An elbow-length rubber glove can mean one of only two things: Either your humble correspondent is about to conduct an IRS tax audit or we are doing lots of small-scale cement work this week. A multitude of small open sores caused by the lime in the cement mix finally forces this intrepid DIY builder to get the Arnold Schwarzenegger of rubber gloves, an investment I highly recommend for the work we'll be doing this week.
Carrying on last week's theme of borrowing ideas and technology where possible and improvising when it isn't, we are taking a few ideas from the pueblo builders. Adobe buildings are sun-dried mud blocks, stacked on top of each other and then covered with a mix of straw and mud. This is much like what we do with dry stack construction. We are using Portland mud to close off air leaks, insect pathways and smooth out the appearance of the walls before applying the surface bonding cement.
Here is a good example of what we're doing in the photo above and what we'll be doing as an ongoing task for the next few weeks. Astute observers will recognize these windows from earlier pictures and will note that the row of smaller blocks laid over the windows now have the holes for the cores cemented in. Remember that the buildings we are copying this technique from were built from mud and straw by unskilled labor and are still functioning 400 years after being built. Time-tested ideas, modern materials is a winning formula.
Beginning to feel like a mud dauber, we ask the management team for a change of scenery and get sent to the roof, which is basically what happened the last time we asked for a raise. In this photo, we're finishing up the plastic wrap that underlays the roofing. Note that we are laying a bead of adhesive and folding the plastic over the top of the walls to help seal them. The roofing cement will go on over this.
A year and a half into our project, we are within sight of the goal line and can actually start checking off some of the items on the construction task list. Getting the 6 mil plastic wrap for the roofing finished up is one of them. A hand full of roofing nails and the work in the photo above are what gets the job done. We wrap up this week, as always, tired and broke but a few steps closer to moving in.
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