Firespeaking

• Bioconstruyendo: Naturally Building Patagonia
  February 15-20, 2011 – Patagonia, Argentina

• Natural Building Extravaganza
  April 24- May 14, 2011 – Asheville, NC

• Cob Masonry Heaters
  April 29- May 4, 2011 – Coquille, OR

• The Village Building Convergence
  May 27- June 5, 2001 – Portland, OR

• Complete Cob
  June11- June 19, 2011 – Bandon, OR

• Outdoor Kitchen Workshops
  Build a Barrel Oven and a Cook stove!
  July 16-17 July 24-25 – Eugene, OR

• Sustainable Shelter Workshops at Aprovecho:
  Natural Building for the Owner/Builder/Contractor
  August 1- September 6, 2011 – Cottage Grove, OR

• Natural Building Workshop in Mexico with Jorge Belanko
  November 4-6, 2011 – Querétaro, México

In September of 2009 I designed and led the construction of a pallet structure, called the Fuddy, at Spirit Pine Sanctuary. (Click on images to enlarge!)

All of the pallets were free and reclaimed from a nearby farm.  The pallets were stuffed with straw-clay insulation and protected with an earthen plaster.  I was inspired to build this after completing the pallet barn, a project led by Dafyd and Yolanda Rawlings.  A number of people participated and learned about pallet construction with me, including the talented residents of Spirit Pine.  The 10′ x 15′ structure focuses on passive heating/cooling, beauty, efficiency and storage. It is a simple design for a small, affordable structure that is adaptable for many situations.

The summer weather at Spirit Pine can be very hot and dry.  The Fuddy’s roof reaches down to touch the nearby hillside, which creates a small room on the north side of the building.  This area remains very cool and offers a great place for cold storage.  There is  a small intake window on the lower north side and which lets cool air in, and an opposing window near the roof to let the air move through and cool the structure.

We had many materials available to us on the mountain.  We harvested serpentine rocks for the stem wall, churt for the base floor, and the clay came from the creation of the site.  The straw was locally grown and the windows and doors were free. This structure engaged students in knowledge that is applicable to many buildings and a variety of construction methods.  The Fuddy was a wonderful opportunity to learn about design, foundation, drainage, walls, insulation, thermal mass, windows, doors, roof, plasters, floors, shelves, art, etc!

Stay tuned for further interior development of the Fuddy…

Check out this video of all kinds of useful things you can make with pallets!

This barrel oven was built in a summer workshop series that Max and Eva led at Hawthorn Farm in Washington.  The adobe bricks were made by the oven’s owner and friends in the preceding months and the oven was built along with students during a weekend.

The owner, Alexia Allen, has called us to share the joy of having both preparing small meals in the oven, as well as easily hosting pizza parties for over 50 people.

Alexia makes a celebratory fire with a bow drill.

Barrel ovens are efficient and easy to use.  They are quick to heat up, within 15-20 minutes of lighting a fire they are ready to bake in.  Once hot, they are easily kept at baking temperature for as long as needed.

New Barrel Oven in Asheville!

Handmade Earthen Plaster and Raku Tiles

Imagine a wood stove that you only had to fire for two and a half hours in the evening and that the heat produced would keep you warm all through the next day.  Imagine you could bake in it and heat your domestic water.  And imagine that all of that functionality fit beautifully into one corner of your living room!  We are excited about our most recent project, a corner masonry heater.

Amongst the many benefits of masonry heaters, this project rekindled our interest in combining solar heated hot water in the summer with wood heated hot water in the winter.  Perfect complements.  We installed a heat coil in the fire box of this corner heater. (More on plumbing for masonry heaters.)

The water heated in the coil naturally travels upward into the hot water tank and is replaced by colder water coming down from the tank in a process called thermosiphoning which does not require any pumps.  Stay tuned for more information on heating hot water and photo updates of Walt and Marion’s corner heater in northern California.

This masonry heater has a simple compact design and includes a bake oven. The technical core is built with firebrick and the heat receiving outer shell is made of compressed earth blocks. Natural ledge stone was used at the base, an earthen plaster was applied as a finish and we installed tiles that were meaningful gifts to the homeowners.  This heater represents a good example of Firespeaking’s ethic: providing warmth and function while using locally harvested materials and completing the project within an affordable budget.