So, it didn’t all happen that weekend.

Does it ever?

 

Here I’ve finally gotten some roofing product on the roof. I’ve chosen a silicone roofing membrane. Just paint it on, two coats and you’re done… except remember that the tar paper has partially delaminated, so there are little bumps in the roofing, no matter what. Hopefully, I’ll learn how to make metal roofing panels over the winter, and will be able to roof it in spring with lovely copper. Hey, dream big!

 

 

Ah, that’s right, the windows are in now too. Looks fabulous, doesn’t it!

 

So, now on to mudding. I rather wish I had some pictures of the mud, but at the time, it was hardly priority one on my list. It’s the end of October and we’re racing the rain. It was already supposed to be raining, but for some freak reason, we’d been granted a few days of 90 degree weather! So, we raced to mud.

 

I’d gotten smart, finally, and rented a mortar mixer for a few days. JC (a neighbor) came out for a day to lend a hand, make mud and earn a few dinero’s. Here, he’s messing with the water. My favorite mix was about a two times sand to one time bagged clay plus enough water to make it into a ‘standing peak’ milkshake consistency. JC called it ‘slick’ instead of ‘slip’ and the name stuck. To make mud, I simply added chopped straw to the slick (or whole straw when the chopped ran out.) Add enough straw so that the mix looks like it’s more straw than slick. It works.

 

 

Here, JC’s putting on a layer of slick before I come to mud it. The technique is to press the slick into the bale firmly, moving your hand upward and away in a rainbow shape. The idea is to lock the straw into the slick so that the mud will stick on firmly. It worked like a charm.

 

 

Here’s the first section, slicked and mudded, beginning to dry out.

 

 

And the finally-mudded house. You can see the newest mud (the deeper grey) on the right, with the one-day old mud covering the rest of the bathhouse. Slick-covered burlap was used at the straw/rba edge, at window transition points and at the edge of the door. It helps cover and hold the transition between types of materials and is a lot nicer to work with than ‘blood lathe’. Remember, the block foundation will be covered with riverrock and mortar over the winter, hopefully. It’ll be MUCH prettier! The ‘U’ shape to the right of the window is an artifact from the ladder. It’s a ladder print! When the rest of the wall dries out, I go back and fill those in, flush with the rest of the wall. You’ll notice that a small opening is still left over this one big window. I’m trying to think ahead with that. I’m about to mud the interior of the bathhouse, the rains are coming (meaning I don’t want the exterior left unprotected with the mud so new) and I want some air circulation so that interior can dry out a bit better while still protecting the exterior walls… so, I leave an opening there and don’t seal up the center of the roof completely (it’s covered, but not sealed tight.) There’s generally a nice draft moving through from just those air sources.

 

 

The darker portions are the newer sections of mud. The lighter section is three days older (more or less.) Also in this image, the loo isn’t completely sealed up yet. That’ll happen in the next few days.

 

After tarping the bathhouse to protect the exterior walls.

 

Yeah, not as pretty, but it allows for some airflow (to finish drying) and still protects from direct rain hits. Sure, it’s probably overkill, but I do NOT want to have to start from scratch again, so a little extra insurance is an okay thing.

 

Lime plastering will happen in spring… but that doesn’t mean I get the winter off. There’s still plenty left to do: Install the wood stove, gather firewood, edge the deck, flash the roof edge, put another layer of surface on the roof, lay out the rest of the deck, finish installing the toilet, install the second layer of subfloor, connect up the plumbing, figure out a shower, learn to mortar river rock to concrete block, install the final floor and the instant hot water heater. Ah, then there’s the solar system. It’ll be very small, but still it’s something to plan for! …so can I have the winter off? Please? (grin)