Ceiling done!

Despite copious amounts of sniffles and coughs from us and our crew, we managed to get a lot accomplished this week.

Abe and Eliseo got the ceiling finished - putting up the final boards and all the tin (for photos click here). All of a sudden, the place has taken shape, looking and feeling like a house. We now have a bunch of shade and protection from any wind or rain that might (or might not) come. It has to be said that it didn't turn out as well as we expected. The tin was too floppy and did not keep the shape that well. On the other hand, it's not going to matter. Once it's textured and painted, you won't be able to notice, and it's the roof itself (which we have now begun to prep for) that is of structural importance. We just won't use this system again... the quest for the perfect roof continues.

Meanwhile Estela and I did stucco, making the walls meet the arched ceiling and doing some finishing details.

We also got started on the hole for the cistern. Now that our catchment area will be increasing, we need to increase our storage capacity as well, so we will be building a 7000 gallon ferro-cement cistern.

The next step is the concrete roof. We went and bought some materials, have started screening sand and have begun wiring the house. In another week we should be ready to pour the roof and gutters.

Slow week

All in all, we have had a fairly slow week, because...
1) the weather has been bad, with wind, clouds, and a little rain (unfortunately our tanks are currently disconnected from our gutters due to building!!).
2) we have been sick with a cold. First Leo had it, though not too badly. Then me, with one day of fever, and 3 days of being congested and weak. Abe has been tired for the past couple of days with swollen lymphs, but it had looked like he would fight it off. Now, it looks like he's getting it.

Having said that, we did get some accomplished. We put the brown coats of stucco on the connecting ceiling, got some more framing done, added a couple of levels on the bottle wall, and have finished the first rows of bricks for the ceiling on the entrance way.

The brick ceiling is interesting. Using plaster of Paris, which dries very fast, we add bricks in an arch. This system has been used for huge roofs and is supposed to be very strong, with builders able to walk on top of it without any additional reinforcement. We will add cement on top of it for added strength (just in case!) and then insulate it and add the roof. We will post more photos of it here as we progress.

Ceiling

We have been working on the roof again this week. Actually, to be more precise, we are working on the ceiling. We are doing it first, then adding layers of insulation, and then we will pour the concrete roof and gutters.

The ceiling consists of a wooden ridge pole and arched, wooden rafters, onto which we will attach smooth tin. Abe and a friend have been cutting and bending the boards - soaking them in water and then bending them over the finished room's roof and adding weights. It is now really starting to take shape. For photos, click here.

Meanwhile, another friend and I have been stuccoing the domed ceiling that connects the rooms we're working on to the one we've finished. We had at one point planned to do both the roof and the ceiling this way, but doing overhead stucco (from underneath) in a pain, quite literally. For photos, click here.

We have been through several ideas for how to do the roof, and we still do not feel that we have found the answer. So many people focus on walls when considering building techniques. They are not an issue - walls are easy and fast, no matter how you do them. The money and difficulty lie in the roof. Concrete is super strong and durable, but has no thermal mass or insulation. Tin is super fast, but has no insulation and is not durable. There are many different ways of doing it, but we have yet to find the perfect blend of cost, speed, efficiency, durability and energy.

We will continue to work on it and try out new ideas. The entance way ceiling is going to be brick, so stay tuned for photos on that next week-end.