hard work

here are some updates from last time. My mortar HAD gotten wet, so I lost some, but then I ended up finding a better tarp and I've been doing good since. It's been a lot of work. You can see in the first two pictures where I am right now. I'm trying desperately to finish before I leave on a trip this thursday.

All of the stones carly and I have found ourselves, locally. I haven't spent a dime on them other than gas to move the truck around, but that's so little compared to how much this would have cost to buy stones.

Nervous

So yesterday I covered the bags of mortar that I bought with a tarp. On a platform near the site with two tarps.

It's downpouring, for hours, and there are huge puddles of water everywhere and water RUNNING off the property.

I might have lost all this mortar and I feel like a total idiot for not hiding it in the garage..
ugh.

Foundation Dug!

sorry for the late update!

Shortly after my last post I did get the chance to dig the foundation. It was so, so hard. There were rocks and roots the entire way and it was back breaking work. It took two days and not nearly as long to tamp the gravel. Either way, it is dug and done. I am waiting for a mason who has volunteered to give me a very basic lesson in stone masonry before I attempt to lay stones. I'll update that when I get there.

Soon enough I'll probably post revision drawings because I have changed the design. I'll also update with some structural notes now that I know how to calculate the load this will carry.

Ready to Dig

Well, not really. The picture above shows a limestone line of where I am going to dig the foundation. Once I drew the first line (the outside dimension of 10' diameter) I knew that the 2' foundation I imagined was WAY too big. In fact, it was over a foot too big. These are things I am learning while building. The reason why it is too big is because I was reading literature on structures that need to support a second story, people, roof load, etc etc, and span far greater distances. It wasn't hard to realize that what I drew was not only wasteful but takes away too much space on the inside.

So, those lines are drawn and I don't see a problem with the width. I imagine once I start digging they will get a bit wider by an inch or two. I am not going to dig today just in case I have a sudden moment of 'OH NO' and think that this is a terrible idea. I'm going to sleep on it and think about it tomorrow morning.

I trust my instincts on this, but I don't know how to build. I've read lots and lots about cob and what kind of foundation it needs, but I've also seen how people just 'wing' it. I've seen thin walls and I've seen thick ones. Ultimately, I'd rather make it thinner than I first drew and have to suck up not putting a great green roof and maybe only a thin one than have thick walls that eat up so much space the shed isn't functional. And most importantly if I'm right, I really did learn something from the internet.

:]

Pre-foundation

Now that the old shed is gone and we have the land regraded and ready for building, I thought I'd share some of the drawings and pictures and fill you in on what's next.

The earth was regraded because the water wasn't running away from our house. Our soil normally has great drainage but we couldn't do the work ourselves. They came, saved me some earth which will be turned into cob (it's got a fair amount of sand and aggregate already!), and made the area that I will build the shed on much more stable. They seemed pretty interested in my project (actually, most people are) and I think are waiting to see if I'll really do it. We all know I will, even if out of pride at this point.

Now that I have the tools, tomorrow I am going to go out and begin marking my excavation site. I'll post pictures of that. After I dig the trench, I'll be heading over to Drywall Masonry Supply in raynham to purchase the gravel for the rubble trench foundation. Thankfully I have a hand tamper to borrow from a friend and I got some books to help me through this process.

Building With Cob - Adam Weismann + Katy Bryce (loves rubble trench foundations with stone plinth style, explains whole process)
Measuring, Marking and Layout - John Carroll (good general notes)
The Art of the Stone Mason - Ian Cramb (great drawings!)
Stonebuilder's Primer - Charles Long (written for owner/builders by someone who really loves rocks)

Other than a ton of labor left to do and a lot of "HOW AM I GOING TO GET THIS DONE ON TIME" sort of thinking, looks like tomorrow is a great day to start building.

Businesses that have helped us thus far:

NER - dumpster/recycling service
Del's Landscaping - Regraded the earth, helped do some yardwork (508 558-8961)
Drywall Masonry Supplies - Is helping to find used masonry tools for the stone foundation, provided information etc
Stumpy's - Got rid of a few rotted stumps in our yard! (John and Steve 508 662-2413)

And a few locals who have let me borrow tools, learn a thing or two about what I'm doing, and endless patience from my family, teachers, and friends. :)

Deconstruction

Well!

Where to start. I'll start with pictures, then explain. To the left here is the model I made of the shed with some working drawings. I have more pictures if anyone wants me to post them later. I presented this during my final presentation and I think it went well as I worked hard on all of this. The most difficult part is actually having this shed be realized. When I look at it and when I think about it, it's not just a design but something I know I'm soon to be making.. and it's very large. I've never managed something nearly this big or complicated. I'm getting a lot of help, though, so after this step was finished many people have stepped up to the plate to help me out.
The shed as it was is posted on the right. I hate that thing and I'm glad it's now GONE. However, the morning of us destroying it was memorial day. You can see how it was just an eyesore compared to how nice our trees are and what will be a great backyard.

Now it's gone!

The pile it left is just.. inexcusable. The other half is in the dumpster (we got a recycling dumpster from New England Recycling by the way.) It's disgusting how they built the shed. They might as well have used as much lumber to build a micro house! it was just so much waste.

So I took lots of pictures of us breaking boards and ripping off plywood from the frame by hand or by sledgehammer but I'd rather not post all of them. The shed came down in two days and I had to spend all of yesterday resting with my right arm throbbing. It was very hard work for everyone who worked on it. A big thanks to my nephews Bobby and Jason, Kylie and Mom for helping keeping us stay fueled!, and Dad because sometimes you are like the hulk. Carly would normally get thanks but the picture up at the top says enough. Below, Carly and I attempted our first saw horse. I'll let you guys know what happens next.

end of break

I'm sitting thinking about how it's the end of spring break and I'm not sure I used my time as best I could. My arms are sore, though. I moved a lot of things and took a lot of inventory and talked a lot.
I didn't sketch at all, but I thought a lot.

My parents might have found someone to finish off the porch and possibly someone to put the washer and dryer on the first level (things from the addition that didn't get finished.) Good news, and mom also talked about getting someone here to remove dirt from around the foundation. I took that as 'I need to get the stuff out of the shed asap' and found out all of the stuff that's in the shed. I found that we have a lot of tools, tarps, and scrap construction material that will benefit the new shed. It will also be a lot easier to remove the stuff now that needs to go, when we demolish/break down the shed. Then the dirt from around the yard can be moved and I can start growing clover and making cob.

The hardest thing to wrap my mind around is the roof. I spent some time talking to a builder the other day who entertained my project and we came to some conclusions. I probably should have the roof hold it's own weight, and I shouldn't give up my dream of a green roof. I know then what I want it to look like but I have NO idea how to design it to the loads, or calculate that, etc. I'd have to do that with someone, and I guess soon, as the roof and foundaton would be built first.

I also am reconsidering doing concrete for the foundation. It might be best to lay stones, although I'm not too excited about it. Mostly I hate the fact that I have to go down 5 feet to hit the frost line. I don't want to build the foundation :) Our yard is so rocky that it's going to be hard to dig that far. I'll get an answer to what I should do about the foundation/floor later, especially the floor, as that'll be one of the last things I do.

So my update really is just about some thoughts, and I don't have anything to show yet. I did go to the http://www.nesea.org/ Nesea trade show on thursday which tired me out but I got to see and speak to a lot of people about green ideas, including cob construction. I also bought some books and got to have coffee in the north end.

Hopefully the next time I update, the old shed will be GONE.

About Cob

When I first started thinking about how I could sustainably apply what I'm learning to landscaping my parent's back yard, I threw out to a friend the idea of natural building. I looked up straw-bale, cob, and a few other things but cob looked the most appealing. It would be more structurally sound and require less carpentry (so it seems) to build a shed with cob than straw-bale. It also looks as though my soil is perfect for it without doing much testing. Two soils tests have conclusively stated that the soil lacks nutrients and has a lot of sand/clay. It appears that after about 30" or so, depending on whether or not you come across a sink hole, there's gravel/rock/etc. I have to test my site still. But it was because I can't build with wood (and I probably can't really design with it yet anyway!) that I felt more comfortable looking at natural building. Cob, like clay sculpting, is something anyone can do if they pay attention to a few key things: joining it properly, keeping it moist when working it, and keep everything around the same thickness so it dries together. I feel more comfortable throwing mud around than losing my finger on a table saw, really.

It's also dirt cheap, and after another contractor walking off the job, that's a serious concern (I see why people hate contractors now.) Below are some links that give good info about cob stuff. I'm currently reading the Hand Sculpted House, and it's easily my favorite resource right now. I hope that in choosing this building material, I'll get friends and family involved in something that we should all be thinking about - getting back to basics.

http://www.cobcottage.com/
http://www.networkearth.org/naturalbuilding/history.html
http://weblife.org/cob/
http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/natural_building.htm
http://earthedworld.co.uk/index.php?module=photoshare&func=viewallfolders

Site Pictures and Sketch

Rather than just jumping into what I'm thinking about doing, I thought I should start by uploading the pictures I have of the site, and the plan sketch that I made. Figuring out what I need to do and what I want to do has been difficult. I know next to nothing about landscaping, and even building I know little. But I do know how to take pictures and make dumb panoramas in photoshop. Taking measurements of an existing space is still something I don't enjoy when I only have a 25' measuring tape but the sketch uploaded shows generally some measurements of the house, additions, driveways, and fence line. I intend over the course of 3 years to address the entire yard, but it looks like for now I have to refine my summer plans to building the shed and making the soil fertile again.

Without further ado:









Included is a picture of the dog, Princess, looking awkward on site. Also is a googleimages find that Spruce street is inaccurately located. I contacted them about it but for now it's still incorrect that I know of. You can also see the shed that currently is in place (it sucks) next to some silly phone pole. Dorothy's garden is a raised bed she takes great care of. The fence is falling apart in many places (rot), and there is a fire pit of concrete blocks. We have a LOT of rocks that have surfaced over the years - I wish they were large enough for a good foundation. Anyone who's curious - we have a septic tank and field, which I have a drawing of.

One question that I thought about is that I plan on and am designing a pretty exotic shed in comparison to how.. 70's the house is (check out the render I have of the house design, ugh). I can't do too much to change the exterior of the house, but I hope with the planting and small renovations I'm concocting this will all become seamless.

At the moment I am still researching Cob construction for the shed and am hesitant to show my sketchwork because I don't feel final about any of it. Maybe in the next post.

Spring break arrives in a week and I plan to use this time to find and visit a cob house/structure in massachusetts (If you know anyone...). I also will conduct a soil test and will have a picture of that to show what levels of clay/sand/silt/rock are in my soil. I have a feeling based on my memory of mud pies that there is enough clay and sand that I won't have to order too much of either, just more dirt in general.

I also will figure out what needs to be done landscaping-wise. Realistically I want the entire yard to be fertile for gardening for food and flowers, but because construction is going to keep occuring, I think I have to put it to the side and only grow something that will bring nutrients back into the soil. I've been recommended clover to do the job. Any commentors should add their two cents on this especially!

There you have it, Mom, what I've been doing the past few weeks.

returning home

I'm a student at Massart in Boston studying architecture.
As I'm researching and wrapping my mind around what journey I'm setting myself off to, I figured I should be documenting my processes, thoughts and discoveries. I'm going to landscape my parent's yard following sustainable/eco-effective practice, as well as attempt to build a cob(I think cob, anyway) workshed. I was prompted to do this after my parents have been for the past 7-8 months adding on to our suburban duplex, and studying sustainable architecture. It seems like the only project that I could really sink my teeth into, one that has personal written all over it. They didn't necessarily ask for my help, especially like this, but they did ask for my ideas. I can't just half do something either, I have to do it full force.

I've been for the past two weeks thinking and starting to plan what sort of route I would take. At first I thought I might spend more time studying development in Taunton, but I've since brought my project more and more close to my own childhood backyard. I know next to nothing about gardening, landscaping, site planning, real architecture. I have a number of peers, teachers, and friends to ask for support and resources. Using what I'm learning in class and these connections I will write/draw a full proposal of design, and later, implement my ideas. I will do most of the labor myself, and it will be designed that way. I hope that all of my materials will be green, and perhaps there will be a lot of recycled materials. It will be dirty, fun, educational, and rewarding.

So, I'm going to warn that I'm not at all a good writer, but I do like details. I will provide pictures, drawings, musings, and research throughout the next 7 months. Feel free to comment and ask questions, or give me advice - I'm sure I'll need it.