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Articles & materials related to natural building techniques & strategies will be posted to this page.

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Reskilling Resources:  General Wilderness & Sustainability Skills

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Roof Thatching & Reed Collection 

 Thatched in water reed this 'round house' demonstrates the poured on fluidity of thatch is not created by the material but by the way it is applied. No other roofing material is capable of adapting to such shapes

 

• Phragmites, reed grass for thatching roofs.
• The Thatchers Craft. Download this free book by The Rural Development Commission in England. For REED thatching go to download #6, p. 16.  
• Danish Blog on Thatching .   Lots of photos, cool.
• Reed Collecting, what to expect, bring, and wear .  A winter activity.
• Outline of Thatching: materials, construction, tools.
• Audio Interview: Thatching interview with Deanne Bednar. 10.5 min
• Phragmites ~ an invasive weed.
• Thatching with Big Blue Stem ?
• Reed Collecting for the Kensington MetroparkKid's Cottage
• DYI Thatching booklet for sale.

• Thatchwick Cottage .

• Ridge Applications for thatched roofs .

• Buy thatch tiles .  A company in England sells premade thatch sections. 

• Interview with thatcher William Cahill .  From the New York Times.

• Stainless Steel wire . for attaching reed to the roof.  

• http://thatch.org/literature_review.htm
• Websites on thatching .
• Other roofing options . Used tires.

Cordage

• Cording materials Articles on making string, twine & rope from natural fibers.

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Wall Systems

• Strawbale Building Outline by Catherine Wanek. Catherine Wanek, photographer, videotographer, writer and editor, has been very instrumental in promoting strawbale as a construction technique. This files is an outline of concepts covered in her 2005 Slide Show at the Strawbale Studio.
• Knots for retying Strawbales .
• Compressed Earth Blocks, by Wayne Nelson. Wayne Nelson works with Habitat for Humanity's Department of the Environment and is an international provider of construction information and training. Trained as a carpenter and builder, he has particular experience with creating shelters with compressed earth blocks in Africa and other countries.

• SIPS panels.  Some thoughts on the use of synthetic and Structural Insulated Panels. 
• Papercrete . Paper slurry with clay. 2.8 R. Retrofit potential.
• DYI wiki Insulative Materials.
• Lightweight concrete .  Pumicecrete, hempcrete...for foundations, walls & is insulative. 
• See Insulation Section below. 

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 Round Pole Framing & Connecting Techniques

• Lashing . How to tie poles together with rope, cording or rawhide!  Girlscouts. Sketch, description, video.  Also pics of projects like "outdoor kitchen". 
• Ladder Lashing . Using a rope and no notching.
• Japanese Lashing . Very cool.
• Lashed Tower Construction .
• Pioneering Knots and Lashings .
• Knot videos .
• Knot making videos . 
• Cinch knot for retying strawbales . Animated video.

• Round Pole construction data from Canada
• Round Wood Project.org
• Round Pole Standards and Issues
• # Small Farming projects.

 

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Foundations & Stem Walls

• Building Dry-Laid Stone Walls
• Designing and Building Stone Walls   

• Building Dry-stone walls ~ Traditional Masonry
• Slide Show on building a stone wall is in the slide show found at the bottom of this page:

              http://www.bedfordny.info/html/d_planning.html

•  Working with Stone . Splitting stone
• Shallow Frost Protected Foundation System .Notes by Architect Fred McLaughlin of Lansing, MI 
• Lightweight concrete .  Pumicecrete, hempcrete...for foundations, walls & is insulative. 

 

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NATURAL INSULATION

 

Zebra Mussel Shells

• Danish Tests using Mussel Shells.
• Information on Zebra Mussels.

• Sources . for free shells. Could be used for insulation or making lime, or?

Danish Testing relating to Strawbale construction

• Danish Tests for Strawbale construction

Insulative Systems

• Lightweight concrete .  Pumicecrete, hempcrete...for foundations, walls & is insulative. 

 

Wool Insulation & felting

• Felting information.  How to make felt, Mongolian yurt felt-making. 
• Wool Insulation information from the UK .
• Natural Wool Batting & Insulation . http://www.goodshepherdwool.com/FrameHome.html
• DYI wiki Insulative Materials.  

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•  Paper Clay...as a sculpting media and potential insulation material for walls.  Made with shreaded paper and colored clays.                                     

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EARTH PLASTER ARTICLES

 

• Mother Earth New Earth Plaster Article by Kiko Denser, featuring some photos of the Strawbale Studio sculptures !
• http://www.landerland.com/plaster/LanderLandMIX.html

• http://www.thelaststraw.org/bonus-articles/earthplaster.html
• http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/QandA/materials/walls.htm
• http://www.doityourself.com/stry/loveofmud
• http://www.networkearth.org/naturalbuilding/aliz.html

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 HEAT SOURCES

• Manure .  BTU's of manure compared to wood, and more.

 

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Natural Structures:

 

 

 

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