June & July Photo Album

June and mid-July were busy months again. At the homestead, the work on the studio included putting up the roof sheathing, installing windows and door, and continuing testing of various plasters. On the house, we finished the roof, carved nichos and shelves, worked on intermediate electrical and mechanical and did some more framing of walls and closets. We did have some setbacks, including the monsoon rain and storms that came early this year. I also went out of town twice for a total of two weeks, which really had me away from the building jobsite for about four weeks. Still, we made progress!

Here's our home! What a great view! What a great roof! What a ... um... nice travel trailer...

The studio is taking shape, and the porch out the front is the most frequented place on the homesite right now. Shade!

Forrest and Ian, helping out with the placement of the electrical receptacle boxes.

Michelle has been carving nichos and shelves into the strawbale walls. Here is a picture of her cutting the bales with a tree limb saw to form our kitchen shelves. The nicho here is in the studio, with some test plaster finishing.

Here are some pictures of the roof. As you can see, we chose a green metal roof, made by BHP Metal Roofing. Besides the instructions, it was quite easy, and very satisfying. Our buddy James helped us lay up the metal sheets. By the end of the first day, we had the south side finished and half of the north side. We finished the rest gradually over about three weeks, installing the flashing and ridge vent.