We did not paint our barn (see my post Don’t Paint — Gray is the New Green ) because it is sided with 1-inch slabs of white oak, which has weathered to a silvery gray and will not rot. But we do have to paint our house in town, which […]
We astonished our friends and family 7 years ago Labor Day weekend when we purchased 44 acres of Driftless Area ridge side that we had first walked only a week before. We wanted to settle on its south-facing slope and care for this bit of land Then we learned, as […]
The second weekend of our straw bale construction workshop (led by Mark Morgan of Bearpaw Design and Construction ), we got a chance to try earthen clay plastering on the interior walls of the building. The first weekend, we troweled concrete stucco on the outside of the straw bale walls. […]
If there is one lesson I’m learning as I explore straw bale construction, it’s that there is no one way to work with straw bale. This form of construction involves a lot of craft, and experience is very valuable, but it is a form that is being re-invented all over […]
Straw as a building material may seem sketchy the first time you think about it. But the more you learn, the more it makes sense. I am in the middle of a 6-day workshop adding the straw bale component led by straw bale building master and local legend Mark Morgan […]
We thought finding windows for the barn would be a simple matter of a couple of trips to the ReStore. We did find the door from the barn into the greenhouse there – a lovely solid oak door with glass so old, it has gone rippley. But we were up […]
Straw is a natural material that can be sourced very locally. Isn’t it great to see examples of straw bale construction popping up all over the world? I can make such a grandiose statement because I have found a really cool application of straw bale construction in England. The other […]
Here is your chance to learn about straw bale in some great workshops coming up very soon that still have openings. Bear Paw Construction and Whole Trees Architecture and Construction are teaming up on the construction of a one-of-a-kind home – the Kara Woods Residence on the grounds of the […]
I was shocked when our timber framer, Mike Yaker, urged us to forget painting the inch-thick oak boards on our new barn. To me the prototypical barn was barn red. I have always loved to see red barns. They look great against a background or green fields, golden wheat or […]
When we decided to build a barn on our land, our daughter/architect quickly sketched up a shape that would maximize future solar panels and provide the most possible headspace for a loft area where we could camp. We took her plan to Mike Yaker, a local timber framer, who crafted […]
Digging in the Driftless 