On a different site for the first time.

Today, Phil and Jessa and I went out to Michelle's to mark where her strawbale/cob studio is going to be. The site was gorgeous and entirely different from John's wooded site. Michelle had her two sons with her (Eli and Ian- Ian was strapped to Michelle's back the entire time. Eli is my new boyfriend. Both boys are adorable.)

Michelle, Phil and Jessa, on site.

We staked out the perimeter of the building, having slight difficulties with the arch that will be the curved cob wall. Apparently, natural builders cannot be good at math.

Phil staking. This is one option to send to Richard for an "action pose."

The house, marked.

We marked the foundation for the person who is going to come dig it out for us. I think this will happen Wednesday. We marked two foot in from the wall and one foot out. We also marked where the posts are going to be for the timber frame. We are going to look/cut down trees tomorrow.

Phil, marking where to dig for the foundation.

Michelle wanted to know how much clay she was going to need to order. When possible, we will be using clay that comes from the site, so we needed to dig to see if we were going to find any. Once we started digging, we realized that we were planning to build on top of a solid rock that was covered by 6 inches or so of soil. This is a very good thing- strong foundation.

Phil and Jessa, digging to see what we were dealing with.

And, of course, there was some goofing off. ^_^

Perhaps an alternative action shot? I'm sure Richard would love it.

On the way back to campus, we stopped beside the road to look at some bamboo that might be used in the earthbag walls for some extra sturdiness. I think Phil took some back with him to see how it dries.

I did have a weird issue today. After coming in from marking the building, Jessa, Phil and Michelle were discussing some technical aspects of the house (the part that I don't have much to contribute to yet) such as the size and placement of windows. We were standing in the kitchen around the floor plans that were layed out on the island. And then my stomach started feeling pretty strange- in a familiar, dull, terrible way. I got my bottle of water and drank a little, but didn't feel much better. After standing there for another minute or so, I recognized what the feeling was- it was the pre-fainting feeling that I get whenever I'm around needles. Not wanting to be the weirdo who passes out on the first day on site, I took another drink and hoped the feeling would go away. But it didn't and I got dizzy, so I told Jessa I was going to sit down. The others told me I looked pale and offered me food and such, but I said I was fine- I know that just sitting can help quite a bit. So I sat on the floor and made goo-goo eyes at baby Eli and soon felt better. To be super safe, I ate a granola bar and felt completely up to par after a nice lunch of quinoa (this is how wikipedia says you spell this word...) and and beans.

Please note, this is not normal for me. The only times I have ever passed out have been when needles were involved (shots, tattoos, piercings.) I have only been dizzy from a lack of food once in the 9th grade when I didn't know how to manage my vegetarian diet. My little near-fainting spell could have been for several reasons (or combinations of these reasons):

1. I hadn't eaten anything yet.
   
2. It was incredibly hot.
   
3. Not enough water.
   
4. My body is completely ridiculous and just decided to give out on me.

I doubt option 4 has much validity- I have been nice to my body and it should be nice to me too. Option 3 would surprise me, because I had been drinking water while I was on site. Granted, warm water, and probably not enough in proportion to the heat. Option 2 would be weird, since I've never had heat issues before, and I spent last summer out in the sun for ten hour shifts, four times a week. Also, we were inside an air conditioned building at the time. The food thing is possible, but I wasn't feeling hungry at all and have been eating very healthily lately. I assume it is a combination of these things. I will work to prevent this from happening again in the future.

Tomorrow, tree picking. Wednesday, digging the foundation on Michelle's house. Next week, our first workshop at John's house. Phil recommended that I read the section on floors in my Building with Cob book. (I've been reading Earthbag Building: The tools, tricks and techniques lately, since earthbag is our first workshop.) I also need to get my timecard set up online.

Spending Someone Else's Money

In the last 48 hours, I have spent $232.41 on internship related stuff. I have bought:
-a tool belt (the bag and the belt were sold separately. Weird.)
-a tool bag.
-four trowels (different sizes)
-ear plugs
-safety glasses (super attractive)
-a square. For some reason, I have negative feelings towards squares. Probably because of my middle school shop class.
-super grippy work gloves (that were more expensive than I thought work gloves should be.
-wire cutters
-25 foot tape measurer
-a line level
-a hammer
-rainboots (found them yesterday- need to get reimbursed.)
-all kinds of first-aid stuff. I think my summer as a trailwalker taught me to carry a big first aid kit. I think I spent about $50 on first aid stuff.

I still need a flip-out utility knife. I've been wanting one of these for a while now, so I'm glad that I actually have a reason to get one. I also might buy another pair of Keens like the one I have, so I don't have to ruin my pair. I also might buy some more shorts. And maybe the two books that Phil is letting me borrow.

I need to keep track of my gas mileage so that I can be reimbursed. Reimbursement for gas is a good thing, because the car I'm using uses a higher quality of gas than normal. Oy. Expensive stuff.

Floor Plans

Phil drew up floor plans for John's house last week. I'm posting them so that you all can get an idea of what we're doing:





The first one is a side view/dissection of the building. You can see the individual layers of earthbag here, as well as the roof. The second picture is the view from above, to show you the room layout. The large circle will be the general living area and the three smaller rooms will be the wetroom (the door leading out of the north side goes to a composting toilet outside,) the kitchen and the bedroom. The room at the very bottom on the drawing (south) is the main entrance. The living area has two layers of earthbags for more insulation and thermal mass. One layer will be sawdust based.

On site, for the first time!

Yesterday was an eventful day. Hot though. Very hot.

Phil, John and I went out to Egret's Cove, which is the intentional community where John's earthbag house is going to be. There are about 4 houses there already and a few land plots still up for grabs, I believe. I got to see John's site for the first time. It's in a very wooded area, near another house. There's not much of a clearing- really just enough for the actual house- which I think will make the building process interesting... I liked seeing the site- I feel like everyday I'm getting more and more comfortable with all this.

We headed up Big Hill to the stone quarry to get several buckets of lime for some test bag mixes. We borrowed a truck, so Phil rode in the back. On the way up, John told me the story of his grandson's birth a few days ago. His daughter had delivered at home and John wasn't supposed to be there since he "wasn't the right gender." John sat on the porch and "called the spirits of women"- all the women he could think of. It was a nice story. I like John.

I don't know how to deal with getting reimbursed. I need to buy my tools. I also bought gas yesterday. I really don't know how to deal with this gas thing- I use the car a little for my own personal use as well... I guess I could start keeping track of milage? I don't know...

Nothing to do today except read. I've been doing a lot of that lately. Which may be part of why I'm getting more comfortable with the process- I'm learning.

(I still can't find my camera. Phil took pictures. He said he'd send them to me, so I'll post them as soon as I can.)

Workshop Schedule

HomeGrown HideAways has updated their website. The workshop schedule has been posted.

June 15-20 Earthbag Workshop 1, $500

Learn to build the first code approved earthbag dome home in Kentucky. Built in an intentional community, the techniques of earthbag construction and planning will be covered along with discussion of site and foundation preparation. This workshop offers plenty of on-site lessons to help participants learn the tools, tricks, and techniques of constructing with earthbags. Hands-on opportunities will help participants to gain a feel for the nature of dirt, clay, lime, and sawdust as building materials as well as earthbag as a technique for residential construction.

June 22-27 Earthbag Workshop 2, $500

See description above. Discounts available if registering for both.

July 6-11 Post & Beam/Timber Frame Workshop, $500

In this workshop, participants will learn the basics of building a post & beam structure. We will cover layout techniques, tool use, hardware, and joinery cutting methods. This workshop is part of a larger project to build a strawbale and cob art studio.

July 13-18, Earthbag Plaster, $500

Like any building, earthen structures need to be protected from the elements. Earthbag construction poses its own unique challenges and working within the dome structure creates many unique learning opportunities. This workshop will cover materials, mixing techniques, troweling and texturing, and using pigments to color plaster.

July 20-25, Strawbale Design/Build, $500

Come learn the basic skills behind one of the most popular techniques of natural construction: strawbale. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to work first-hand with strawbale design and construction and develop a greater understanding of and appreciation for straw as a building material.

July 27 - August 1, Building with Cob, $500

This workshop will provide participants with instructions for creating cob structures, an affordable, safe, and ecologically sound method of construction. Workshop participants will learn the tools and methods used while constructing a cob structure which complies with modern building standards.

August 3-8, Natural Plasters & Finishes 1, $500

Learn how to use clay and lime based plasters on a variety of different natural surfaces, such as earthbag, strawbale, and cob. This workshop will cover materials, mixing techniques, troweling and texturing, and using pigments to color plaster.

August 10-15, Natural Plasters & Finishes 2, $500

See description above. Discounts available if registering for both.

Exciting things are taking place!

I've had a couple of meeting since my last post. Yesterday, Phil, Jessa and I had an impromptu meeting to hammer out some details with the workshops and specific things that need to be completed before starting the workshops. I don't feel like I contributed too much, but I listened attentively.

Today, I woke up early, (said goodbye to Adam, who left today) and went with Phil and Jessa to meet Michelle at the codes office. Michelle had her two kids with her- a baby strapped to her chest and a hyper boy who really wanted some attention- cute as anything. She got her building permit (from the same guy who approved John's- he seemed friendly and fairly excited about the buildings. It was nice to see who the others had been working with for so long.) Her permit was not near as hard to get as John's, since she will have a timber-frame to support her structure. I got to look at the official floorplan for the studio and I think it's going to be beautiful. (For a reminder, Michelle has the strawbale and cob studio. John had the earthbag dome house.) Jessa took a picture of Michelle with her permit, so maybe I can get my hands on that and post it as well.

After going to the codes office, Phil and I met up with John to discuss his house some more. Phil had plans drawn out on his computer, which I think helped me to understand and visualize the house much better. I felt like this was a very good meeting- I understood and felt up to speed with the others. I might owe my cup of Mocha Jo a thanks. I think John's house is going to be wonderful and unique to look at and I really hope that he opts to put bottle in his wall somewhere. I want to put bottles in a wall.

I just typed up a list of things that need to be done before our first workshop at John's on the 16th. I now need to type up short descriptions of each of the workshops so that Jessa can start advertising. I'm not entirely sure how well I will do on this, but I'm going to go give it a shot. Once Jessa posts the schedule and descriptions somewhere, I will post it on here. I don't want to falsely advertise.

I'm feeling good about this. I'm looking stuff up in books and becoming familiar with the terminology and processes. Phil let me look through his tools that he ordered for the summer, so I now know what I need to buy. I'm looking forward to this.

First Day

Hi folks. I haven't been around my computer lately and I haven't wanted to post without being on my own computer.

I had a meeting with Jessa, Phil and John (owner of the earthbag project) on Friday (I think.) A lot was said to finalize plans on John's house. A lot of what is said was technical, design stuff and I didn't feel like I could contribute so much to that part of the conversation; I think I will be far more helpful when we actually start building.

John got a building permit.
This is an amazingly good thing. The entire time I have been involved with this internship, the others have been pushing for the codes office to give John a building permit. There are no earthbag residencies in this region, so codes officials were extremely hesitant about giving the permit. Now, as long as everything goes well in the building process, people who want to build with earthbag should have a much easier time getting their permits. Groundbreaking stuff, kids.

Carol's cob house has been moved outside my internship. She doesn't feel that she will be ready to build until late August/early September, which is past the internship end. I was looking forward to the round cob house, but I will have an opportunity to build with cob when I work on Michelle and Rob's studio.

My internship officially starts today, although I don't think that there's anything for me to be doing today. I'm a little in the dark right now about what I'm supposed to be doing- I'm just waiting for Phil or Jessa to tell me to do something.

In other news, Adam (boyfriend) is visiting for a few days, so I've been playing with him lately. He likes the SENS house and, hopefully, will help me get a bed into the room I'm wanting to move into. Then I can unload boxes.

I have a giant fear that I'm going to kill all my friends' plants that they left with me for the summer.