Hello again! We have done a lot since the last entry so be prepared to be wowed! :) So, where did we leave off...ah yes the hardy frames. Well once those were done we were ready to start framing! The fun part and the most rewarding of all because the structure goes up fast and you get to see what your house is really going to look and feel like.

We started by laying out our double mud sill toe-up which lifts the bales above the ground to protect them from water and also provides a structural base for all our posts/columns. These were 4x4 pressure treated doug fir plates which were tied down with the cast in anchor bolts. They were custom fit and cut individually to fit each area perfectly.



Also during this time we have been slowly screening dirt that was excavated from our pond to be used for our earth plaster come next summer. The plan was to screen as much as we could now and store the filtered dirt in barrels to keep them from getting wet in the winter until we needed them next summer. The dirt has to be screened so that rocks and larger chunks of dirt do not get in the mixture. This makes it easier to use consistent measurements when creating a recipe for the plaster. Also since the first coat of plaster will be less than 1/2" our screen was setup with a 1/2" grid. We learned all this from attending Bill and Athena Steen's Artistry in Clay workshop.

Here is a photo of our setup. We ended up getting about 385 gallons of dirt. This should hopefully be enough for our first coat of exterior plaster when summer rolls around.



Back to the framing... We started building the corner box columns which are designed to fit on each octagonal corner and provide support for the main beams. Each one is custom built based on our own design and uses a combination of 4x4s, 2x4s, OSB and other dimensional lumber. I would definitely say it was not the simplest thing to build :) but, they were really cool when they were done. It took me back to the days in the architecture studio building models! Here is a shot of the OSB plates that go on the top and bottom of each column.



Here is a shot of Alfred using the nail gun to attach the middle support pieces.



Simpson PC-44 Post caps get installed on the top of each 4x4 post to hold the beams in place above after they are installed.



The table saw was a critical tool to have to make long accurate rip cuts at an angle to fit the octagonal corners. Here is a shot of one of the ripped pieces. If you find yourself building a wierd octagonal house, get one.





Once the frames were put together, we glued and stapled the OSB to the frame. We left one piece off and screwed it in temporarily so we could blow in cellulose insulation later. These need to be sealed and insulated since they will become part of the wall in between bales. The assembly line...



And here is the first one installed in all its glory...



Each one is installed with Simpson DSP (double stud plate) ties which are hot dip galvanized to keep from corroding in contact with the pressure treated wood. They are nailed into the sill plate and the 4x4 posts which are part of the box column. There are 2 on the outside and one on the inside. Here is a close up of the outside.



Installing them went pretty fast and we were able to get all 8 columns on the outside done in a day.



Next we went ahead and enlisted some of Alfred's friends to help us install the 22' long glu-lam beams. In order to match the 3 1/2" width, we had to special order Framing style Glu-Lam beams from TrusJoist. Standard glu-lams come in a 3 1/8" width which we did'nt want since the PC-44 Post caps only fit a 3 1/2" beam. Here is a shot of the first beam in place. It was a dramatic event having a horizontal element connected to the box columns. You could easily begin to imagine what the wall will looke like and see how high a ten-foot ceiling is going to be.



As we installed the others, we nailed the beams to the box columns and used straps to tie the whole thing together. Here is a close up of one of the corners. The nails are setup to be hit in place using a pneumatic palm nailer. Another must have tool that saves a lot of time.



Here is a shot with all our outside beams in place. Our space ship is starting to take shape...



During this time we also secured 420 2-tie Rice Straw Bales from Dennis LeGrande down in Williams, CA. Weather was favorable and allowed the straw to stay dry in time for them to be baled and delivered. In order to make our lives easier and serve our future need of additional storage we had a metal storage building built near the ag building to put the bales in. It cost more money than web budgetted for but was well worth it in the end. I got a bunch of used wood pallettes from a nearby shop and laid them down to keep the bales off the ground. The metal building had to be big enough to allow the hay squeeze (a forklift used to carry bales) to get in and out. Otherwise, manually moving 420 bales would have taken a lot of time and is hard, itchy, sneezy work. We had to tarp off the open end though to keep the rain out.



Next, we built the 8 box columns that are to go on the courtyard wall. These were built a bit different and have built-in shelving units as part of each column. Here is a shot with them all built ready to put into place.



And another picture of them all installed.



Heres a photo of the house at this point from up on the hill.



Finally, we put the beams on top of the courtyard box columns as well and strapped them the same way.



At this point the hardy frame panels have not been attached at the top under the beams yet. Once they are screwed into the beams they act as wall sheathing and truly secure the building to the concrete foundation. The building starts to truly look like a structure and definitely has kind of an ancient quality to the design. Here is a shot of the building at sunset.



Now that the beams are up, our next task is to secure the hardy frames to the beams then support the middle areas of the beam before putting on our roof trusses!