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Posts Tagged ‘process’

I never managed to get any photos of this project….but it was a tiny addition and rearrangement of the south end of a house on two levels to better connect to the yard and maximize the south light. The centerpiece was a stair with botanical railing and thick wood treads. The blacksmith, Shawn Lovell recently gave me some progress photos that she took. Thanks Shawn! I’ll take a photo of the organic handrail she made for our place and post that next.

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First here is a 3d model we built as a schematic design tool. A few things changed and not all the details are there, but you can get a sense of the overall layout.

This one was a rebuild of an existing garage. (We had to rebuild it to meet the energy standards for habitable space, but we had to keep it the same as the garage in footprint, height, and roofline. ) The owners wanted to keep it simple…and kind of traditional. We think it turned out well.

The heating is a Fujitsu minisplit, the insulation is beyond code including slab edge insulation, lighting is all LED, high efficacy, & high CRI. A spot HRV keeps the air fresh even when the owners are out of town.

Big doors to the patio open wide on a nice day

We kept a flat ceiling and a traditional attic for simplicity
A wall of cabinets on the property line side…120 Volt LED track lighting
McBride construction planned ahead and added flat blocks for mounting all the exterior electrical and plumbing
Very durable solid oak counter and painted cabinets and shelving
Kitchenette – induction cooktop with a toaster oven and microwave covers most cooking needs..and a remote fan in the ceiling
The back side patio
The electrical panel got a little roof and side screens
efficient full bathroom
My helper, Éowyn, enjoying the cool tiled shower

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I’ll just share the McBride Construction Photos of the sandy colored concrete sills on the strawbale:

www.instagram.com/p/COfuDyWH_s_/

photo (& sill) by John McBride

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The builder (John McBride) sent these photos of the interior plaster, the deep windows, and the interior all cleaned up, ready for plastering.

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Hydraulic lime plaster is similar to cement stucco, but with lime rather than portland cement. It is more flexible and more vapor permeable than cement stucco, but it takes more skill and curing time. It also requires warmer temperatures. While making portland cement requires a lot of energy and the chemical reaction releases large quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere, Manufacturing lime takes energy, but when lime plaster carbonates (hardens) much of the CO2 released during the manufacture is reabsorbed. (From Essential Natural Plasters, Henry & Therrien) According to Strawbale Building Details (Published by CASBA – California Strawbale Building Association)The strawbales themselves sequester 26 pounds of carbon each, preventing the formation of 95 pounds of CO2)

Mixing the natural hydraulic lime, plaster sand & water
Spraying the plaster
Burlap shades to protect the plastered walls from direct sun (It cures better if kept moist and cool)

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Radiused corners!
Thick walls will be used for a window seat and a deep desk
Big windows to the south

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John has been getting ready for the strawbales over the holidays. He bought a bale knife on EBay and made his own needles out of a steel rod. Pretty cool.

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We are excited.

Photo by John McBride

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Since we are in a pandemic I wasn’t able to do a more formal photoshoot of these two projects. I also was not involved in every little decision, but they turned out well and the owners are happy to have nice new kitchens now as they shelter in place.  Both projects involved removing a wall between kitchen and dining rooms, new cabinets, layout rearrangements, updated lighting, bar seating, a mix of wood and solid surface counters. One also got a skylight.

This first one was built by McBride Construction (Photos by John McBride)

Wood-topped peninsula between kitchen and dining room makes a great place to informally eat or do homework, but also serves as a buffet for the dining room

Herringbone Tile

 

 

The next one was built by 360 Property Solutions

Wall removed between dining and kitchen to let the south light flow through and connect the spaces

 

 

 

 

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www.instagram.com/p/B2PCXyDAJ5y/

Photos by the maker, John McBride

 

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