Wood, Stone & Mud

Winter approaches and the days are cooler and shorter but work continues.

Wood

With a wood burning stove comes the need for wood. Out here in the wilds of northern New Mexico a wood gathering permit can be had for $20 which will allow you to cut 5 cords. Recovering city folk that we are, we had no idea where to go or how to go about getting the wood. Luckily we have friends who have been doing this for a few years. We joined up with them a month ago or so and spent the day cutting down-and-dead pine and aspen.  It's hard work made so much easier and more fun with a group of good friends! (We have since gotten another load for them.) Cutting and hauling are just the first two steps. It all has to be split! Here again, friends helped with the loan of a wood splitter. Rick spent a few afternoons splitting our 2.3 cords of wood.

Wood splitting

This is less than 1/3 of our total haul. We now have three racks just like this one full. It will be interesting to see how much we use this winter as the ceiling insulation is yet to be installed. So far, though, it is really helping to keep the house cozy - and helping to dry out the mud plaster.

Stone

Rick has always said he wanted flagstone for the floor in the sun space but we felt we just couldn't afford it. Then we heard of a couple of guys who work with our friend Pat who do really good work at a price we COULD afford! Bring it on!

First the floor needed to be cleared and leveled. They also wetted it down.

Then the flagstone arrived!

Miguel and his father-in-law Philipe - master stone masons at work.

This is quite a process. It's a lot like making a jig saw puzzle. Each piece had to be cut to fit and the pieces chosen so that the final would be beautiful to look at. Hard work but they were good at it!

Almost done with the cutting and fitting.

Now time for the mortar.

Finished!

We are soooo pleased with the way this turned out! We can't stop looking at it.

Mud

With the outside plastered done enough for the winter it is now time to start on the inside mudding. There's a bit of a race against the weather here as once it starts snowing and the ground (and hose) freezes, all mudding will stop until spring so I have focused on getting a coat of slip on the top three courses. Somewhere in all my reading and researching I came across someone who recommended that the bales be completely covered. For us this means the top of the top course which will be behind the T & G. I took this to heart and have been madly mudding that top course. But as I mud it occurs to me that these bales will be totally covered with blown in cellulose which will have borax in it so I'm now questioning the wisdom of spending all this time mudding this course. Well, it's now done regardless. I'm not sure it's thick enough to actually do anything but it's all that's going to be done!

The wall above the bedroom between the house and garage.

Living room.

Hall

Now that the top courses are mudded we can start installing the T&G. We will probably have to go back and add cob at the edge where the T&G meets the wall before we blow in the insulation but that should be a relatively small job.

I have covered a large section of the yard where I am digging the dirt with plastic and will continue to mud as long as the ground - and the hose - stay unfrozen. T&G is coming today so work on the ceiling should start soon. Another big step!

Thanks again to all our friends who have helped us along this journey!

Comforts of Home

We FINALLY got the last bit of outside plaster done - until spring. Now we can focus on the inside of our house.

The first order of business was to get the hearth ready for the instillation of our wood burning stove. We have had amazing luck when it comes to finding things for the house at great prices. Our stove was no exception. We lucked into a really good used Pacific Energy stove and a great person to install it - thanks Justin of Bailey's Chimney Sweep!

First we decided on the location. Then we installed adobe bricks at the finished floor height where we wanted the hearth to go.

We collected large stones from the old foundation of Jack Young's home and general store. Mr. Young named Youngsville and had the first PO in his general store which was on one corner of our property. These stones are HEAVY!

This picture was taken in 1917. For those of you who have visited us, those trees are now the huge cottonwoods at the NE corner of our property. Little bits of foundation are all that's left of the store and home and now some of them are part of OUR home.

Had to also do some plastering.

Stones in place and ready for the stove.

Bailey's Chimney Sweep arrives to get it done.

First fire - comforts of home!

Stove installed means we now have HEAT. We have been making fires each day - just 'cause we can - and to make sure the stove works. It works beautifully and will make it very pleasant to work inside through the winter. Good thing we got a couple of cords of wood this summer!

The next major phase is to get a coat of mud slip all over the bales inside. I have covered a pile of dirt with plastic to keep it dry so that, hopefully, it won't freeze any time soon. Once the slip is on we will then start installing T&G for the ceiling and sheetrock for the framed walls. The finished plaster (and floor) will be done in the spring once things warm up and we are able to dig dirt again.

While I've been working on the slip, Rick has been sealing the wood on the doors and windows.

It feels really good to be working inside. There is still a lot to do but I'm beginning to see an end to it.

Reality Check

October is here already and after all the rain we got in September, we are still trying to get that second coat of plaster on the outside of the house. Time for a reality check! There's still so much left to do and just the earthen floors, which we can't get to until the ceiling is done, will take 2 to 3 weeks to dry - and then will need linseed oil finish which will also take time to dry.  By the middle of December the ground is going to freeze meaning we won't be able to dig dirt for the floors or plastering. I won't go into the rest of the list, just suffice it to say that there is just too little time between now and hard winter to get enough done to move in. Sad but true.

While I do not relish yet another winter in our trailer, I am feeling a whole lot less stressed about the house. There are still things I feel we need to get done before the middle of December but the list is a whole lot shorter and more doable. We're getting our wood burning stove in a couple of weeks and once a coat of mud is on the wall we will be able to have heat in the house. Work will continue!

So we push forward....

Rick got the garage doors installed so the house is totally enclosed and looking good!

And plastering continues. . .

I am so humbled and appreciative of all the plastering help we've gotten from our friends! We hope to have a plastering party in the next couple of weeks to get a good chunk of mud on the inside walls. Chili and cornbread anyone?

Corner is turned.

Rick getting a lot done.

Stay tuned . . .

Rain, Rain GO AWAY!!!!

I think everyone around the country will agree that the weather this summer has been - well - freaky! New Mexico has been (and continues to be) in a drought. Most of the summer has been very, very dry. When the monsoon rains did finally get here they were spotty at best for us. That all changed about two weeks ago. While we have been very lucky, at times the rain has been relentless. Needless to say, it has put a real damper on our plastering. When last I posted we were finishing up the first coat of plaster. It's pretty important that we get the next coat of plaster on before freezing weather comes but with all the rain we've been having, it's been hard to even get started on this coat.

Lake Youngsville! And this was before the real heavy rain started. Grading and drainage are in the plans, we just haven't had the time to get to it. The lake got bigger once the rain started in earnest!

Rick spent most of an afternoon - in the rain - digging trenches. They worked and most of the lake got drained off - thank goodness!

There was nothing to do but move inside to work. It was a good time to trim the straw walls and corners and stuff holes. We also needed to bull-nose all the window and door openings. After working some more with the burlap, I decided that reed mat fencing would work much better for this job.

Reed fencing - available at the local hardware store.

Step one was to remove one of the reeds at the width needed for the opening.

Once that was done, I could cut the wires . . . 

then twist them so that the mat would continue to hold together.

The piece was then stapled to the frame. The hardest part was filling in all the holes and spaces with straw so that once the mat was in place, it would be firm and give a good solid surface on which to plaster.

After the holes were filled and the mat pulled around the bales, landscape pins were used to hold it snuggly in place.  

Done. This looks really good and I think will make for a great surface on which to plaster.

Rick stuffing holes.

The corner by the front door really needed some work. The horizontal board we inserted to give us something to hang things from was not level. A wedge had to be inserted and hammered in to raise one end. This left gaps that needed to be filled with cob.

It took a lot of cob to fill these holes! (And of this writing, it's still not dry!!)

Reed mat in place. It looks much better and a lot more even!

I have managed - in between rainy days - to get a little of the second coat of plaster on.

The first application.

Yesterday our friend, Jan, came over to help. 

We got about 1/2 load of plaster applied before we had a sever storm with heavy, driving rain. This was the kind of rain we don't usually get but, I must say, it was a good test of the plaster!

Before

After!

As you can see, the rain left divots but, by and large, the plaster held up very well! At least I will be more comfortable through the winter once this second coat is done! (That is if it ever stops raining!)

The other good news is that through all this wet weather the inside of the house continues to be snug and dry!

The rain has brought wild flowers and today the sun is shining  - and the weather forecast is for more sun and dryer weather for the next week!  On with the plastering!!!