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Harvest Haven Health - New Buildings General Information

Why Straw/Clay Construction?

Why Timber Frame Construction?

Japanese Timber Framers

Beta Bunkhouse

Footing Construction

Stem Wall Construction

Workshops

Block Prep

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Wall P- Day (Pour Day)

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Other Store Work

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After finishing the strip footings we had to play catch-up on farm work we had been postponing. Then we had to squeeze in the “beta bunkhouse” dry-run experimental construction project. By the time we completed the bunkhouse and left for training to Ontario for a week, we were home just in time for a late harvest. 

Harvest went fairly smooth. Carrot harvest was incredibly abundant and high quality (We still have lots and they taste GREAT!! Come out and get a sack!!) and consequently took longer than normal.  Finally getting through harvest, we began work on the buildings again in October 21, 2008, while watching the weather as snow and freezing temperatures could come any day.

The stem wall is the foundation wall that sits in the middle of the wide, load-distributing strip footings, and extends upwards six feet, forming the first two feet of the wall above ground.  The four feet below ground extend below frost level and the two feet above ground are desirable as we want to keep the straw/clay wall elevated above the level of snow and away from rain puddles and splashing.

We chose to make the stem wall out of an ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms) type form called Durisol. It is a Canadian product (www.durisolbuild.com) that has many advantages over its common Styrofoam competitor.  It is much better for the environment, not being made of styrofoam, but instead made of recycled wood fibre and concrete. This gives the block more dent-resistance and load bearing strength. The composition also allows the block to be screwed into at any point with conventional wood screws, cut with a circular saw, and does not isolate the interior of the building from the benefits of the thermal mass of the concrete core, like foam blocks do. 

The blocks are fire-proof, which means no toxic-smoke producing burn potential and no need for fire spread barrier like drywall. They are also vapour permeable, and, like the straw/clay walls, eliminate the risk of moisture build-up, allowing the wall to “breathe”.  They are free of VOC off-gassing and directly accept coatings of stucco or clay plaster extremely well.  Because we screwed many of the blocks to each other, we did not need to brace the walls during construction or pouring, which translates into significant time savings.  

Back to the jobsite - the following several weeks were a blur of surveying, line-marking, block hauling, cutting and setting. Some things we learned that we would pass on to others: time spent on making sure the strip footing forms are PERFECTLY level is time saved multiplied many times over in block stacking; adjust level of blocks every two layers (not every layer) for efficiency, but ensure that the adjustment is precise and complete; when in doubt screw together; plan vertical rebar spacing carefully with consideration of block’s internal structure. Lastly, make sure you have a strong back and arms (or you will when you finish)!

Finally, P-Day for the walls came.  The Lord again granted unseasonably mild weather for the end of November.  We had several weeks of such weather following the pour, which allowed for curing, water-line and electrical line installation, backfilling as well as installation of the septic field. Then the good weather ended over night. We went from above freezing temperatures to minus 30 degree Celsius within days.

Now we are in planning for next year’s push to get the house done and construction of the store in 2010.  While the ground is still frozen we will be searching for the best timber source and lining up all the many other planning details.  As soon as the ground thaws, we will finish under-grade compaction, install in-floor heating and other under-slab plumbing and electrical and then pour the floor. A friend from Canmore, Guy Pollard, will be recruited in mid-June to help us build the timber frame and then preparations will be made to host the Straw/Clay Builder Workshop at the beginning of August.

Then comes the push to get the roof on, windows and doors in, and heat installed and working before winter.  Then preparations begin for the Kachelofen Wood Masonry Heater Workshop that will be held in December or January.  We are also looking at hosting an interior wall clay plastering workshop sometime in the winter.

This whole pattern will then be repeated again, only on a more impressive scale next year with the construction of the store and the Japanese Timber Framing Workshop.

Please check our website periodically for the latest information on workshops and the building progress.

To help with all the work this year promises, we are currently looking for interns and summer help for both organic farming and sustainable building.  Interested parties can contact Mark at mbenson@harvesthaven.com.

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