Introduction
Timber frame construction is strong, beautiful, and relatively quick, but at the end of the day it's just a skeleton. It needs an insulating, water-tight enclosure to keep the elements out.
Straw bale construction, on the other hand, is a similarly beautiful way to insulate a home using highest-quality, renewable resources. But approving a load-bearing straw bale structure can sometimes prove challenging.
By combining the two methods, we take the best of both to create a sophisticated, environmentally friendly, and infinitely customizable building style. The incredible insulating values of straw bale -- up to R40! -- are employed in a way that, should the family grow or plans change, walls can easily be removed or modified.
The Parkinson residence will feature a no-frills timber frame constructed of reclaimed elm with 14" straw walls and heated entirely by radiant in-floor heating on all three levels.
Timeline
June
- De-nailing of new shipment of reclaimed Elm timbers
- Site preparation: driveway and foundation touch-ups
July
- Re-sawing timbers
- Footings and ICF foundation poured
- Basement radiant hose installed and concrete poured
- Storage building erected on-site
- Main level wood subfloor installed
August
- Timber frame joinery pre-cut at Winterwood's shop
- Straw bales and plaster sourced and prepared
- Timber frame raising -- Stay tuned for dates!
- Trusses and roof erected over timber frame
- Windows and doors framed
September
- Straw bales installed and meshed -- Stay tuned for dates!
- Windows and doors installed
- Straw bales plastered inside and outside
- Interior parition walls built using lath and plaster technique
- Interior finishing, beginning with plumbing and electrical
- Living roof garage built
Reclaimed elm arrives in Winterwood yard for de-nailing
The Planning Phase
Home sweet home!
From the very beginning, the Parkinsons' new home was planned as an environmentally friendly home, built using only sound ecological practices. They selected their sloping lot overlooking Lake Vernon with the potential of going off-grid in mind. Since Mark has been a carpenter for decades -- even before starting Winterwood in 1989 -- he knew exactly what he was looking for in a timber frame but had only heard rumours about the advantages of straw bales, so the whole family did some research. With the help of the Ontario Straw Bale Coalition, they toured around Central Ontario to see what others had done and began to solidify some ideas of their own.
Many elements of the home were settled on even before they had a lot or a plan: Mark wanted reclaimed wood for the frame. Mary Ann wanted a big kitchen with lots of pantry space. No knee braces. A simple roofline. Radiant in-floor heating. All of these major items had to be worked out as the plan was being finalized. Once the blueprints were stamped last November, the focus shifted to sourcing materials.
We got word of a sizeable quantity of reclaimed elm for sale in the Owen Sound area, so we got a sample and loved it. Well, that's one decision made. Next: the straw.
We'll be looking at buying all our straw in July; whether it's this year's crop or last year's stored properly, we don't yet know. It could be hemp, barley, or any number of other crops -- we're open!
Footings & Foundation
At the end of a long driveway, at the end of a long winter -- lots of work ahead!
Well it's mid-June, and high time to get working on the foundation, which will be ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms -- two layers of styrofoam that clip together, making a mold to pour concrete directly into). The foundation was roughed out in the fall but will need some touching up with the tractor before we set up our ICF blocks.
As soon as our basement walls are poured we'll be installing hose for the radiant in-floor heating on the bottom level and pouring concrete over them as well.
Meanwhile, our truckload of reclaimed elm arrived at the Winterwood yard in mid-March but almost three quarters had to be sent back because it didn't pass quality control. We're hoping to find new (but still old) material by the end of June to have it re-sawn on our mill throughout July.
The Building Phase
With the concrete in place, work on the wooden sub-floor for the main level -- which will support the timber frame -- can commence. Since the Parkinsons would like to avoid the use of plywood as much as possible, the subfloor will be made of 2x12" spruce joists with 5/4" pine board on top. This pine will provide the mold for the main level's concrete floor. For the second floor, 1" elm ceiling boards will span across our 5x9" ceiling beams. Conventional 2x12" joists will then be laid down to allow room for plumbing and lighting, followed by another course of pine board and heated concrete.
Because the first and second floor windows were designed to line up, conventional "stick" framing is minimized, as supporting lumber can run all the way from the subfloor to the soffit at the top. This saves material and time at both the framing and straw baling stages.
Finishing Touches
Coming Soon...