After completing the “wall move” we moved to the hallway to convert the gaping hole in the wall into a window frame: This was put off until we decided on what kind of window. We finally resolved that and I could build a frame to build in and around: All this time the rain was […]
Summer Kitchen Renovation Part7: Window, Roof, Window Read More »
It hasn’t stopped raining since we took down the roof so we focused solely on completing the “wall moving”. Now that the roof was out of the way and we were moving up the wall we could tamp the earthbags from above, standing on the remaining walls and beams. I had just removed the rain
Summer Kitchen Renovation Part6: Cob Wall Moved Read More »
After last year’s preparations (a bit of deconstruction, preparing for water and electricity, installing an electric post and reconnecting electricity), this spring we started renovating. I’ve been less regular about pictures so this is an overview of what we’ve been doing. We stripped the small “porch” of its flimsy wooden covering and window. Given our
Summer Kitchen Renovation Part5: Moving a Cob Wall Read More »
Dear friends, In 2017-2018 we built our cellar from earth bags. It was mostly the two of us (Iulia and Ronen)… helped along the way a bit by volunteers and friends. We learned a lot, people started to ask questions. This is how Iulia started the Romania: EarthBags Building / Constructii din saci umpluti cu
[Webinar] Building with Earthbags: our experience with the cellar Read More »
I recently encountered these two videos which gave good visual demonstrations of things I’d read about but not understood as well as I wanted to. The first video demonstrates the lime-cycle. I’ve tried to wrap my head around this numerous times but had a hard time doing so without a background in chemistry. This video
… and from the same sweet youtube channel as yesterday’s lime plastering video comes this demonstration of clay sculpting:
Continuing the beautiful work done with clay plaster … this time with lime. I was surprised to see powdered lime being used instead of matured putty (though I’m guessing you can use putty instead … if you have it) … I wonder how it will hold up over time. One advantage, at least for us,
Polished Lime Plaster Read More »
The exposed parts of the cellar retaining walls were in dire need of attention: The lime finishing experiment was informative but not holding up to the elements. The incomplete water-shed umbrella meant that water was collecting into the retaining walls and together with the clay soils exerting pressure on the retaining walls. That pressure met
Reinforcing Cellar Retaining Walls Read More »
A few days after completing the post the guys from the electric company came out to do their part. They were quick … done in less than two hours. They put in the new electric box and moved the meter into it: … and moved the main supply wires from the summer kitchen to the
Summer Kitchen Renovation Part4: Electricity Read More »
Sukita wrote “the book” on earth floors and it was sweet to watch her at work in this short video demonstrating the making of an earth floor:
Earthen Floors with Sukita Reay Read More »
Our connection to the electric company currently runs through the summer kitchen and from there to the house. It is embedded in the structure. The main above-ground cable runs from the road to a post sticking out of the summer kitchen roof. (top foreground) A main cut-off switch is installed on the outside wall (bottom
Summer Kitchen Renovation Part3: Electric Post Read More »