or What you get if the Three Little Pigs had built one house all together.
Last post I talked to you about the Pawpaw festival I went to recently. Besides doing all things Pawpaw, we got to explore the grounds and see the sustainable farming methods being practiced on the farm where the festival was held. We also saw the farm house that I'll show you today.
The circular, round-timber framed, strawbale house was built using local resources and was finished about a year ago. Mike, the farmer, his wife, and son are living there now. Fortunately, we were able to go on a tour of the house. Well, sort of. There were so many people who showed up for the tour, that moving around the house was difficult. So Mike gave us an overview and let us walk around on our own. Sometimes it was difficult to get a good picture because of the crowd, but I think below you can get an idea of what the house was like.
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| The house has a main level and a loft. It also has a green/living roof that helps with absorbing the summer sun and insulating during the winter. It was quite a hot day when we were there and even with all of the people inside, it was pleasant. |
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| It was a busy day for Mike, so he ate his lunch as he told us about the house. The kitchen is behind him with concrete counter tops. |
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| The house was framed with tulip poplar timbers harvested from the farm. On the right you can see a bit of the balcony that they used as a reading area. Also, you can see the high windows which help with climate control. |
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| The walls are all straw covered with plaster. This porthole gives a peak into them. The plaster was made of clay, sand, wheat paste, fine straw, and the secret ingredient to make it white-Charmin toilet paper. Apparently Charmin has fine microfibers in it that makes it a good match for the plaster. |
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| The earthen floors were made of clay, sand, and straw and were hand troweled on. After the floors set, they were coated with linseed oil and finally wax. |
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| The bathtub and shower. |
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| The fireplace has a soapstone stove insert that keeps the house warm all night with one armful of firewood. In the summer, Ward found it a good place to sit. |
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| There were two bedrooms, this one for his son, and one for his parents. |
You can go to
Mike's website if you want to see more details or see pictures of the house being built.
