BUILDING A SOLAR HOUSE IN FRANCE - WEEK 12 - 13 - larch cladding, hemp insulating screed »  Viewing IMGP0039     [Image 23 of 29]  :: Jump To  
  First slide Previous slide      Index Page Start/Stop the slide show      Next slide Last slide  
Comment: Lifting a 15 x 10 cm cill member into place under the roof window / solar collector, over which the zinc flashing is fixed.
Then on Monday the 12th, Thierry Soubrier arrived to do the insulating screed in the basement. He is a specialist in hemp and lime screeds. He also specialises in straw wall construction and in clay / lime floor and wall finishes. He is part of a network of like-minded people promoting ecological construction. Here he is unloading the bags of hemp stalk (chenevotte) and cutting them open. He uses a large capacity conventional concrete mixer, and the proportions are 44 litres of water, 35 kilograms of lime, half a bag of chenevotte. I mixed for him while he laid the screed.

Closeup of the 'chenevotte', which has been traditionally used for bedding for animals. We will also use hemp fibre 'wool' insulation in the roof and walls.

The first wheelbarrow going down in the basement areas that will be tiled.

It is difficult to get a smooth and level surface on which to lay tiles directly, so I opted for a rough finish on which I hope to lay a thin sand / lime levelling screed later. It all takes several months to dry, which is why I'm doing it now.

Mixing and filling the barrow, It took us just a day and a half to lay 25 square metres of screed 8 cm thick. At my age (72) I found it quite hard work, but thanks to the relatively light weight of the mix, not crippling.

Mr Mazières (Marcelin) came back on Wednesday to finish the framing to receive the larch (mèlèze) boarding. There were 4 of them swarming all over the roof and scafolding. I finished off glazing the window in the cellar store room.

On Thursday the framing was finished and covered with the breathable membrane (ecran respirante) and they started nailing on the mèlèze

Mr Mazières having a cigarette and thinking about the lapping of the boards.
Next slide
 
Nov 15, 2007 - 09:48 AM
During the first day putting up the oak frame, the end truss was not checked carefully enough and was slightly out of postion and not quite vertical, and I did not see the error until all the other trusses were correctly in position and braced to it. I asked for it to be corrected and was told forcefully that it was too late ! The mistake is visible in this picture, but is not very serious as the truss is hidden in the thckness of the insulated wall in the gable end.

Fixing the larch boarding in place.

Soldering the zinc flashings around the roof light.

Late friday afternoon they had done nearly all the boarding on the gable and around the roof light.

I brought my new DeWalt radial bench saw to the site, to cut larch cladding.

View from the bottom of our wood. It has been very cold every morning (-6 degrees Celsius ttoday) but with very bright sunshine it quickly warms up, but the leaves are starting to fall. Mr Mazières is coming on Monday to finish most of his work on the main house.
Album last updated on Nov 09, 2007 - 12:58 PM
Powered by JAlbum 6.5 and BluPlusPlus skin