tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16680353260483404572024-02-02T14:16:06.481-08:00Pentiddy HousebuildThe story of a roundwood timber cruck frame straw bale house build in Pensilva, Cornwall. An earnest attempt at a building made for the 21st Century, including it's trials and tribulations!Pentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-64001547240150200832018-01-16T00:00:00.000-08:002019-01-13T23:49:10.911-08:00Problems with picturesFor a while and due to Photobucket changing their policies about using pictures on third party pages all of the original photos on our blog were no longer showing correctly.<br />
<br />
Apologies for this.<br />
<br />
Photobucket have thankfully come up with a solution to the problem and have watermarked each picture. I hope this does not detract from the content and you can still enjoy the story of the trials and tribulations of the house build here at Pentiddy.<br />
<br />
We are no longer updating this blog, but instead have a new newsletter- <a href="http://www.pentiddy.co.uk/newsletter" target="_blank">here</a> <br />
<br />
Regards to all, and thanks for reading the blog.<br />
<br />
AnthonyPentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-73490568503486860642016-02-21T03:47:00.002-08:002019-05-05T04:11:46.382-07:00A long overdue updateIt's now a very long time since the house warming party, and I feel maybe it is time to conclude this blog and move on to new things.<br />
<br />
A lot has happened since the last time I posted- so I'll try and tackle them in some sort of order......<br />
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Outdoor structures</b></span></h2>
<h3>
<b>Veranda</b></h3>
We have now finished the construction of the veranda deck and roof around the front of the house and this is such a lovely place to sit and relax (or so I'm led to believe!)<b>. </b><br />
The shaded part of the roof from our previous experience was necessary for the hot weather and has proved to serve the purpose of providing us a cooler shady spot during the hottest part of the sunnier days. Our old sofa has found a home out here too.<br />
The plastic roofing sheets are not pretty really, but functional. They have however proved to be quite brittle and already have a few holes to repair due to over enthusiastic stone throwing, the odd thing dropped from bedroom windows etc....<br />
The planting along the front of the veranda includes things like a climbing rose, a thornless blackberry and grape vines. The intention is that they grow up and once again help to provide shade during the summer, and hopefully a crop too. These and the other planting also serve to visually soften the transition between the garden and house.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Compost Toilet (Poo Palace)</b></h3>
The new compost loo has now been built and is in use.<br />
It has been dubbed the Poo Palace by a few friends. I had great fun building it- particularly the scissor truss roof, which gives it an unusual curved shape.<br />
It is a standard two chamber design with a urine diverter. The chambers should take at least a years worth of deposits, so allowing plenty of composting time before emptying. I have installed a small ventilation system to remove moisture from the chambers- two computer fans run off a small photovoltaic panel.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Vegetable garden</b></h3>
The veg garden has also had a bit of a makeover- an extension and new fencing, new path system and bed layout, and a cherry tree on a little sitting plinth to encourage Ele to sit down every once in a while!<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Forest garden</b></h3>
Ele has also started the process of creating the forest garden in front of the house. It is slow due to our plans for a swimming pond....see the section lower down the post.<br />
The idea of a forest garden is to mimic a wild system so to plant all layers from the mycorrhizal and ground cover up to the tree layer optimising their beneficial relationships and selecting useful/beneficial/edible plants. It takes years for the system to establish properly, but a start has been made. The main thing I have particularly enjoyed this year though is some colour- flowers in front of the house.<br />
<h3>
Natural Swimming pond</h3>
Well, of all the things that could possibly have made life any better here, it was the thought of being able to strip off and jump into our own natural swimming pond. Whilst this is actually largely a luxury installation, the nature of the construction means a whole host of wildlife habitats are also created.<br />
We are planning to start this at the end of March this year (now 2016!).<br />
<h3>
<b>Scything</b></h3>
I'm not really sure this fits in the outdoor structures section really, but Adeon and I have got well into scythes and scything- the garden and much of the hay we make is cut this way now. Adeon even has a rather special scything medal from the Scythe fair last year...<br />
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Other News</b></span></h2>
<h3>
<b>A sad loss - R.I.P Stanley</b></h3>
Yes, I'm sorry to break the news but our beloved Stanley range sprung a leak in the boiler and being an early 60's built range this was the seal to his fate. In some respects he owes us nothing, but it's been a little bit of an interesting process working out what to replace him with.<br />
<br />
Timing was not great- just before house sitters were coming to look after the place whilst we went on our family holiday for a week. No hot water- sorry guys! On the other hand though it was August so at least it was not needed to heat the house....<br />
<br />
With lots of research and lots of help from a local friend who has proved invaluable (Thanks again Paul) we finally bought a second hand Rayburn supreme through e-bay and arranged to ship it from Wales to Cornwall. It was delivered whilst we were away, so it was sat outside the front door when we returned from the Lake District.<br />
<br />
Now things surprisingly were not as straightforward as they could have been. The Stanley has a 5" flue, and the new Rayburn a 6" flue..... it soon became apparent that this was not a good state of affairs as it is not possible to step downwards, only upwards in flue size. This, and the position of the flue on the Rayburn (right hand instead of centre- left would have been perfect) made an interesting puzzle to solve. The inlet and outlet for the back boiler also were in different positions- to the left of the Rayburn instead of the rear on Stanley, and at different heights. Before committing to the plumbing and flueing of the Rayburn we decided to look again at what was available and whether we could get another range with a 5" flue. Stanley seems to be fairly unique here it
seems. <br />
<br />
In the end it was decided to plumb it and flue it into the 5" flue as a temporary measure mainly to see how it would function, as one concern was that it would produce too much hot water and boil the cylinder.<br />
<br />
I have to say I'm impressed! We can boil a kettle on the hotplate (Stanley needed an hours notice...) and the oven is easier to control. The firebox is large, and seems to be very efficient. although we have not had the stove lit for more than 12 or so hours in any one go- the water temperature is not excessive, and again seems easily controlled.<br />
<br />
We'll keep the Rayburn, but this means upgrading the flue right up through- a pain, and an expense, but we will be able to use the 5" flue system for the intended small glass fronted burner going in the lounge at a later date (once I've worked out how to install the flue so it doesn't get in the way upstairs!)<br />
<h3>
<b>Finding Pentiddy</b></h3>
So
throughout the build process other areas of Pentiddy have been neglected
somewhat, and one major task this year has been to prevent the whole
place disappearing under a blanket of brambles- Scythe with a
ditch-blade to the rescue! Nature is amazing and we obviously rely
heavily on it to do it's thing. I find it fascinating the different
tactics plants use to gain an advantage and I have a respect for the
bramble- such a vigorous and successful plant. Me and my scythe (and
various helpers) have non-the-less managed to keep significant areas at
bay, though there always seems to be another patch to tackle....<br />
<h3>
<b>Physic Garden</b></h3>
Another development is the use of one area below the house where we previously grazed the sheep and we have our apple trees.<br />
<br />
A friend approached us to see if she could use a part of Pentiddy to
create a Physic garden, and after some discussion and wanderings she has
taken on this area. It is very early days and it will take some time
before we see anything major happening here, but we have found that
having someone else basically responsible for an area of the site feels
really nice!<br />
<br />
We wish Janice all the best for her project.<br />
<h3>
The Party Venue</h3>
It has become evident that we have a rather special party venue here, and last summer we made use of this with several quite large gatherings. August always seems to be a social month- and last year started with Canoryon Lowen, the choir Ele sings in, coming here for a visit, a barbecue and a sing. We had a lovely evening with decommissioned Stanley being lit outdoors to keep food warm.<br />
<br />
Following this, wonderful friends from earlier in the build process came to visit. <br />
Beth and Oz, and their son Odis came down from Yorkshire and stayed for a week, and whilst they were here we invited Duncan with his partner Jodi, Becky and her family were also here from Germany, and Dave came and joined the party too. A very social and merry week we all had and it was so good to see them all.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Animals</b></span></b></h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">We have always had animals as part of Pentiddy, and have learnt lots from keeping them. We have had at different times kept sheep, hens, cats, ferrets and ducks. Our menagerie includes sheep, which are now a mix of hebridean and welsh black, Willow our lovely ginger cat, and two new additions- kittens Torak and (cat)astrophe</span><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">. </span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Oh, and we have a colony of bees moved into an area behind the cladding of house!</span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">We will soon bring </span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;">khaki</span><b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> campbell ducks back in and</span> </b>we have created a new enclosure for them below the garden in the
orchard area. We have had, and lost 7 ducks this year (although some were still able to be put in the freezer). The fence needs a
re-work to stop the Fox taking our lovely waddling friends.<br />
<br />
<h3>
What Next?</h3>
Apart from the construction of the swimming pond, our aim from this point on is to open Pentiddy to more activities, more visits, more sharing and learning and to take some time to stop. Stop and appreciate what we have here in this lovely place.<br />
This post is by means of conclusion to the house-build blog, and I will not be posting any more here. <br />
A new Pentiddy 'Newsletter' blog has been set up and if you are interested please subscribe to it. Visit www.pentiddy.co.uk/pentiddywoods and scroll to the bottom of the page to enter your e-mail.<br />
<br />
Thanks for the support all of you have given, and thank you for reading.<br />
<br />
Anthony<br />
<br />Pentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-81402648551692814502014-09-24T23:59:00.000-07:002014-09-24T23:59:53.361-07:00It started before all the wood and straw<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>The housewarming last weekend was incredibly special and we're only sorry that we could not invite everyone. The following poem (assisted by the wonderful Dave!) is our tribute to <u>all</u> who have been involved.</b></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Despite the things we
didn’t know, we foolishly said “let’s give it a go.”</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Way back before all the
wood and the straw
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
With family and friends
with us right from the start</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We plotted and planned,
and followed our hearts</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Then came Pentiddy, the
place of adventures</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We had no idea then of
where it would take us</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Not grade A chestnut,
but rather poor land</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Even back then nothing
went as we planned</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
From that point to
here’s been a zig zaggy path</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
With up hills and down
hills and one or two laughs</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Elowen and Adeon both
joined the team</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
And trees in their
thousands took root like our dreams</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
And now we stand here
thanks to help we’ve received</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Without you our hopes
for a house would be sunk</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So thank you, and join
us, be merry, get drunk</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
But before you get
pissed,
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
here’s a list of the
heroes who’ve helped on the way</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
From way back before
the foundations were laid</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Right through to today
where we’ll sing dance and play</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There were:</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Researchers, designers,
planners and bloggers</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Diggers and drillers,
millers and loggers</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jointers and slaters
raisers and roofers</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
An endless succession
of marvellous wwoofers</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Spanish, Italians,
French and the Germans</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Scottish, American,
Dutch and the Belgians</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mexican, Irish
Australian, Canadians</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
All taking tales home
of Pentiddy crazy ones</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Plasterers and
strippers some puddling clay</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
From the look on their
face you’d know it’s not play</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Short stayers, long
timers, first timers too</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Some of them even knew
what they should do</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The injured and
pregnant, lathers and laughers</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
People who didn’t
mind climbing on rafters</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Or scaling great
heights on the scaffolding poles</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
While ignoring the fact
that the planks were quite old</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The limers and rhymers
and limers and limers</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
And limers and limers
and limers and limers and...
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Dave wrote this bit,
poor chap’s still in care</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
On mention of lime gets
a thousand yard stare</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Neighbours and friends,
our nearest and dearest</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Crossword champions,
conspiracy theorists</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Chess players,
jugglers, tea brewers and drinkers</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Singers and dancers,
doers and thinkers</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Through times of great
stress there were shoulders to cry on</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
When plans were a mess
there were friends to rely on</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Storm kettle lighters,
cookers and chefs</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
And some with a tea
towel to clear up the mess</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Now time to get soppy,
the bit we all hate</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Thank you’s
inadequate, for folks who’re so great</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
A party’s a start but
not really enough</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
For all you good folk
who’ve given so much</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Your friendship, your
love, support and much more</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Means that today is the
day we can open the doors</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Of what we’ve created
together right here</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So it’s almost the
time to raise up a beer</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Through slipping time
scales, and storm soggied bales</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The good times and bad
all flavour the tales</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Of all of you friends
who’ve been part of it all</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The stories we’ve
shared will live on in these walls</div>
Pentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-17984647083307313032013-12-16T13:59:00.000-08:002013-12-16T13:59:44.000-08:00We're in - warm and cosy!<br />
This is the pivotal moment of every build. The moment when the 'project' becomes a 'home'<br />
<br />
THE MOVING IN<br />
<br />
Ah, what a joy! What a pressure removed! What a relief!<br />
<br />
Yes, of course we're not finished, not even close really, but the lions' share is done.<br />
<br />
So.... without further ado, I guess a few pictures are needed!<br />
<br /><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhdNmMHfNN_UwPIK5_ZYSzVOXwQdHB2xmXRSx7zR3TbwWZaMnWSW7-zIOmdELxjgW02ED7JeOeBx9V0q0xtmyYfgUjjX_EcrEGizIy8hCagEHXrj66lPARCX3VWd8Nyp4338qkMQSelq0cSNgMCMomojRMXwxZQC_7M-53fSI2KYIDqJf_1z3Xs5kxVMsgSY_k=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/PC070157_zps06a48cc4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Adeon's cave - soon to have cave paintings on the walls</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/PC070151_zps14539e3a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/PC070151_zps14539e3a.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Space to get out both sides!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/PC070147_zpsaa6bfeac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/PC070147_zpsaa6bfeac.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Indoor trampoline in Elowen's room - apparently!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhEwYVqeE3cIoDOp6NKsaqIWt0ZJBa_d2OchX6ERKf0sssgNZb9IXi2RZbkN3-0MFWrZ8QqVTah8ZXBF-SbAa9rn9h314Sy94ogBcbQoGhIhsp04py1hjDV7weUK8QDKOCVndPQztBOzRXmsjyXynlxV95OPbjRJllJfuATPmVXuEaeg4c7l0O4CGN0qOalpI0=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/PC070156_zpse14b7af1.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/PC070156_zpse14b7af1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">and another in Adeon's room</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/PC070160_zps0c1ac895.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/PC070160_zps0c1ac895.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">and a climbing frame</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/PC070141_zps234969af.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/PC070141_zps234969af.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">beautifully unfinished stairs</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjY51sDcLgB3zcPjeGS4k2KvMt5xMg7ih-fn0Ph12AQ0wzPIsmRT0iwUvFk-LI-AAUq-RjGHT4a1dRDGlfn8SvylPkps3hc6Pb0-o4QM3mhxnh6QdWA0E2JMYAm8lUM9p-e0XR0S2HRMyIuRQxnnIWE26r002L5CbOvZPZ5-ZR3KTwVI9dcViyuuna6Woishl4=" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/PC070152_zps6f072d49.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">best bedroom view. Sunrises galore!</span></td></tr>
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Living here is blissful! Although some of our
possessions are still to come down from the mobile home, we can walk
around without tripping over stuff and the children are thoroughly
enjoying being less restricted and having mould-free rooms!<br />
<br />
We're delighted with the ease of use the house provides and the fact that this
and pretty much all other aspects of the design are working really well.<br />
<br />
The roof space still has less than half its quota of insulation, but even
so the Stanley range is doing the job of heating the place. We have one
gravity fed radiator in the bathroom and the rest is radiant heat,
assisted by a stove-top fan.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/PC070139_zpsb0cd85b0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/PC070139_zpsb0cd85b0.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">more views to die for and very snuggly!</span></td></tr>
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Power is always more difficult this time of year with short days and
little solar gain and longer evenings requiring lights etc. The house
obviously requires more in the way of lights than the mobile home and we
have had to run the generator for a few hours here and there to boost
the batteries and avoid them being damaged. The plan is to upgrade
slowly though and we'll have more idea what will be required once the
wind generator goes up again and the system is fully wired in.<br />
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The hope was to have more of the outdoor structure in place before the
winter to help better protect the exposed southerly aspect, but this has
been lower on the priority list than many other tasks and has had to be
put off until the spring.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/PC070173_zpsb54dd11a.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/PC070173_zpsb54dd11a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">little boy in HUGE kitchen!</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Meanwhile, slating the kitchen windowsill, building kitchen units and working surfaces and other odd bits which help to make the process of day-to-day life tick over more easily have been the focus. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgxUgo_S77_DEbLQYfymWCsvAXRzqytcnNhIfhemEDOLdO55jcDUV-lZmXszfslGqp1FYMW7_ute3qqzWGaQyWxzMPL5F7EiepRCKW4JV9CKXymNCwKs-qyvkypb70mqDWnqGdcunGxlVBVxOFmbOM7je3My866ibFl7MzGdai3Rx8WnPayIBvJC8X9zifUqJ8=" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/PC070159_zpsf62a2b25.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">cosy bathtub that we know can do all 4 of us at once! </span></td></tr>
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
It's been mentioned that this last push is always difficult, and there is an awful lot to do to get a place habitable. 'Tis true!<br />
<br />
We're however really thrilled to be in and are looking forward to the winter for the first time in quite a few years.<br />
<br />
We would like to thank everyone who has helped us get this far. This includes those sitting in the background with emotional support and encouragement and those who have had a more active hand in the final product. We could not have done this without the amazing amount of time and love people have offered us. A 'hats off' should go to all the volunteers who have lent their time and energy over the years from the original inception of the idea to date. We are excited at the thought of actually venturing out of our inward looking past few years to explore the wider community and lend our knowledge and help to other people venturing into exciting projects of a similar nature.<br />
<br />
Warm winter wishes to you all. Cheers!
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Lots of stuff to mention on this post. A lot of relevant information to share. There have been a few things through the build process that have been 'awkward' and have pushed our time-scales, as well as our patience. The ones that are most significant are the <i>roof structure</i>, the <i>round-wood support beams</i>, the <i>baling</i> and <i>lime/clay/cladding</i> process and specifically the <i>window headers.</i><br />
<br />
I'll talk a little about these in the order we had to tackle them...<br />
<br />
<b>Roof structure</b><br />
<br />
I may have mentioned this as we were framing the roof. The implication of the hip and valleys, the framing, the battening, the slating and the ridge tiles all took far longer with the decision to have this more complex roof shape.<br />
Not that I would change the design mind you, but an appreciation of the impact would have been useful prior to the build.<br />
<br />
<b>Roundwood support beams</b><br />
<br />
These are lovely where they are visible and worth the extra work, but in hindsight I would have used sawn support beams under the ground floor, so each joist would not have had to be individually 'cut in' to the roundwood support.<br />
<br />
<b>The baling</b><br />
<br />
"building a bale wall is quick because they're just really big bricks!"<br />
WRONG! By the time all the bales are sewn to size, packed, compressed as a wall unit it is NOT quick. I'm sure there are ways to speed the process up, but unless you can be incredibly sure of your bales and how they fit, it's always a bit of a game sewing them to size. The final layer of bales (the compression layer) was really difficult and on occasion the air was blue as we fought to get one in place.....!<br />
<br />
<b>The clay, lime and cladding</b><br />
<br />
Again, the impression we had was that this would be a quick 'slap it on' type process. The reality is it takes a long time, especially with a large wall area, and little experience. We have definitely got quicker at all these processes, but it's no 5 minute job.<br />
It is however a very satisfying one. When you get proficient with the materials you are using the job does become quite pleasurable too. But it is worth noting for any would be self-builders out there that it has taken immeasurably longer to complete these elements of the build than we ever imagined....<br />
<br />
<b>Window headers</b><br />
<br />
These have been a right pain in the 'bum'! Part of the problem here was a failure to really plan out and standardise the window openings and the support for the bales above. I am still trying to work out the best plan for this for myself, though I'm sure others have already been through this process already.<br />
Suffice to say I have had a few very frustrating moments when having thought I had just completed a header the part I started with 'flumped' down on to the sill below. (Note the new coinage of the word 'flump'- from the sound clay makes when it falls off a non-adhering surface; to flump; it flumped; flumpage....)<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b>Rustic staircase</b><br />
<br />
I've had great fun with this- back to familiar ol' wood!<br />
It's not been all that straightforward, but it's nice to be working with a familiar material and not having to refer back to books or the internet for 'how to's' all the time.<br />
The regulations however are quite specific and have been referred to since the design stages.<br />
There is a minimum 'going' (tread depth from nose to nose) of 220mm, a maximum rising (top of tread to top of tread) of 220mm, a maximum pitch of 42°, and the equation of 2r+g has to be between 550-700. This plus a 16mm 'nosing' (the overlap from front of tread to back of lower tread) and minimum head clearance of 2m from pitch line (front of noses). There is also a requirement that no gap is greater than 100mm, so open backs on treads need to be filled so they are 99mm or less.<br />
<br />
My stairs have a tread depth of 250mm, a rising of 175mm (which using that old maths stuff works out at tan-1(175/250)=34.99°), and my 2r+g=600.<br />
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We've also just begun top coat lime on the internal stud walls and have ordered the clay topcoat from Clayworks. I'll get some 'photo's up soon on these... keep checking this post as I'm gradually 'filling it out' and updating it.<br />
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Regards to you all<br />
<br />
AnthonyPentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-79160671039998347832013-04-06T09:40:00.002-07:002013-04-06T09:40:55.967-07:00Well plastered!Once more I apologise for this post having taken a while in coming..... I'm sure I have an excuse somewhere...<br />
<br />
<b>Plastering</b><br />
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As the title suggests, we have been doing lots of plastering, clay on walls, and the gypsum on ceilings. We opened up for a 4 day long muck slinging event, and I estimate we had over 50 people come through helping with all tasks of the clay. At the end of it all, we had pretty much all of the downstairs walls scratch-coated and all of upstairs slip-coated.<br />
There are still some awkward bits to sort around some of the windows, but 'tis all coming along very well.<br />
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<br /></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Outdoor kitchen structure</b><br />
<br />
In the submitted plans we have a structure on the west of the main building which will be our 'outdoor' kitchen. This consists of a double pitch roof with a lean-to which effectively extends the verandah roof along the entire south side.<br />
We intend to build a cob oven, and dedicated rocket stoves as well as have a defined fire pit to use for the more clement(?!) 6 months of the year.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/P4060066_zps29b120d5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/P4060066_zps29b120d5.jpg" width="320" /></a>To this end another cruck frame was produced, once more with help from Duncan and also this time with his partner, Jodie and their dog Rudi. (Although Rudi didn't lend a paw of help on the frame, he did enjoy chasing our cat, Willow and eating all of his food!)<br />
<br />
The frame is sat on built-up ground which has been retained using a rammed earth tyre wall. We had fun compacting the pad spots after all the rain- one in particular was very 'spongy' initially, and we had to add quite a bit of dry shillet to finally get a solid base.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cross beam and king post</td></tr>
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<br />
The next task was to tie the frame back to the house with the wall-plates. A little bit of inventive framing then took place to support the house end of the main ridge pole, as there was no easy way of connecting this in the same way. I ended up with a cross beam sitting on the wall-plates and a 'king post' running up to the ridge.<br />
Then came the rafters, and the next task will be to slate the back pitch.<br />
The front pitch is to take the solar water heating panels (see <a href="http://pentiddy.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/background-design.html">previous post</a> about roof angles). I am contemplating building these into the roof structure itself rather than mounting them 'above' the rafters. Effectively what you would see from outside is just the plastic roof sheets (of whatever description we opt for). Whichever way I do these they will be a retro-fit as it's not a priority to have them in place.<br />
<br />
We're hopefully looking forward to a better, drier year as we are still 'aiming' to move in sometime in September or October. Some of the system components, such as the hot water cylinder and main power generation will need to be transferred at some point, which means no running hot water and limited electricity whilst this takes place. Ele's looking forward to that!<br />
<br />
Anyway, 'till next time I find the time to post, regards to you all. <br />
<br />
Anthony Pentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-61712070635548583562013-01-30T13:22:00.000-08:002013-02-02T13:41:58.031-08:00Happy 2013! *Back into the house*Hello all once again,<br />
<br />
It's been really nice to spend some time doing hedges and woodland work here at Pentiddy. It has reminded me of just what we have here and the bigger purpose behind the build. However it has also been nice to get back to the house!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/P9110061_zpsd17fe291.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/P9110061_zpsd17fe291.jpg" width="154" /></a>So... what's news then? Firstly I guess is Dave who has been with us for 7 months or so and has dealt with all sorts including lime, clay, lime, snedding, lime, hedging, lime and all sorts of verbal and physical abuse from me. He left us today to return to a 'normal' life in Reading (is that a contradiction!?). Was it something I said?<br />
<br />
Thank you Dave - for everything. You've been a STAR!<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/PC310006_zpsbd869f7a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/PC310006_zpsbd869f7a.jpg" width="150" /></a>Well, the most exciting progressions are that we have two lights working (albeit temporarily wired), quite a fair bit of render to the scratch coat stage downstairs, windowsills, doors all coming together and flue with temporary woodburner in and functional.<br />
<br />
The next most exciting thing is that the ceilings are to be plastered this coming weekend.<br />
As I think I explained before, we perhaps would have chosen to do something other than plasterboard and plaster had we had the time when the ceilings were put in place. However given that plasterboard is what we have, we decided that standard gypsum plaster would be the most straightforward thing to put on the ceilings. The other upshot of this is that it's a job for someone with experience to do so<u> i don't need to do it</u>! Mark Stanley (and his mate Jamie) who came and helped us with the lime is coming to do it- hurrah!<br />
<br />
Wiring is next on the task list, though the little bit I've done has already thrown up a complication..... 'What!' I hear you say, 'A complication? surely not!' (I'm sorry but it does seem to be a recurring theme...)<br />
<br />
To meet with the building regulations I have had to use fireproof cable. I have used a product which is far simpler than the earlier mineral cables but has another drawback. The 'fireproof' bit of the cable is a thin metal sleeve under the plastic outer coating. This makes the cable able to bend and to be shaped but it is not really flexible enough to pull round bends in the conduit. I have had to re-design the wiring to allow me to pin the cables to timbers so I can shape it rather than it all running through the conduit.<br />
<br />
I haven't even started plumbing yet...<br />
<br />
Just looking into modifying shower fan systems to work on 12v, low power music systems, paper pulp vs flour paste in final render coat and last but not least might have the possibility that our neighbours (across the track) are planning on putting in mains so I may be purchasing their off grid stuff (2xsolar panels, BIG batteries and a rutland wind turbine)<br />
<br />Pentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-30401280534368366822012-10-27T00:31:00.005-07:002012-11-04T04:43:32.245-08:00Sealed up for the winter......Thought I might just post this as an update....<br />
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It's not quite a 'spot the difference'- more a look at how close it is!!<br />
<br />
So... South elevation is open to the elements, glass, cladding lime... all done!<br />
Hurrah!<br />
...and hurrah again!<br />
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Ele and I have spent a few hours working on the house TOGETHER and applied some of the internal clay scratchcoat. All but two windows are in, and those should go in tomorrow, along with the main flue system and a temporary wood-burner to supply some ambient heating whilst the rest of the rendering, the wiring and plumbing take place over the winter.<br />
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Having said that, the house build is 'on hold' for a wee bit as we have several hundred metres of hedge to lay around the site here, which needs to be done by the end of the year to comply with the funding available for the process to happen. It will be nice to get back to hedge-laying- a task Ele and I used to do together professionally for the local council and the National Trust locally. It is even nicer to be doing it here, and also because it will be a nice change of focus for a while.<br />
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Ele has suggested that I post about things in the build process which have 'caught us out' as it may be helpful. I might try and tackle this in a separate post at a later date....<br />
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Thanks for reading.<br />
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Anthony <br />
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<br />Pentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-84187591829022119892012-09-30T13:15:00.001-07:002012-09-30T13:16:28.604-07:00Internal render - muddy fun! <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/IMG02439-20120921-1455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/IMG02439-20120921-1455.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Forest School children enjoying clay</td></tr>
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Internally our walls are having a clay render.<br />
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This is essentially just a clay soil, and depending which layer it is to be used for it may have sand and fibre mixed in too.<br />
A purely clay soil slip is applied to the bales first, then a scratch coat of clay/sand and straw. <br />
We wet sieved the clay, then puddled it (stomped around, danced, squished, etc.) in a pit and added loose cut straw as fibre. <br />
Here are some pictures of the fun we had with the the forest school children......<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/KerryPolkaintheClay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/KerryPolkaintheClay.jpg" width="165" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kerry Polka- Cornish Style</td></tr>
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Ele and I also did a wee bit'o the kerry set polkas in the 'puddling pit'. It's been rather a long time since we tried dancing this- and we were not wearing wellies!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/P9210104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/P9210104.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Internal Clay Scratch coat</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Several other exciting bits of progress have happened here too.<br />
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We took delivery of the glass on Thursday, so we can start filling the frames, and we have started the top-coat of lime on the exposed rendered areas of the house.<br />
I have had a request for an updated 'whole house' picture.....<br />
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Thanks for the feedback we've had, and as always it's really nice to get peoples opinions and ideas- please feel free to post a comment.<br />
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Oh, and the wind generator managed the first 12hrs or so of high wind before stopping again- but I WILL FIX IT!<br />
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Until my next post,<br />
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Anthony<br />
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Pentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-47941425265853199532012-09-20T16:47:00.001-07:002012-09-20T17:02:11.894-07:00Wind generator repair<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Whilst this is not strictly 'house', I thought I would share this with you.</div>
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Our off-grid power system here is quite basic, and consists of two solar panels which total about 200W, and a wind generator which is a 400W machine.</div>
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This Air403 Wind generator recently stopped turning, which with my extensive knowledge I conceived was a 'problem'.</div>
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We decided to lower it and take a look- a job we undertook without really thinking it through and subsequently the poles holding the turbine buckled part way through lowering it and further helped it's operational ability by smashing a blade off it. (oops! is what I said.....)</div>
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Ok!</div>
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So I removed the turbine from the poles, and placed it on my workbench. I then did a bit of research and contacted the company who made it, and the uk supplier asking about spares.</div>
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I know from replacing blades once before that a balanced set of 3 is about £70 minimum, but there was obviously more wrong with the machine.</div>
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I was told that the company no longer provided spares and I would need to purchase the newest model from them (about £800), so I decided that I had nothing to lose by dismantling the old unit.</div>
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<a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Blog%20images/P8150041-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Blog%20images/P8150041-1.jpg" width="640" /></a>On investigation it appeared that, apart from the broken blade, the only apparent problem appeared to be that the two bearings on the rotor were worn and no longer turned freely.</div>
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I knocked them out of the housing- took down the numbers from the casings, and got back on to the internet.</div>
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I purchased the two bearings needed for less than a fiver and after having to order another one due to destroying one trying to re-insert it into the housing, I replaced them both and re-constructed the turbine.</div>
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I had one spare blade from the last set I replaced so I decided to risk an 'unbalanced' set to test the turbine.</div>
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On reading several bits of information on turbine blades I also filed off all the rough bits from the casting process and then polished them with t-cut. Apparently this reduces noise as they cut more cleanly through the air and causes less turbulence.</div>
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I purchased another couple of 6m steel scaffold poles (£20 each) and today we (carefully!) re-erected the turbine.</div>
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I am extremely pleased to report it is working absolutely fine!</div>
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For my part this was a really interesting experiment into what is possible with a little determination and a wish to 'prove them wrong' - for under £50 I have repaired the wind generator, and extended it's life from the 10 years it has already served us, to who knows how much more?</div>
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It also makes me realise that whilst many companies making 'sustainable' technologies are doing a fantastic job, they are also commercially motivated and the main motive is unfortunately profit. The embodied energy in a turbine like this is relatively speaking quite small, but if a unit can be repaired, or it's parts be re-used, surely we have a responsibility to our planets resources to do so?</div>
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Many of the parts, particularly the Permanent Magnets used on the rotor, use materials which are in limited supply and have a high embodied energy.</div>
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I will stop there though, before this turns into a huge rant, and a self-righteous blurb about sustainability and all it's many facets.</div>
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Thanks for reading, and if anyone would like to discuss this, or anything else about repairing stuff to keep it going (like old cordless battery packs, broken petrol motors, electronic gizmo's etc......) It's a little passion of mine, and I would love to hear your success stories and thoughts, and I'm also keen to share my experiences and knowledge. Comment or contact me! (if nothing to let me know I'm not alone!)</div>
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Regards to all,</div>
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Anthony</div>
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Pentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-33146430224771194632012-09-05T12:04:00.000-07:002012-09-05T12:04:14.467-07:00Lime, Clay and cladding<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Hello once more, and again I apologise for a long delay since last I posted.</div>
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Much has been happening, not least I've had my 40th birthday and have had to deal with all the merriment, and the reflectiveness that has come with such an event. We had a fantastic party here the week before the day, with music, poetry and a little alcohol to help things along. Much fun was had and the site, and the house survived the whole affair- is it a sign of maturity that no-one threw-up, no glass was broken, and no-one was taken to hospital?</div>
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Anyway to the house progress.....</div>
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<b>LIME</b></div>
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We have stopped on the lime for a while, due to weather and the number of hands available to help. We have however got a single coat on the whole of the outside, with most of it also having the second coat too.<br />
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It has been interesting trying to get definitive information about the lime, though I have to say our local company have been extremely helpful. In the end we opted for a 2:1 sand:lime mix throughout. A more liquid 'slip' as an initial coat, and a slightly thicker, drier second. After some experimentation we opted for smearing these on by hand (gloved of course!). Where we were covering timbers within the render we used a plastic mesh and overlapped in each dimension by approx 100mm. We also then added polypropylene fibre to the mix covering this. Between each coat we scored a crossing pattern to provide a key for subsequent coats.</div>
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<b>WINDOWS</b></div>
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We have also now fitted most of the window frames and are imminently ordering the glazing to fill up the holes! Some of the windows have been manufactured (by FD Hall and Son, who have also done the machining of the floorboards) and some are being built direct into the stud frames, this saves on workshop fees and and non-opening windows units can be fitted quite easily.</div>
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<b>CLAY</b></div>
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<a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Blog%20images/P9040061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Blog%20images/P9040061.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></a>Another process we have started which is great fun is throwing mud at the walls! Well actually more accurately it's clay soil which we have wet sieved. The picture to the right shows Ele mixing up a bucket of 'slip' with a drill powered mixing paddle.<b> </b>It has been nice moving from the Lime, which is caustic and necessitates the use of goggles, gloves and overalls, to the clay, which you can get stuck into with feet and hands. The children have certainly been looking forward to the opportunity to throw mud at the walls, and really get properly involved with a process on the building.<br />
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<a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Blog%20images/P9040055-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Blog%20images/P9040055-1.jpg" width="200" /></a>The first stage has been to make up a mix with just clay and straw to use as a stuffing mix to fill holes and indents in the wall (left is Adeon doing exactly this). After this a liquid slip (again no sand in this) is smeared on the exposed parts of the bales and this provides a key for the second coat. <br />
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<b>CLADDING</b></div>
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<a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Blog%20images/P9040064.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Blog%20images/P9040064.jpg" width="240" /></a>The first few boards of the cladding have also been placed on the south gable end. This has once again proved to be a more involved and fiddly process than at first assumed, as each board has to be scribed to fit the posts, and of course they do not sit flat, but angled- each one sitting on top of the one below.....</div>
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The other slightly awkward bit here is that we have a lean to roof coming forward of the house at the point where the cladding starts- well actually we don't and herein is the problem- we have needed to provide for this and work out how to flash the join to prevent water running down the inside edge. Ah, 'tis all fun 'n' games you!</div>
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Anyway Dave is back for a while but is starting a job at Trevalon next week, and Hannah and George are back for more 'fun' (nutters!).</div>
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As always thanks for reading, and please feel free to comment.</div>
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Until next time,</div>
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Anthony </div>
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Pentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-74213043440277926062012-07-07T02:51:00.002-07:002012-07-07T02:54:06.998-07:00Baling process is now finished- we have walls!Firstly, sorry for the long delay in posting and for the 'down' tone of the last post.<br />
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<i>We have some brighter news- the baling is now complete and we finally have walls!</i><br />
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To be honest, the weather has been really pants, and when one is trying to protect bales with flimsy tarpaulins, high winds and heavy rain are not good.<br />
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<b>Bale wall removal</b><br />
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When the initial shock, dismay, desperation and misery had subsided into acceptance and determination, we attempted to ascertain the extent of the damage.<br />
The upshot of the tests with the moisture meter and makeshift probe showed that most of the bales we identified as being wet, dried sufficiently over time to not become a problem, with just one exception. This exception was of course a bale right at the bottom of one of the walls near our back door.<br />
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Earlier this week we finally 'bit the bullet' and dismantled the wall and replaced the offending bale, rebuilt the wall and completed the rest of the baling. The dismantling and rebuilding took less than a day.<br />
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When I cut the strings on the offending bale to look inside it showed no damage, no rot or any sign of a problem! So whilst in a way it was a pointless process, it has served to reassure us that all the other bales that got wet will also be fine. So really the only impact on us has been time, a little effort oh, and a fair bit of stress!<br />
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<a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Blog%20images/P7050023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Blog%20images/P7050023.jpg" width="150" /></a><b>Plasterboarding</b><br />
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The other process we completed this week has been the plaster-boarding of the upstairs ceiling. It seemed like a good place to end the week. The question was asked by one of the volunteers about the choice of ceiling boards. I had to answer honestly on this one and explain that we needed something quickly and therefore did not have time to research further on alternatives that may have been more sustainable/green. Subsequently we have found the information we needed which shows that we have not made a particularly good choice but definitely cheaper which is unfortunately starting to become a more major consideration.<br />
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<b>Reed matting and lime</b><br />
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We've started the Lime process too. First of all though we had to pin reed matting around window and door openings to provide a more robust and stable substrate for the lime (and for the clay on the internal walls). It helps with forming shapes too and I have to say the main entranceway is looking great!<br />
We're fumbling around a bit with the lime due to the course not running and therefore no 'expert' on hand. We have a friend coming next week who <u>is</u> an expert so he'll make sure we're doing it all right!<br />
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So, whilst we are now well behind schedule and the general levels of stress have increased, we feel like things are starting to flow again, and with the lime process happening hopefully we won't have any further issues with the wet weather.<br />
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I will endeavour to post again in the not too distant future.<br />
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Until then please feel free to comment on the blog, offer us support/ kind words etc.- It's always appreciated!<br />
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Regards,<br />
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AnthonyPentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-19616445995809057062012-05-04T07:54:00.000-07:002012-05-04T07:54:00.306-07:00Bales and horrible weather!Now I'm normally one for being bright and optimistic, and I more often than not see the silver lining in each cloud that comes our way.<br />
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However we've had rather a few too many clouds come our way and they've dumped large volumes of water on us and have been driven by strong winds. It has unfortunately had an impact, not only on our lovely bale walls but on morale as a whole.<br />
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It is difficult to assess the damage accurately at this time, mainly because there is very little information out there to tell us what constitutes a problem and what doesn't. It appears from what little I can find in books and on the web that surface moisture on the bales can be expected to dry out, but there comes a point where the bale starts to rot before they can dry. This is the vagary I'm battling with.<br />
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The repercussions of the damage range therefore from 'let them dry out and all will be fine' to 'we need to remove some large sections of the walls and replace them with dry bales'. The risk of hoping they will dry of course is that they may not do so, and will start to rot inside the walls<br />
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<b>Testing Moisture Content</b><br />
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So I've tried to help myself a little here and I have borrowed a moisture meter from Tino, and built a basic probe to extend the reading point into the bale.<b> </b>By doing this and checking a known dry bale, and a known wet one we have a relative indication of the ingress depth, and monitoring for a few days will tell us if the bales are drying at all.<br />
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I am also taking heart from a story of a self-builder in Brittany who, after building two bungalows on the cliffs (i.e extremely exposed) his Lime render which had not yet fully carbonised, allowed storm driven rain into the bale walls to the extent that damp was showing on the internal plaster, and they started to smell of rot He took a risk and clad the outer of the wall and after 4 months his bale walls had dried to a satisfactory level, the smell of rot had gone, and his walls were subsequently fit for their purpose.<br />
Given that we intend to clad anyway, and ours do not smell of rot.....!<br />
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<b>Slow Week</b> <br />
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This week has been slow due to the decision to halt baling for a while to assess things, but also we seem to have had a bout of sickness and many of us have spent at least one day in bed. It's probably no bad thing, as I'm sure it will help us recover from the stresses and the strains!<br />
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Next week will be a better week!<br />
Here is a photo of the house with the sun shining!<br />
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<br />Pentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-62158725711106890932012-04-11T13:31:00.002-07:002012-04-15T14:19:50.661-07:00Bale walls at last!Hello all,<br />
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BALING HAS BEGUN!<br />
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This in some respects seems to be the biggest step as we fill in the walls and create a fully enclosed space, the culmination of all our efforts thus far.<br />
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<a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20-%20Baling/DSC_4838.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20-%20Baling/DSC_4838.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20-%20Baling/P4130099.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20-%20Baling/P4130099.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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Baling is not overly complex, and in that respect is a joy!<br />
The walls are building surprisingly quickly, and we reckon we will be done in just 3-4 weeks.<br />
Becky, with her experience of several bale builds in Germany, has shown us the process, and is our in-house (!) expert.<br />
This coming week is set to be a very busy one, with 8 people staying here and many more 'dropping in'. We're hoping for sunshine, otherwise feeding everyone in the mobile home could get a little cosy!!<br />
More pictures will follow as and when we get them. <br />
<br />
till the next post....regards,<br />
<br />
AnthonyPentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-25150444933974620702012-02-29T14:57:00.000-08:002012-02-29T14:57:32.520-08:00Floorboards and countdownWe now have a partial floor down, and the douglas fir tongue and grooved boards look lovely.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2050ish/P2150008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2050ish/P2150008.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
We decided after much discussion to nail through the top of the boards instead of 'hidden' nailing them as, although the nail heads are visible, it means the wider boards are held more securely and less likely to 'cup'. We have used 65mm lost head nails on our 25mm thick boards.<br />
<br />
Becky, Alix, Mike and Octavio have all been helping scribing and nailing up the bitroc boards under the floor and filling in the subsequent recesses between joists with the warmcell.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2050ish/P2240016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2050ish/P2240016.jpg" width="320" /></a>An unanticipated material, cost and process that occurred through this was taping the joins between the boards and around the beams and posts. We ended up purchasing a product called Isocell Airstop and it's very, very sticky! As the name suggests, it is designed to reduce air movement through any open gaps. It was easy to apply provided it didn't get stuck to anything else before it contacted the boards!<br />
<br />
This entire process nevertheless has created another of those moments where yet more of the end result is visible, and the excitement of it all is evident in the enthusiasm of all of us working on site.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2050ish/P2240020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2050ish/P2240020.jpg" width="320" /></a>The countdown to the bale course is now on and we're going to be pushed to get everything done. Although some of the tasks can happen during the first stages of baling, much still needs to be in place in order for it all to go ahead smoothly. No let up for a while then, so I'll try and keep going with the blog...!<br />
As always, feel free to feedback.<br />
<br />
Regards,<br />
<br />
Anthony <br />
<br />Pentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-66507897720400020092012-01-19T09:25:00.000-08:002012-01-19T09:41:21.242-08:00All wrapped up!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2038/P1190004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2038/P1190004.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plastic walls- Lovely!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Oh, not as in finished, just all wrapped up to keep the weather out!<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2038/P1190010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2038/P1190010.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A dry space to work</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It looks a little strange, this nice eco-house wrapped in plastic tarpulins- but it is intended to allow the inside to dry out and provide me with a space to work out of the elements.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Dry Space</b><br />
So, it's been a while since last I blogged. The main efforts since November have been toward get the house weatherproof as mentioned above. This has involved putting in most of the external stud-work which is to take the cladding. We needed this in place to support the tarps and prevent them just being torn to pieces by the wind.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2038/P1190013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2038/P1190013.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spot the deliberate mistake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Windows</b><br />
Installing the stud has been exciting as it has meant final decisions have had to be made on the sizes and positioning of all the windows, and the two doors. This in turn has lead us to get some of our stored dry timber machined into sill and facing pieces for the windows that are not to be opened. These are being built straight into the stud frame.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2038/P1190015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2038/P1190015.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roof showing guttering installed</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
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<br />
<b>Guttering</b><br />
Another bit of the process which we have tackled has been to install the guttering- we opted for Lindab galvanised steel guttering figuring that the investment will be worth it in the long run.<br />
It looks good too- and is incredibly easy to install, most of the bits just clip together.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Under Floor Boarding</b><br />
We have ordered the boards to seal the underside of the lower floor- the original choice and the one Ben has used- a product called Panelvent, is apparently no longer being produced, so after more internet research we have opted for Bitroc, another breathable board that is also weatherproof. This should be arriving next week.<br />
<br />
<b>Insulation</b><br />
With the underboards sorted the next obvious thing was to make the final decision on insulation within the lower floor and the roof space. We, like Ben, have opted for Warmcell. It is very competitive on price, and being loose, should be easier to install in all the wierd nooks and crannies around the frame timbers.<br />
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We are also in the process of getting quotes for the last of the house shell big costs- e.g outer lime render, inner clay plaster, glazing units, and window frame manufacture. Indications are that we are still not far off our intended budget- Hurrah!<br />
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I'm off to cut more sills and facing for the windows- and hopefully by my next blog I should have had the Bitroc boards delivered and will have started on that process. Till then<br />
<br />
Regards,<br />
<br />
Anthony<br />
<br />
PS. Please feel free to comment on the blog or e-mail us- it's good to get the feedback!Pentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-3404714579078319432011-11-26T01:36:00.001-08:002011-11-26T03:00:02.501-08:00Roof is finished!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2030/DSC00009.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2030/DSC00009.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris helping out on the roof</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Firstly sorry- several people have nudged me for an update, so here it is!<br />
<br />
So,
yes, finally we have finished balancing on battens and sliding on
slates- the roof is officially finished! Hurrah! A mention here for
Chris, who was a star, and Bart and Alix all of whom helped with the
last bits of the roof. Thanks guys!<br />
<br />
The process, predictably, was slowed by the hips and the valleys, but without any real difficulties.<br />
Leading
the valleys was interesting- what weird stuff lead is! It weighs so
much yet is flexible and you can cut it with a knife. I was given some
expert advice on this process. Because lead expands and contracts with
temperature, if it is laid in long lengths it would buckle. I was told
to cut it into no more than 1.5m lengths and then secure only on the top
third, so just 6 copper nails. I hammered each length into the valley
recess with a wooden block, and folded the edges back on themselves to
add an extra lip, which covers the nail heads and is another barrier for
water.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2030/DSC00018.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2030/DSC00018.jpg" width="400" /></a>The
last of the roof process was to mortar the ridge and hip tiles on- this
was another balancing act, though this time on a roof ladder and the
ridge itself- not the most comfortable place to work!<br />
I am really
pleased with the end result- I think it looks stunning and in keeping
with the older of the local buildings. Time for a 'photo methinks....!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2030/Image013.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2030/Image013.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John and Sue helping with studwork</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We had a visit from Ele's parents last week who have
been such a constant support throughout. Despite the rain they managed
to add the first lengths of studwork and only broke one tool! <br />
<br />
<br />
My task now is to extend the upper floor joists to
accommodate the straw walls so they will be built in two sections, upper
and lower- a modification after discussions with Friederike who is to
do the baling course in the spring.<br />
Beyond that it is building the
outer studwork, or buck frame. This will take the cladding and provide a
structure for the windows and doors.<br />
<br />
I am just in the
process of writing another background post on the design process- keep
an eye out for that over the next week or so....<br />
<br />
Cheers for now, Anthony<br />Pentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-61116543933675096542011-11-07T13:57:00.000-08:002011-11-30T12:31:00.998-08:00Background - DesignWhere does one start when designing one's 'dream home'? We started many years ago before we even knew where or how we would build, and the archive of weird and wonderful ideas makes for an interesting read! In some respects there is a blank canvas. Almost anything is possible, but budget, complexity of build and the build site will dictate much and start to hone things down and dismiss some of the more flamboyant designs. One limitation which we have valued above all has been our desire to not take more than our fair share of resources and to use locally available materials wherever possible. This in itself decided much of the design for us.<br />
<br />
Getting to a design we were happy with, one we felt was realistic to build and fulfilled most of our requirements took some doing. A list of our ideal elements was extremely useful, as well as ideas about the basic construction and materials.<br />
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Once we had settled on a construction type- with much influence and persuasion from Ben- we looked at how we could construct a cruck framed structure to fit in the landscape at Pentiddy and to accommodate as many of our long list of requirements as possible. The most notable design decisions are outlined below.<br />
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<b>Position</b><br />
The build site was chosen when we first applied for temporary permission and was where the mobile home was sited for five years. It was chosen because it was less visual than higher on the site, and more sheltered. It also falls below the main spring on the land. Unfortunately this spring is 1/2 km away through the woods so impracticable to use without major time and financial investment and serious environmental disruption. A 'no go' I'm afraid! Its placement amongst other elements in the Permaculture design meant trying to go below the 200m contour so that the fruiting trees are more likely to succeed. Placing the home <br />
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<b>Orientation</b><br />
The Solar aspect of south was important- we wanted to use a degree of passive solar gain, and also water heating and photovoltaic panels. We calculated the ideal annual pitch for the photovoltaics, but realised that ideally we need to generate more power in the winter than the summer, so we also worked out the best angle for average winter sun. Conversely the solar water panels needed to work more in the summer, so we calculated the best average summer pitch too. Here is a diagram of what we worked out....<br />
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<a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2030/SolarDiagram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2030/SolarDiagram.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
So if we wanted the best average annual output from the photovoltaic panels, we needed the pitch to be 43° (90°- 47°=43°. The angles shown above are the angle of the sun, not the roof which needs to be at 90° to it!)<br />
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The main house roof pitch is 39°, so only a few degrees off for the PV's to be at average annual. It would have been a stretch and increased the total buildings height by too much to make the main roof fit the average winter pitch of 53°.<br />
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The outdoor kitchen roof, however, has been set to the ideal average summer pitch of 30° so we get the best heat from the water panels when the wood-burner indoors is not fired up.<br />
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The 'view sector' was also important, but was not conveniently due south, but more south-east. In the end the main house is 10° towards the east, and the 'L' shape, and the outdoor kitchen roofs each step out to broadly face the view.<br />
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<b>Heating</b><br />
The heating and insulation were also important. Having lived in caravans/mobile homes for many years, the idea of heat staying inside a structure seems a little unusual, but very appealing!<br />
The main heat source- a wood-burning range, has been placed as central in the floor-plan as we could achieve, thereby radiating heat more evenly downstairs. The hope is that enough heat will also radiate upwards to the upper floor that pumping water to radiators will be minimal.<br />
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<b>Size</b><br />
This is a little bit of a sensitive subject just now as most people visiting have the initial reaction of 'my goodness- it's huge!'<br />
We did, however spend a great deal of time designing a house that was a balance between being practical and still efficient in terms of footprint, materials and heating.<br />
The total usable floor area is 95m². The ridge however sits at 8.2m above the main ground level, so it is quite tall! Bear in mind though that the lower floor is a minimum of 1m above the ground. Once the walls are in, and the outdoor structures (verandah, outdoor kitchen etc) are in place and the ground has been landscaped, the visual impact of this will be vastly reduced.<br />
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<b>Power</b><br />
The main generation for us is still the Air 403 wind generator, and currently 250W of Solar PV. This will most probably be supplemented with more Solar PV and if I get the chance I want to explore the stream as a possible micro-hydro source. This all will feed a bank of batteries, and most power will be used direct as 12v DC, but also inverted for 'mains' giving a small 600W, 240V AC supply.<br />
The Solar water panels are to be mounted on south roof of the outdoor kitchen, which is lower than the position of the hot water cylinder. In this way we can 'thermo-syphon' the heat from the panels rather than use power pumping it.<br />
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<b>Water</b><br />
The majority of our water comes off the barn roof, and 6,000 litres is stored in tanks and fed to the house and garden. Our drinking water still has to be sorted- the water from the bore-hole we had drilled recently has a few things in it that currently make it unsuitable for drinking. Still working on that one too. We're investigating the original idea of using roof water and will send some off to be tested once the guttering is installed.<br />
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<b>Waste(?!)</b><br />
The main structure does not include a toilet internally as we've really enjoyed our enforced visits into the night over the last few years- it's amazing what you see in the dead of night! We will still use a dry composting toilet in a separate outdoor structure. The grey water from sinks and showers is to run through a reed bed system, and finally fed back into the stream via the hens and ducks. All kitchen waste gets composted or fed to the hens.<br />
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<b>Architects</b> <br />
It is worth mentioning that we have not employed an architect at all for this process- the design and drawings have been done by me. This has not been a problem- but has shown up some interesting things, which I will tackle in a later post.<br />
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I hope this has been interesting, and maybe useful for anyone undertaking a similar project.<br />
<br />
My next 'background' post is to cover the 'red tape' side of things. I will not be going into great detail about planning, but looking at the processes subsequent to getting permission to build.<br />
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Till then, Regards,<br />
<br />
Anthony<br />
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NB. Please feel free incidentally to comment on the blog or drop us
comments via e-mail. It is always nice to get peoples feedback and
reactions!<br />Pentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-52452648700098192622011-10-16T12:13:00.000-07:002011-10-30T14:35:48.271-07:00Background - MaterialsI realised whilst writing the last post that we have omitted some of the basic background information in the blog- and as such I am endeavouring to do a few posts outlining some of the history of the build.<br />
<br />
<b>Today's monologue - Materials</b><br />
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<br />
From the start of this journey we have looked hard at what we wanted the house to be and how it should embody our ethics. Our options and the carefully weighed decisions with regards the materials are therefore what defines this building. Hopefully making it a unique and gently beautiful building, in tune with the local landscape.<br />
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<b>Wood</b><br />
<br />
So, obviously we have wood! Lots of wood. Lots and lots and lots actually- three 16tonne lorry loads of logs, and another delivery for the frame poles. I had not really appreciated the enormity of the task of processing the logs and the sheer volumes of timber we were to use.<br />
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Not having appropriate timber growing on site, our main aim was to source the timber locally- to support the local economy and reduce transportation. <br />
The frames themselves are Larch which Duncan and I cut last winter from Stara Community Woodland only 4 miles away. One thing I noticed as we were cutting is that they are all the same age as me- something very fitting about that!<br />
Once the frame poles were transported back to site the task of stripping off the bark was undertaken. (A HUGE thanks to Oz and Beth, who spent an awful lot of time er... stripping!)<br />
<br />
The timbers for milling were bought from the Glencross Estate near St Neot, about 7 miles away. These included Douglas Fir for floor joists, floor boards, rafters, window frames and studwork, and more Larch for cladding.<br />
These timbers have all been milled on-site with a Lumbermate 2000 mobile bandsaw mill and stacked in our barn until needed. A special thanks to Duncan for all his help with that task!<br />
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The floorboards were sent to F D Hall in Upton Cross for planing and tongue and grooving. They look fabulous. F D Hall will also be making the window frames for us in due course.<br />
<br />
I might just have to go and plant a tree or two now to make up for the amount we've cut down....! <br />
<br />
<b>Granite</b><br />
<br />
Well, what should our nice 'green' house stand on then?!<br />
Another tough choice- but we opted for slabs of Cornish granite from De Lank quarry on Bodmin moor. Obviously the quarrying process is energy intensive, but they are beautiful objects in their own right and ...well, pretty durable!<br />
Other options were concrete slabs (well, it was never really going to be a contender), and yorkstone slabs (not from Cornwall though).<br />
Granite it was!<br />
<br />
<b>Slate</b><br />
<br />
See the last blog entry for more on these. We sourced these from Kenyon Canopy, Saltash. They specialize in roof materials and second-hand Delabole slates in particular.<br />
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<b>Straw</b><br />
<br />
Our straw has been delivered and now fills our barn to the roof! It is covered with a silage sheet to prevent the leaking roof getting the straw wet.<br />
The bales are slightly larger than a standard small bale at 1m by 0.5m by 0.35m, and have been harvested specially and compacted as high as the machine would allow. We have a mix of barley straw and oat straw.<br />
These have come from John and James Kendall at Tencreek Farm, Liskeard. Incidentally this is where Ele and I got married 13 years ago!<br />
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<b>Lime render</b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
We have decided to use lime as a breathable, durable sealing layer on the outside of the straw. Our local suppliers, The Cornish Lime Co. are very helpful and knowledgeable. The Exterior is then to be clad with wany edged larch boards to further protect the straw walls from the driving Cornish rain.<b></b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
Other materials to be used include a breathable board called Panelvent and clay plaster on the straw and on lath for internal walls.<br />
<br />
Hope this explains a little bit about the materials we have chosen and why.<br />
<br />
<br />Regards to you all,<br />
<br />
AnthonyPentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-25654707139865441142011-10-08T04:29:00.000-07:002011-10-08T04:45:36.108-07:00Week 28 - Slates and course datesWe have (some) slates on the roof!<br />
Our second hand delabole slates look fantastic, they are definitely the right choice! We opted for using slate hooks rather than copper nails- a good move! The hooks are very quick, very secure and given that the slates are second hand, many of the old nail holes are pretty big. Using the hooks has meant we don't need to worry about re-holing the slates or trying to make the old holes fit with the battens. The first bit of the roof has been slated in just a few days, and Ele, Elowen and Adeon have all helped to put them on. Progress has slowed though now we're having to cut slates for the hip.....<br />
Several people have asked why we have opted for slates, rather than wooden shingles or shakes. The answer is quite simply that the slates will easily outlast me, and I did not fancy being up on the roof in my 80's replacing the shingles!<br />
The delabole slate is also the local material, and it makes a beautiful roof.<br />
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We have also finally made the decision to clad most of the building rather than Lime render.<br />
In speaking with many experts it seems that Lime on a very exposed site just isn't quite up to protecting the bales. Cladding over the top means the bales (which will still have a sealing coat of lime) will be that much more protected from the horizontal rain we have been known to get up here!<br />
The upshot of this decision is that the exterior of the house structure needs to have a studwork frame to accommodate the wany larch boards.<br />
The plan therefore is to 'wrap up' the entire building over the winter so floors, studwork and other processes can continue. Using the scaffolding that currently runs around the house, tarpaulins will be used to make a weatherproof cover. These are obviously going to have to be pretty well secured to stop them being blown away!<br />
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We have dates now for the courses next year.<br />
Both courses - food provided and camping available.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Straw bale building</b><br />
Led by: Friederike Fuchs from <a href="http://www.stroh-unlimited.de/int/engl.htm">Stroh unlimited</a><br />
Dates: 9th-13th April 2012<br />
Cost: £300<br />
<br />
<b>Lime render and clay plaster</b><br />
Led by: Katy Bryce and Adam Weismann from <a href="http://www.clay-works.com/">Clayworks</a><br />
Dates: 4 days throughout May and June 2012<br />
Cost: £100/dayPentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-10972617014580614882011-09-20T07:35:00.000-07:002011-09-20T07:40:14.639-07:00Week 26 - ALL CHANGE!Well, Beth and Oz have returned to sunny Manchester, Duncan back to Bristol, and Bex and Dan are done now until the baling next year. So that leaves..... me!<br />
<br />
I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of you guys and indeed everyone who has been involved in whatever way thus far- it's been a fantastic journey and your time and enthusiasm, help and smiles have been part of what has made it special.<br />
Thanks must go particularly to Beth for the blog setting up and frequent updates- I'll try and be as eloquent and humorous!<br />
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Well, 6 months in and we finally have what can now be called a shelter!<br />
Yes, after much head scratching and on occasion I have to admit the odd bit of swearing, we have a roof! Well, a covered space anyway- the breather membrane and battens (which hold the membrane down and are the fixing points for the slates) are finally on. This has been a long time coming. We have all been surprised at just how complex hip and valley rafters are to set, especially when you interact sawn timber with roundwood poles.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2026/DSCF0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2026/DSCF0001.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roof membrane and battens almost finished</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2026/DSCF0010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2026/DSCF0010.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rob and Clare fixing battens</td></tr>
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<br />
The next task is to slate the roof! Another process for which I have no reference so apologies to everyone I know who's got any vague experience with roofing for the many questions. With all the advice and much observation of local slate roofs, I'm now confident to tackle it!<br />
<br />
<b>Bales and render</b><br />
The decision to delay the baling process has meant that we have had time to organise both the baling and the subsequent render as two courses in the spring next year. Anyone interested in coming along please contact us. As soon as we have confirmed dates and prices I will let you all know.<br />
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<br />
Regards<br />
<br />
Anthony<br />
<br />
<br />Pentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-22985795009240769522011-08-25T01:49:00.000-07:002011-08-25T01:49:17.926-07:00Week 23: Picture of the Week<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2022/IMG_5118-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2022/IMG_5118-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
Well I couldn't resist slotting an arty photo of the house in somewhere! Pentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-56370515974175435192011-08-17T07:55:00.000-07:002011-08-24T07:11:24.436-07:00Week 22: The 'Big Ultimatum'<div style="text-align: justify;">Hello all,<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A quick update to let you all know how we're getting on on site. The pressure has been reaching bursting point over the last 5-6 weeks with the ever looming delivery of the straw bales in late August. Although the progress of progressivism is progressing (!!!), we are still not quite hitting our weekly milestones and, although hard to admit even with all the constant hard work going on, we have been getting further and further behind since the frame raising weekend. Aaaarrrggghhh!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2022/IMG_5092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2022/IMG_5092.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 'bright side' - look how that roofs coming along</td></tr>
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">To look at things from a more positive angle, since the last blog entry we have all the wind braces and outer jowls in place. We are currently working full-steam ahead with fitting the lower, middle and upper floor joists, which involves creating inserts in the tie beams for the joists to sit in. The joists all need to be level. This is quite a feat as the joists aren't always the same measurement all the way along and the round wood tie-beams also have their own unique undulating surface. The joists are then intersected with short pieces of wood known as noggins, to create a surface which acts as a frame for boards to be attached. In turn this holds the insulation.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2022/IMG_5192.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2022/IMG_5192.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ground floor joists</td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2022/IMG_5192.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2022/IMG_5193.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2022/IMG_5193.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First floor joists</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2022/IMG_5189.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2022/IMG_5189.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Noggins placed between the joist timbers</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
From an outsiders perspective fitting the roof doesn't seem like much of a task, but it's actually a fiddly process, especially because it includes a hipped roof and two gables. This involves 2 ridge poles, two valleys and two hip ridges. <span class="st">A hipped roof is </span>where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope creating a triangle shape,<span class="st"> and a gable is the triangle wall created from a double sloping roof.</span> Needless to say it requires mathematical precision which we're mastering, lots of discussion (what a surprise on this build) and patience with marking out and cutting. So far so good though; soon it will be ready for the battens, membranes, lead and slates. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2022/IMG_5186.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2022/IMG_5186.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2022/IMG_5202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2022/IMG_5202.jpg" width="213" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left Picture: Showing the gable end roof Right: Roof rafters creating the meeting point between the two ridges </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2022/IMG_5208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/pentiddywoods/Week%20by%20Week/Housebuild%20Week%2022/IMG_5208.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loft space and hipped roof end of house</td></tr>
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That being said we have still come to a 'big ultimatum', of which I will try and share with you in the least complicated way possible. This is somewhat of a disclaimer as I know the description appears long and arduous, but believe me it's the shortest way I could communicate the complexity of the decision. Here goes:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Do we carry on beavering away under tonnes of stress (because the bales could arrive at any time), finishing the floor joists and getting the the roof rafters in place so we can fit a membrane and make the roof water tight (although not complete), then spend days fitting plastic sheeting around the whole building to protect the bales from rain, but need to be able to be removed daily in order to actually work on the bales walls. Then fit the bales with haste, possibly overlooking some of the key elements of the baling (and how the wall interacts with other elements) and then rapidly working through the stud work to create the frames for the windows and doors before the end of September. Last but not least undertake minimal plastering, which will (fingers-crossed) carbonate properly before the first frost, in the hope that it will be enough protection for the bales during the winter months. We have been hearing all sorts of horror stories from books and from the Cornish Lime Company about damaged bales and lime work peeling and flaking off due to plastering work being left too late. We would be leaving it until the last milli-second and as lime plastering novices this isn't filling us with much confidence. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The alternative is to persist with completing the roof and the floors and then store the bales on the the middle floor over winter, using tarps for protection. This will take some of the pressure off and also provide more time to make sure every detail can be considered fully. During these final stages of creating the house structure there appear to be an infinite number of areas open to careful consideration and perfectionism, like making sure all the cavities created between the bales are filled and compacted to produce strong walls, and creating water tight windows and doors which are essential for a dry straw-bale home. Unfortunately, this option will mean that only minimal work can go on on the inside of the house during the winter months, but there will still be work to do. The straw bale work and plastering will have to begin in spring and will put us behind a short while on next years time-table but it will also allow time to find more volunteers to get involved. As well, there is always the hope that spring will come with all that added 'new season' enthusiasm that most people connected to the outdoors seem to get and we will fly ahead with the baling and plastering. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Really the decision had already been made for us. It seems the risks of the first option are just too great. Instead the prospect of spending time making things prefect instead of bumbling through seems a much more positive option. It means that the house will actually be the dream house that Anthony, Ele and the kids have been working so hard to achieve, instead of one that will prompt many 'I wished we did that differently's'! Everyone on site has been in agreement and, it has to be said, are slightly relieved. So, anyone reading this who wants to get involved with some straw-baling in spring, we're giving you time to make all the necessary arrangements and get yourselves down to Cornwall!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
Take care all,</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Beth Morgan</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><br />
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</div><br />
Pentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-8639920417512746242011-07-12T02:10:00.000-07:002011-07-12T02:10:17.079-07:00Week 16 - A little reminder of how great Pentiddy is<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3339fYlG2ZmMeTG4z7-Sr8vj5xTtQHWh6h5lU7VudDKAvHdzY8it2hO_BBTK9h8j93mL2N1_v-HAzxOA3oDbR2oj-Y5Lb6H0YUkU6SgxIYAVbL9syRh26-lw6gz9FSlMHRhSGgV81sSk6/s1600/DSCF0009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3339fYlG2ZmMeTG4z7-Sr8vj5xTtQHWh6h5lU7VudDKAvHdzY8it2hO_BBTK9h8j93mL2N1_v-HAzxOA3oDbR2oj-Y5Lb6H0YUkU6SgxIYAVbL9syRh26-lw6gz9FSlMHRhSGgV81sSk6/s640/DSCF0009.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pentiddy Organic Allotment Garden</td></tr>
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We thought that we'd take the opportunity to show off a bit of Pentiddy vegetable garden in full bloom. Sometimes we forget that Pentiddy isn't just a building site and that it actually feeds and waters us too, with the help of Ele of course.<br />
<br />
We are just into pea, carrot, beetroot and potato season. We had an amazing stir fry last night with all fresh produce from the garden including shitake mushrooms from the barn and breakfasts consist of masses of silvan berries, raspberries, blackcurrants and strawberry's. Superb!<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir3Gx6eBfa6Uei5OAJ97tG0Ic0eoX3G0hQ9wDncYV5bpgTDivGxAWk9oFpxF5d_4Rc7_4dfpSq4SP4eryAsbrxJrG-hSEru72I-Xf52O_8cJBrqF-BFwzFXCBc4XX3PBYyWCb3rOs8G8v6/s1600/DSCF0008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir3Gx6eBfa6Uei5OAJ97tG0Ic0eoX3G0hQ9wDncYV5bpgTDivGxAWk9oFpxF5d_4Rc7_4dfpSq4SP4eryAsbrxJrG-hSEru72I-Xf52O_8cJBrqF-BFwzFXCBc4XX3PBYyWCb3rOs8G8v6/s320/DSCF0008.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pentiddy Polytunnel</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFH2eb2wpwPOvvwyrPHtXE3oAbR5OE-7BCx2UJdIlTWT1ZyRbfjdAX2C1G-rC88cBfF5plEfu_-V16f-8uH_2AiDmooIi9FZ-FTQyt4En63lyqbTOQmMvsqgFvCv7AbSa4v_TDmoN-Ya61/s1600/DSCF0007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFH2eb2wpwPOvvwyrPHtXE3oAbR5OE-7BCx2UJdIlTWT1ZyRbfjdAX2C1G-rC88cBfF5plEfu_-V16f-8uH_2AiDmooIi9FZ-FTQyt4En63lyqbTOQmMvsqgFvCv7AbSa4v_TDmoN-Ya61/s320/DSCF0007.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yurt - for tea making on the building site</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAbG1PwyaKGlUAoylYeLV0AyIzkHBQ99Nm5s-FjJ-IA6wEgSfm4LqPaD4YNio0Jvnu_rpRAw_nR3MDa7V4JuhssWcWxnSZQshJ39MjnENzQIX1ftw1JRTXMiQfd6DkrpC7tGdhFtDt3mV/s1600/DSCF0010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAbG1PwyaKGlUAoylYeLV0AyIzkHBQ99Nm5s-FjJ-IA6wEgSfm4LqPaD4YNio0Jvnu_rpRAw_nR3MDa7V4JuhssWcWxnSZQshJ39MjnENzQIX1ftw1JRTXMiQfd6DkrpC7tGdhFtDt3mV/s320/DSCF0010.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pentiddy pond</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiampUglam_VTuyNMZVwrfKqwetqkmKCy3GAlub0SHNzQtCFaY68_0RBt8ol4nnfyYmdnPm5VDjoPjAQJ4Fi-7gyNzVmRLA-go2fDZzOUIOPIPBY9OSrqSQMxfZC6k6jqPxKQVC_LdwoxXP/s1600/DSCF0014_mod.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiampUglam_VTuyNMZVwrfKqwetqkmKCy3GAlub0SHNzQtCFaY68_0RBt8ol4nnfyYmdnPm5VDjoPjAQJ4Fi-7gyNzVmRLA-go2fDZzOUIOPIPBY9OSrqSQMxfZC6k6jqPxKQVC_LdwoxXP/s320/DSCF0014_mod.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pentiddy roundhouse</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Pentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1668035326048340457.post-26648116578283827022011-07-01T02:08:00.000-07:002011-07-01T02:08:49.326-07:00Week 12, 13 & 14 - The Frame Becomes Free Standing!<div> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Well first off, sorry to all you avid blog followers that you’ve had to wait so long for the latest update: better late than never though!</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>We've been tinkering with joints a little bit in order to get the wall plates to sit level and parallel to one another, and for this we rigged up two chain blocks so we were able to raise and lower the wall plates easily and gently every time we offered up the joints.<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Completing this process was a great milestone as it meant that the structure is now truly free standing and stable and we were able to remove the temporary wind braces and guy ropes. Since then we’ve moved on to the outer frame. Tenons have been cut into the ends of the bottom tie beams of each frame in order for us to fit a row of outer jowl posts 50cm out from the inner jowls. The outer jowls support an outer wall plate that will take up the ends of the rafters when the roof goes on. They also support the ground floor joists and will provide the gap into which the bales will be squeezed when we build the walls.</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Well that summarizes the major works that have been ongoing over the last few weeks but as ever there’s been lots of other little jobs continuing. The secondary ridge pole, for example, was hoisted up through the middle of frames 1 and 2 in week 13 to be positioned between frame 5 and the principal ridge. We were also back on a few familiar old favourites for a couple of days: producing several more metres of oak pegs to secure the wall plates and wind braces, and the last of the larch poles were finally stripped of bark, to be used in the outer frame. Another 15 tonnes of douglas fir and larch saw logs have also been delivered. These are destined to become the internal stud frame and also the external cladding, so we’ll have to get the blades sharpened on the saw mill.</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">So we’re keeping busy, there’s still lots to do and lots of challenges ahead but never a dull moment. Next update should see us mid way through the roofing process. Wish us luck.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Cheers</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Duncan Winton</div>Pentiddy Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765794895591140520noreply@blogger.com0