How to build a straw house, part III

Our project to create an eco-building, The LookOut, took another two leaps forward last week: the roof was completed and we put the last bales of straw into the walls and the floor.  But we're not finished yet!

To recap the story so far (a bit like a documentary that thinks you don't have the attention span to follow the plot between the ad breaks): in early May, we stuffed the roof with 90 bales of straw and four tonnes of clay (see Part I photodiary); then we prepared dozens more bales and built the walls of The LookOut (see Part II photodiary).  We had to leave the walls for a couple of weeks while the roof settled into position on top of the straw bales.  The weight of the roof compressed the straw by a further 4 cm, and they're now solid.  Thanks to Conrad, our chainsaw-wielding warden from Anglesey, all of the walls were trimmed last week, giving us a reasonably flat surface to which we can apply the render, both inside and out.

In the meantime, work could continue on the roof.  After we had filled it with straw and clay, the joiners had put birch plywood over the top, to give the distinctive curved look that we want. It looked lovely, but it's not waterproof, and so we have been living with a rather unsightly tarpaulin tied to the roof for the last few weeks. Last week, protective rubber was bonded to the plywood and the gutters installed, so that when it rains, nothing will leak into the straw. The LookOut has been designed so that we can have a green turf roof, but we don't have the money to do that as part of this project, so the rubber coating will be fine until we can afford to add the turf.

I'll be truthful, I was a bit worried about how it would look. Would it look like the roof of a factory plonked in the nature reserve? Well, actually, no. Because it reflects the sky, its colour changes according to the mood of the weather, a bit like the sea. We think it's fine - what do you think?

The next task was to finish the floor.  The joiners created a grid of wooden joists that were just the right size for us to stuff sections of straw bales into.  Compared to the rest of the straw building, this was pretty easy.  Four of us completed it in a few hours, meaning that when you stand in the finished building, there'll be straw above you, around you and below you, making it lovely and snug in cool weather. The joiners will fix plywood over the straw-fill to complete the floor.

Just before we finished the floor, we added the time capsule, the contents of which were suggested and donated by volunteers, staff and visitors to the reserve, many by our friends on Facebook and Twitter (for more on what's in the time capsule, see this blog).  We haven't set a date for the capsule to be opened, and it will only be found if the floor of the building is taken up.  

The final job was to complete the wall along the front of the building.  Although most of the front will be glazed, there is a small section made of straw. This proved to be the most awkward part of the whole build and took us several hours on Friday evening.  Each bale has to be cut to size and cut to fit the various pieces of timber that hold the front together. Have you ever tried sawing straw? It's not easy! 'Cutting' proved to be a mix of using the saw and hand-pulling bits of straw that refused to be chopped, while making sure we didn't cut through the twine that held the bale together.

And so, this was the last straw.  Typically, the last bit we needed wasn't the size and shape of a whole bale, or even half a bale, so we had to make up a special bale that was just the right size by using a patent-designed needle (tomato cane) and thread (baler twine). Apologies that Laura and Alastair look a bit blue in the picture; it was far from cold, but we'd dropped the blue tarpaulin to protect the straw before we finished it.

So, the latest stage of The LookOut is complete. This week, the joiners will finish the floor and we'll start work on the rendering. We're being trained how to apply it on Monday. There'll be lime render on the outside and clay render on the inside, but it'll require several coats and we have to leave 10 days between each. And then there is some painting to do.  The big question is when will we finish it? We're hoping that by the start of the school summer holidays, you'll be able to come and use The LookOut.