Monthly Archives

August 2014

How To Check For Clay with a Simple Soil Test

By Cob Building, Clay Plaster

I’ve been very spoiled by the clay soil in northeast Missouri, as it’s always been very easy to find, very rich, and largely free of unwanted particles. The clay in Kentucky is a bit more diverse in its appearance, and it’s not quite as free from particles and other soil components. As expected, it’s got its own personality.

I was reminded of a simple soil test you can do to check for clay content in your potential building soil, and I particularly like this elegant ‘ribbon test’ demonstrated in the video above. It speaks for itself. If you’re interested in making cob or earthen plaster, try this very simple soil test to see how much clay you have in your site soil.

So, what does your clay look like?

Shelter Gets a Brand New Blog

By Media

shelter-blog

Owner-builder and DIY types are almost certainly familiar with some of Lloyd Kahn’s books, chief among them Shelter, the original inspiration for many alternative builders back in the 1970s.  Since then Lloyd and co. have put out a number of other books, including Home Work, Tiny Homes: Simple Shelter, and perhaps my personal favorite, Builders of the Pacific Coast. Lloyd’s books continue to be a personal source of great ideas and motivation.

The Shelter Blog is the recently launched website in the same vein of those inspirational books, highlighting a variety of alternative and natural buildings, and homesteading and gardening goodness from across the internet. It’s fairly fresh yet, but I suspect this will be a site to keep a close eye on. Check it out.

Getting Ready For Cob in the Forest

By Cob Building, Natural Building Workshops
Cob Bench Site

The lovely site for the cob bench we’ll soon be building

Time is (of course) flying. You’ve heard it all before, and it’s true all the same. August, though it doesn’t feel like any August I can remember, has peaked and we’re on the slide down to September, one of my favorite months. Though when I was of school age, I absolutely dreaded the coming of that particular month, and could not much look past the beginning of the school year to the sheer beauty and joy of the end of summer and beginning of fall.

We’re starting off September with our Cob Building Workshop, and things are definitely in motion to get ready for the event. We’ll be playing with cob in the forest for three days, here at the lovely mountain homestead of Tim and Jane outside Berea, Kentucky. It’s an absolutely beautiful site, as you might be able to tell from the photo above.

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And Our Newest Book Winner is…

By Uncategorized

japanese-carpentry-artCongrats to our latest winner, Lola Faulkner for our recent giveaway of the book The Genius of Japanese Carpentry! Once again, I wish I had unlimited copies to be able to award everyone…

The good news is that Tuttle has donated several other book titles, so our giveaway series isn’t over yet. We have a few more exciting books coming to us in the near future. I’m very pleased to be able to do this and spread the love. I personally love a good book, and being able to access valuable information in a tangible, physical form is still my preference for reading and learning. The experience of flipping through a book is vastly preferable to me than scrolling on a screen. But I digress…

Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter for future giveaways. (And a small note on that front… the newsletter is soon getting some exciting improvements and a facelift!)

Timber Frame Pavilion Gets Wrapped Up

By Timber Framing
Timber Frame Pavilion @ Clear Creek

The pavilion gets the last of the countertops installed before its first debut

Our work on the timber frame pavilion at the Clear Creek Festival grounds has come to a happy ending. We have fulfilled our responsibilities and commitments, now that the frame is raised, the roof decked and metal roofing installed, and the countertops and sinks put in. I’ve gotta say, it’s so nice to be done…

Check out some of the latest photos here.

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Congrats to Our Winner & Another Giveaway Coming Soon

By Media, Book Reviews

japanese-timber-framingAfter reading all of the comments on the review and giveaway post for Just Enough, I want to send everyone copies of the book to enjoy. Unfortunately, there’s only one… and the lucky winner is Nadine. Congratulations, Nadine!

Lucky for everyone else, we still have one more giveaway coming up soon! We’ve got a copy of The Genius of Japanese Carpentry to give away next week. This too is a really excellent, and inspiring book, full of information about traditional temple construction and timber framing techniques in Japan.

Please check back soon to enter. It will be just as simple as last time. The image to the right is a little sneak peak of what to expect from the book…

Congrats to Our Winner & Another Giveaway Coming Soon

By Media, Book Reviews

japanese-timber-framingAfter reading all of the comments on the review and giveaway post for Just Enough, I want to send everyone copies of the book to enjoy. Unfortunately, there’s only one… and the lucky winner is Nadine. Congratulations, Nadine!

Lucky for everyone else, we still have one more giveaway coming up soon! We’ve got a copy of The Genius of Japanese Carpentry to give away next week. This too is a really excellent, and inspiring book, full of information about traditional temple construction and timber framing techniques in Japan.

Please check back soon to enter. It will be just as simple as last time. The image to the right is a little sneak peak of what to expect from the book…