Monday, September 24, 2012

Its all coming together

Tamping the earthen floor

 Well, thanks to Britt Nielsen, I finally have photos to post.  I must admit, I have kinda fallen off the wagon on the photo taking, and since her photos are always way better than mine I just wait to get hers!

In the last week we have been installing the earthen floor, slate roofing all week, finishing the interior plaster, putting up decking and tar paper on the porch roof, healing cracks in the earthen plaster and filling cracks with a sand heavy slip paint, and finish plastering the ceiling.

It is incredible how much it has transformed here at the end.  Who knew that our moldy scruffy-looking straw-clay walls could become these beautifully smooth orange-brown earth colored walls and that our tarp-covered roof could become this gorgeous blue-grey slate masterpiece?!

So without further ado, I present to you the almost finished WASI retreat cottage! 









Cutting the slates
Mary Spicer and I on our beautiful new roof nailers

Britt on the slate roof wielding...a slate hammer?...nope I think it's her iPhone :)







Friday, September 14, 2012

Gettin' plastered



It's been a few weeks since I've updated you all on our progress, but we've been moving right along!  The last few weeks have been earthen plaster central, including 2 Saturday work parties with our new found community of natural building friends (both new from the workshop and old friends from the neighborhood here). 

Work party plastering!

Building partly plastered.  And garden wall.
  
We also managed to finish the leveling layer of our earthen floor and the earthen plaster on our ceiling.  And the plaster on our garden wall.  And starting slating the roof.  It's all coming together!