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Milling Lumber
June 11th, 2009
Since we had so many trees taken down we decided to have some lumber milled from some of the larger trees. We had a portable bandsaw mill come from the day. Lebco custom milling kindly did the job for us. They worked real hard and cut us 2 or 3 decks worth of cedar planks and a variety of fir boards.
In addition to all this great dimensional lumber. I have been able to pull quite a few beautiful pieces of wood out of the slag pile left behind by the milling. These would be great for furniture, tabletops, signs etc.
Besides a drift of sawdust there is a large pile of slag from the milling process, But I was able to pull out 2X3s, 1X2s and lots of other sizes of boards from the waste pile. There are still some gems in there.
who loves cedar?
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Roper Road
May 25th, 2009
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Land Clearing
May 19th, 2009
Welcome to an update of our current undertaking. The Roper Road project. An experiment in developing a property from scratch on a limited budget. This week’s episode, Land Clearing!Our approach to starting this project was to first identify the place where we wanted to place our house site. We visited the site frequently, observed the lay of the land and came up with a basic idea of where we could place an old mobile home to start, where our additions and out buildings could be as we add to our starter building and where our main outdoor living space would be.
My two main considerations were access. ie. identifying the path of lest resistance from the street to the house-site. and Vista, meaning a spot where several main features of the property would be visible from the home.
Then we called in the machines. This was the fastest, safest and most affordable way to create a large clearing. Check out this video to see the preliminary clearing done on the property.
A team of two cleared our area in about a day and a half. One operated the backhoe while the other wielded a chainsaw, bucking limbs and separating trees from stumps. Logs were stacked to the side while branches and stumps were placed in the middle of the cleared area for burning.
The stumps and branches were set alight and we manned the fires for about 5 days until it finally burned out. During this time, a few Mudgirls came and hand-graded the access road that had been created. Although I wasn’t able to clear the land completely by Mudgirl, It was a great hybrid effort between woman and machine.
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Affordable Housing from Scratch
May 7th, 2009
I am a Vancouver island artist, designer and builder who has always rented basement suites, apartments, and run-down houses. But recently, I have taken on a project to develop a property from scratch. My budget comes from a small loan. If I can achieve the project under budget then I will be left with a loan payment far less then any rent I have ever paid.
The problem is the property is raw. There is nothing there but trees and moss. The land is very dry and there is no obvious water source. There is no power. The terrain is extremely rough with loose sandstone boulders, and undulating ridges. There are no clearings and there is no access road.
In order to comply with my local government a few key things need to be in place. Is it easy to become overwhelmed with the bureacracy if this is something that you have never done before. There are a couple of important things that ecclipse others in terms of legalities.
Firstly, goverment officials will insist that there needs to be a human-waste management system that is approved by the ministry of health. In rural areas not connected to the sewer, this means a septic tank. There are endless ways to set up a wastewater management system, depending on the terrain, materials available and the needs of your household.
Secondly, there needs to be a potable water-supply. (Oh, that silly government! requiring you to have drinking water on your property!) In the case of my place. I would probably need to get in a professional dowser to find a promising drilling spot and drill as deep as 300 feet to reach the possible groundwater. Living near water has always been a human trend that is starting to make extreme sense.
To get power to the site, Several power poles are going to need to be added from the main road. Small-scale alternative energy is a bit prohibitive on the site that I am building on. There is no sustained sunshine, very little wind, and no creek or stream. The only way to have self-sustaining abundant power would be to set up something such as a geo-thermal system.
So far, Just having site amenities may put me in the position of later living in a tent. So, I am going to be using recycled housing. This means an old-unwanted mobile home or similar set-up. And I am finding there are many many opportunites to recycle housing and this is a very viable option. Check this website out for example, pridybros.com. These houses are being saved from demolishment. A bit out of my price range but regardless, less than a quarter of my budget will be spent on the actual shelter.
Not including time spent researching or having insomnia. I have a timeframe of one month to make this happen. You laugh! (So do I sometimes, but I am very determined.) This will include time spent on site clearing and removing trees, having a septic system installed. Developing a water storage system and source. Arranging to have power to the site as well as filing permits, and finally, finding a starter building and having it located there.
It looks as though I will be able to use a mix of natural building methods and conventional methods to achieve my recycled housing project. Stay-tuned!
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Garden Series Cob Workshop. June 6-7
April 1st, 2009
Learn to build a Cob Garden Wall and Bench
In Nanaimo this spring, The mudgirls will be teaching the first of a series of natural building workshops at the Nanaimo comunity gardens. We saw this space as somewhere that could use a little fun and artistic cob, and rather than work on private property we wanted to do a project that was accessible to the community as well as bringing some traffic and energy to a public space.During the weekend we will be going through the steps of building a cob garden wall and bench with most of the time dedicated to hands-on building. This is a great opportunity to really get your hands into the project and leave your creative mark. The focus will really be on the artistic possibilities of cob. Participants will explore scupture, mosaic, bottle designs and other fun and sculptural elements.
This is a workshop for adults but mudgirls continue to make their workshops parent accessible by offering full childcare for the entire workshop at no extra cost.
Registration fee for the weekend is $175 per individual. Group rates are also available. We are also offering two free bartering spaces for those who are financially challenged. To register for the workshop please contact me at chelseybraham@hotmail.com.
you can check out the mudgirls website at www.mudgirls.ca
Nanaimo is an easy journey from Vancouver. an hour and 35 minute ferry ride from Horseshoe bay brings you here.
Next Weekend Workshops take place May 23/24, and June 6/7
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The 3 Day Foundation
March 28th, 2009
I just got back from Salt Spring island where we built the foundation for a camp kitchen. Three of us moved all the rock to the site and built the foundation by hand in just over 3 days. The stones are all dry stacked without mortar and rely on purely a proper fit to keep them in place. The wall may look chaotic but you can jump and dance around on the wall and the stones won’t budge. That is the essence of a dry stack stone wall.
The foundation for bench seating and cob table is also built into the foundation. The walls start at 18″ and taper to a 12″ at the top of the wall. Cob walls will be built next at a width of 12″. Posts rest on concrete piers set into the ground for this structure and the stones are stacked around them . The foundation will be pointed later with cob to fill in any cracks and reduce drafts. This structure will serve as a kitchen and eating area for researchers staying at this camp on Salt Spring island.
If you are interested in hiring the mudgirls please visit www.mudgirls.ca We are well organized and available for jobs on and around vancouver island. You can also contact me with any questions about our building methods or designs.
the mudgirls rockin the rocks
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Driftwood Post and Beam Construction
March 13th, 2009
I participated in raising the roof for this guest cabin which has since been finished with cob and wattle and daub. The cuts were made with a chainsaw and all the notching was done with hand tools. The timbers were all salvaged from a local beach. The only cost being the transportation.
The Mudgirls often build their post and beam structures with driftwood. Beach logs are often well-seasoned and stripped of bark already. Driftwood post and beam construction is an extremely economical way to frame a roof and create a locally sourced and eye-catching structure. Everything was done with hand tools for this structure which forms the roof for a guest cabin. The walls are then built up with cob and the structure is left partially exposed.
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Dry stacked stone walls and foundations
March 13th, 2009
Mortar-less stone is however the oldest form of construction known to man. Correctly stacked stones can stand for centuries.Stacking stones for a foundation is an extremely challenging skill to learn but creates a strong and beautiful wall. Depending on your source of stone, These walls can often be constructed with almost no materials costs whatsoever making them the most economical choice for concrete-free foundations.
This technique works for foundations for small cob buildings and additions, outhouses, sheds, garden walls, and bases for fencing. The mudgirls have built stone structures such as these for clients on lasqueti island, Salt-spring island, Nanaimo, Courtenay, Powell river, Cortes island, Quadra island, Hornby island, and the Sunshine coast.
To see more examples or to receive a quote please visit www.mudgirls.ca
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Living without a Fridge in the City
February 20th, 2009
The urban environment is especially suited to living with either no refrigerator or a scale-downed cooling system. With population density comes easy access to fresh foods at most times of the day, and it can become a real pleasure to shop for fresh food daily.
I undertook my fridge-less experiment two years ago, and I have never regretted it! also, i’m still alive!! and I have been learning some extremely interesting things about food and storage techniques.
Refrigeration certainly will prolong the life of foods, it is however, entirely dependent on a stable electricity supply and this weakness quickly becomes clear in a power failure.
And, of course, the other reason for rethinking the refrigerator is the use of Freon, a nasty ozone-depleting gas. Although honestly, my main reason for rejecting the refrigerator was the horrible background noise it produces, not to mention the distint click-click-gurgle my particular beast had developed.
Food Storage Tips:
Below are some tips to storing food for longer than a day. My ease of adapting to life without a fridge is helped by the fact that I don’t drink milk, so I can’t comment on an alternative way to store milk.
Fruits and vegetables: buy fresh daily, store in a cool dry place
Greens: greens, and chives can be stored like cut flowers, in a container with a bit of water at the bottom.
Eggs: eggs last a very long time if rotated every few days
Yogurt and Cheeses: Last just fine for several days, In fact this is how alternatives to dairy products came into being, to extend the shelf-life of fresh milk.
Sauces, and condiments: most commercial condiments are so full of preservatives and do not actually require refrigeration. Most can be stored for 6 months after opening. Any degradation that may occur can be seen or smelt. Sauces that are going to be boiled or cooked are fine to store in a pantry, as well. However it is very convenient to buy in small quantities and eat within a few days
Fresh Meat: buy daily. wrap in paper to keep cool until ready to eat, cook thoroughly.
Sausages, preserved meats: It is easy to find sausages and jerkys that do not require refrigeration. wrap in paper and store in the pantry. A local butcher shop may have air-dried sausages. (In Nanaimo, you can find them at Nesvog’s)
Homemade soups: Large soups can be left on top of the stove in the pot they were cooked in for 24 hours. Put the lid on to maintain sterile conditions and bring to boiling again when ready to eat the next day.
Alternatives to the conventional fridge:
Evaporation coolers: a basic design consists of a porous clay pot placed inside a larger clay pot. The space between is filled with sand and kept moist. The evaporation produces a cooling effect.
Thermoelectric cooling: this is what I use at home if I really need to cool something. The premise simplified is that an electric current is run through a series of plates. One side gets hot, and one side gets cold. the current can be reversed to produce either a cooling or a heating effect. Peltier coolers are easy to get and completely functional, they are compact, quiet and contain no mysterious gasses or chemicals.
Outside: It’s winter, you are heating your home, yet cooling a small portion again. hmmm…
If you are wanting to get back in touch with your food, consume more fresh foods. rethinking the way you store food is in order. It could mean switching to a smaller under the counter fridge or a very desirable (but more expensive) refridgerated drawer system (so nice). Search for peltier coolers and you will find a suprising choice of nifty little machines!
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Mudgirls tour Eco-sense house and O.U.R Ecovillage
February 15th, 2009
Vancouver Island has some inspiring sites for those interested in Alternative construction. I recently went on a tour with some Vancouver Island builders of two very interesting examples of sustainable architecture.
We visited the Eco-sense house located in the highlands just north of Victoria, BC, and I have to say it was the most fascinating cob home that I have seen and a great example of a fully functional and code approved cob dwelling. It was beautifully finished and contained endless examples of sustainable design.
The house was built completely of cob (sand, clay and straw), mixed by roto-tiller, and is an amazing example of an engineered loadbearing earthen structure. The walls rest on a concrete foundation, which in itself was innovative design. The house is powered by solar panels which draw power from the city grid during the winter months and give power back in the summertime! The property contained so many examples of great design that it was almost impossible to take them all in. ( It was the Disneyland of natural building!) The specs on the house were incredible. check it out at www.eco-sense.ca
The other stop on our tour was O.U.R. Ecovillage in Shawnigan Lake. We learned the fascinating history of the Ecovillage which is a sustainable learning centre and demonstration site. The property was originally a farm with a single house but was able to be rezoned through a long and transformative process which resulted in the inspiring place it is now. The Ecovillage contains great examples of permaculture design, and beautiful architecture incorporating recycled building materials and inspires and teached thousands of people annually. Visit them at www.ourecovillage.org
The folks at both Eco-sense and O.U.R. Ecovillage have worked tirelessly with building professionals and city officials to begin to revolutionalize the building code in BC. It was wonderful to see how this type of building can change hearts and minds!
