norishouse.com

I’ve got some old pressure treated beams earmarked for the skid foundation of the chicken house.  Once Terry drags them out from under the maple tree I’ll get to work notching and installing the 2″ rough cut cross members.  I can’t do any concrete work until our weather warms a little, but can have everything in place and ready to go ahead of time.

I’ve planned for a ferrocement floor.  I’ll spread a ¼” layer of cement on the platform, press my reinforcing into the cement and cover it completely by working cement into the reinforcing from the top.  This will ensure the reinforcing is completely encapsulated.  Because the floor area is so small I don’t have to get carried away about this, but it’s my opportunity to play with ferrocement and I want to take it. 

I still have to create a short stemwall that will keep the papercrete up off the floor and away from the damp or add something to the papercrete to make it impervious to water for the first ~4″.

(I started this post eons ago.  The link is of sufficient value to warrant publishing the post.)

At this point in time it’s very difficult to find small houses which use tiltwall technology. I found a nice article that references this issue and provides an overview of the residential tiltwall process.

We’re snowed in . . . again/still.  Here in the Pacific Northwest, the longest we’ve ever been snowed in previous to this has been just a couple days . . . and we’re going on two weeks.  It’s a good thing I’m going through a hermit phase . . . I’m not saying we can’t get out, but when Terry has to put chains on the log truck to get out of the yard to get to work, you know we’ve got snow.  My little pickup is parked where I can’t get it out until the snow melts, but I’m not feeling a pressing need to go anywhere, so I’m not feeling stressed.   If I have to get out I can take the land yacht (4wd 1 ton crew cab).

As of this morning we’re on our second 6″ layer of the white stuff.  In the spots that are slow to melt it’s quite a bit deeper, the melted bits are at about 5″.  Of course it’s piled up in big piles around my pickup where it snowed and slid off, snowed and slid off.  At this point opening the doors would be a challenge.  And it’s still snowing . . .

I’ve been working on solar house plans.  It makes Terry happy for me to work on something that’s a conventional shape. <rolls eyes at Terry>