Inner City Farmer

The preparations for this weekend’s earthen plaster workshop are in the final stages. For the past week I have been honing my carpentry skills, creating an access door to my attic, framing an entrance way to the new wash room, and adding trim around the windows.

I couldn’t have done all this without the help and expertise of Norm Ballinger, who you might recognize as being the first person to build a permitted straw bale house within Austin’s city limits. I had the pleasure of visiting that particular house this past weekend and was blown away by some of the flourishes featured inside, the large window niches that held candles and books, the bottles embedded in the walls that added light, the wrought iron hand rail on the staircase made by a friend in Houston.

Today, my project took another great leap forward when Gayle Borst, the director of Design Build Live and the workshop’s instructor, stopped by to give final instructions and advice. A little later in the day, Kieran Sikdar, the neighbor who helped me buy an affordable solar oven, came over to help me trim the light clay straw. I employed his services for two hours by cashing in some time I had earned using the Austin Time Exchange.

I once had a vision that I would be involved in such a community, that I could obtain the services of others by exchanging something other than money, and here it is happening, and I feel extremely blessed. When this room is finished, it will belong not just to me and my son and my girlfriend but to all those who helped turn last year’s half-baked idea into a reality that will, hopefully, exist for years to come.

The date of the Design Build Live workshop teaching newbies how to use earthen plaster has been set. Saturday, January 31, I will be hosting the first of four such workshops that, once they are complete, should help transform the Man Cave into a habitable space.

In preparation for the the first workshop I have been busy putting the final touches on the room’s infrastructure. I leveled the concrete slap on which my washer and dryer will sit, using, ugh, concrete and used all the excess straw as mulch on my back yard, but my proudest accomplishment was the arch I erected over the entrance to the new room. It is presently in a very rough state, but once the plaster is applied it should be perfectly integrated with the rest of the room.

Here is more information pulled from the Design Build Live newsletter:

Earthen (clay) plaster creates a beautiful, rich, healthful finish for interior walls and ceilings. The wonderful acoustics and “feel” of these finishes add to the desirability. While finish coat clay plaster is now commercially available and installation can be somewhat pricey, for the do-it-yourselfer who makes their own plaster from local clay, it is dirt cheap.

In some cases a single finish coat can be applied to a wall, but in most cases two to three coats are required. This workshop starts with step one in the plastering process—the first coat, or “scratch” coat. Participants will learn how to mix and apply a basecoat of earth, sand, and chopped straw, in preparation for the finish coat(s). Sources and selection of materials, and how to prepare wall and ceiling surfaces will also be covered. We will apply this basecoat to interior light-clay walls and over an existing damaged ceiling at a home in north-central Austin. Techniques and skills learned could also be applied to the plastering of other types of surfaces, such as straw bales, cob, earth blocks, and more. Subsequent workshops at this location will cover earthen plaster finish coats and earthen floor construction.

The instructor will be Gayle Borst, Executive Director of Design~Build~Live and a consulting architect in sustainable design. Fee for the workshop is $75.00 and includes a healthy vegetarian lunch and all necessary workshop materials and tools. Water, coffee and tea will also be provided. Enrollment is limited to six people—please register immediately. Workshop location and details will be provided to registrants.

To register, go to www.designbuildlive.org .
For more information contact Gayle: gayle@designbuildlive.org or 512-478-9033

I was wrong. You can in fact buy cotton insulation batting here in Austin. Remarkably, there is only one place in the whole city, and that is Austin Lumber Company on East Fifth Street. I had never visited this place before, but I will again soon. The nice lady who helped me out told me all about the many environmentally friendly products they carry, including mold-free drywall that can be used in bathrooms. Supposedly, there are only two other places to buy UltraTouch cotton insulation, one in Dallas and one in Houston. It costs a bit more than the pink fiberglass stuff, but I am actually looking forward to installing it and I feel good about using a recycled material.

While I was over on the east side, I stopped in at Texas Coffee Traders, looking for some burlap sacks. I had never visited this amazing shop before, and once inside I was glad my quest for burlap had brought me there. They sell just about every coffee-related item you can imagine, including one of my favorite things in the world, the espresso spoon, but it is much more than a store. It is a champion of sustainability that just happens to focus on coffee. It not only preaches but practices Fair Trade, paying a premium for the coffee they buy so that the growers are paid a fair wage. When I explained my project to the owner R.C. Beall, he was more than happy to give me the bags for free (as well as a cup of some of the best tasty coffee I’ve had in a while).

And so now armed with the cotton insulation and the burlap I have the two materials I needed to complete the rough work on the Man Cave. I still need to do some carpentry in spots, but I am on schedule to host a Design Build Live workshop on applying a rough coat of earthen plaster. The workshop is tentatively scheduled for January 24. There are only six spots so if you’re interested in learning how to make and apply an earthen plaster you should sign up soon. I will give more details on the workshop as they become available.