Joints and seams

Every surface where the straw stops and any other material begins needs special attention. This is where having an experienced plasterer makes a big difference.  That's why we brought Sean on board.  His expertise is priceless!

Here we see Typar, tuck tape, and lath meeting a wood subfloor

An outlet

Air and vapour sealing around the windows

Almost ready for a window

It feels good to have windows to look through

Windows, Sills, and Stools

All of our sills and stools were custom made, then varnished, then varnished and again, and again. We took our time to ensure they were thoroughly covered

Two wonderful women working in sync

Finnlee ready to help!

Zander is ripping some lumber

Friends have chipped in from time to time. Thanks for your help Austin. Glad to see safety first, the eyes in the top of your head are well protected!

Stuffing and Threading

The celebration over the last bale installed was short lived as there was still plenty to do to be ready for the plastering. We still needed to stuff the seams between bales, pin chicken wire up, and then stitch the bales together.

Stitching, a two person job.  Jan and Heather work well together

In this case the size of the needle really does matter

Here we see a gap in the straw that needs filling. Gaps like these became known as black holes. So much straw disappears into them

The handmade straw stuffer in action

Our friend Nicole stuffing straw in the foreground and Chris prepping flashing in the background

The last whole straw bales

Way back in February, Chris and I placed the last full bales in the walls.

Can you tell we're excited to be putting the last ones in?

We're happy and exhausted