I did before I started to plaster was to nail a 1x2.5 inch board at the base of the wall. The plaster will come out flush with the board near the floor. Then, once the finished floor is installed, I will have a surface to nail base board to.

Earlier this week, the boys and I packed some slip straw in the girls room which is upstairs on the east end of the house. Earlier this summer, we had packed most of the walls in this room, but there were a few places that we didn’t get done and hadn’t finished yet. One of the things I’ve learned about slip straw is that the thicker the clay slip mixture, the stronger the wall. Previously, we’ve used some slip that would’ve made better walls if it had been thicker (more clay in it). They are all okay, I think, but the areas we packed using more clay in the slip are more dense and tight. I think I ought to do a video on slip straw…

We packed the closet walls which are on either side of the window on the north side of the room. I’ve imagined this window having a dormer-like feel because of how the walls will be, and it does. The closets also seem quite nice. They’re about 3.5 feet wide, and each upstairs bedroom will have two.

While I was working on another project later in the week, Ramiah decided to pack some on the storage room wall on the east side upstairs above the living room. He mixed the slip and straw, put the forms on, packed, and moved the forms all on his own. I think he did a great job and am very proud of him.

Material accumulation

One of the things I’ve been doing recently is accumulating material for tasks to be completed on the house. Earlier this spring, I hauled some boards to a friend for him to plane them and tongue-and-groove them. These boards will become the finished floor in the house. A couple of weeks ago I took the rest of the boards to him and picked up the first half which he had gotten done. They’re now stacked inside the house awaiting the time when we’ll be ready to put them down. I’m sure I’ll have to move them a time or two as dictated by other jobs in the house before we actually begin installing the floor.

The flooring is oak and beech. The beech has a lot of character, including some spalting, in it. The oak overall is nice. The second set of boards to be done appeared to be of better quality than the first set. I also purchased about 300 square feet of maple flooring from a family that had some left over when they had new floor installed in their house. You can see the stacks of flooring in the photo to the left. The oak is in the living room and the other is in the kitchen/dining area.

Another item now residing inside the house is 20 bags of number 6 tile kaolin clay to be used for the finished plaster on the interior walls. You can see some of the bags stacked near the flooring in the kitchen/dining area in the photo above. I wasn’t sure how much I would actually need, so I ordered 2,000 pounds of it. I figured it was better to have too much than too little. I ordered the clay from Kentucky Mudworks which is located in Lexington. They have a special deal for in-state shipping. I met the truck in town to get the pallet loaded with the 20 50 pound bags of clay.

Several weeks ago I also bought bricks, mortar, and clay liner for building the chimney. I have yet to construct the chimney, though. The brick and flue liner are still on the trailer which is parked near the house. The bags of mortar are stored on the porch where they will not get wet.

I also have paint for painting the house. I needed to get some for painting the fascia boards before gutters are installed. So, I purchased enough to paint the whole house when we can.

(Examples of the flooring: beech in left photo, oak in right.)