This week February started with the promise of receiving offers from contractors. But like those tv programs about building your own house show you that things don’t always go as planned we of course have not received any.

Mistakes

I have often wondered if the people who participate with these programs are all stupid for making the same mistakes but now I figured that some mistakes are not mistakes at all, they are just the way things go and you just don’t know that and you think “I am sure that that won’t happen with my build”.

So what did happen, well our consultant John called the contractor Vincent who then told him that he did not want to work with the pressed earth blocks we were planning to buy because he could not find any expertise, no house has ever been build with these blocks, walls yes, Finovens yes but Vincent was in no hurry to burn himself on using a product which he didn’t know and couldn’t guaranty.

Unfortunately Vincent had these blocks since half December and just now decided to mention this fact. Believe me Vincent is one of the good guys. He is willing and able to listen to a foreign woman speaking basic French with surprising patience and he even understands that we would like to build a house as ecological as possible.

John and I had a talk with another contractor, a big one here in the neighborhood who kind of smirked at the idea of building a house with strawbales and asked the standard question about mice. I really hope Vincent comes up with a good offer because I can see a future of discussions if I have to work with this big contractor.

Instinct

So back to the pressed earth blocks. I kind of saw it coming, I had this feeling, this premonition. The suplier told me in October that as soon as I could I should order the blocks because they had a long drying period.

The blocks are expensive and I was hesitant to order them. I kept pushing it forward, waiting for the offer from contractors to see if we could even afford them but time was going so fast. If we even wanted to use these blocks then I should have ordered them at least in January for them to be dry in April/May.

I got really nervous about it but still I did nothing. Turns out that sometimes, yes only sometimes doing nothing is the best thing to do.

Replacement

Now Lotte was back in the game; searching for a suitable replacement. She and we settled on sand-lime bricks ( Couldn’t really find a good translation for it from Dutch so I really hope these are the correct bricks) with isolation. I called Vincent who enthusiastically told me he knows the material well and he will get the offer as soon as possible.

To be honest, for me it is a relieve that we are choosing a material wildly available and known here in Belgium, although the pressed earth blocks would have been the best choice for us it was not in the cards.

So I guess this is just one of the many things that will probably change with this build, it is for us to adapt or stick to our guns, at least we are one very little step forward….hopefully.

One way or another the building of our house is going to happen this year. We hope with the materials we have planned but it all depends on the offers we are going to have from the builders. Last week I went with our consultant to Ecobati to talk with someone who can organize a sustainable build with the cooperation he has organized. It all sounds very promising but right now I am in a ” wait and see ” state.

Both contractors will present their offers in February so there wont be a lot to report during January. For now we look out at a grasland which is shrouded in a fog. We hope January will pass by quickly so we know where we stand. 

Two weeks ago I was at the Energie & Habitat convention in Namur Belgium where I spoke with Emelie van Strydonck from Evolias.com.

Evolias is introducing Durisol building blocks here in Belgium. Durisol insulated concrete forms are wood fiber blocks with insulation which is bind together with cement.

100% Waste Wood

The wood fiber used is 100% waste wood which is turned into wood fiber, this fiber is then bonded with cement  (eco cement) to create a variety of shapes. According to the Durisolbuild.com website these forms have been around for over 70 years.

What the people of evolias.com told me is that the insulation is inside the blocks leaving a hole were concrete is poured in when the wall is stacked with the blocks (without mortar).  The Durisol blocs themselves are structural therefore there is no waiting period required. You can keep building immediately after the concrete has been poured, which is one of the reasons the construction is so rapid.

I asked if it was possible to use it in a DIY project, which is possible but it might be difficult to pour in the concrete yourself if you have a second floor.

Too Much Concrete, but…

Although personally I believe there is too much use of concrete with this way of building,  the concept is still better than the regular concrete blocks which are used in conventional buildings. For a better ecological footprint you can use concrete mixed with recycled and/or ecological aggregates to reduce the amount of concrete used in the build.

You can find more information or technical aspects of Durisol  on www.evolias.com, durisol.net or durisolbuild.com.

I thought it was time for an update. The update is that we have no update. Again.

Designs

This week we finally got the designs back from the Belgian Architect. They have handwritten the translation in French but I was to weary to complain. I am just glad we can move forward now. Rogier went to a copy shop and we now have 5 sets of very expensive A3 prints with drawings of our house.

Contractor

Next week I will have a talk with our consultant on how to proceed from here. We will ask our contractor ( the one who is doing the foundation ) to make an offer for building the walls, roof and windows and if he wants on the insulation. Since we will be using sustainable materials for the insulation he might not want to go there because he has no experience. There is a company in Liege  - Ecobati – who are experts on sustainable materials and can do that part. I would have preferred a contractor who can do the rough build and the sustainable part but people keep telling me there is no such company here in Belgium. I will also ask another contractor to make an offer on the rough build,  to compare prices.

The problem with everything taking so long is that we are getting time sensitive with the rammed earth blocks we are planning on using. They need to dry for a long time so prefferably we need to order them pretty soon. We don’t want to do that now before we know how much this house is going to cost.

Keeping Calm

I am trying to be ZEN about all this because there is not much I can do. For these last few months I had to rely on the cooperation of others and that didn’t go well all the time. Now that we have the drawings we can finally take another step forward in this project.

As we are learning through various channels.., you can’t keep a good idea down.

So, before I explain let me get this out of the way.

Spend only  ONLY £49 and own a piece of history and share in the glory of a yet to create piece of history.

So, in the spirit of good ideas Michael Thompson made a bet with James Tully and it has gotten out of hand.
The bet was that he (Michael) could build a 100% wooden bike and that James could then ride it.., and consequently set a World Speed Record for a 100% Wooden Bike.

Now, I’m not sure who won the bet, because Michael did build the bike and James did ride it, but I guess that no longer matters now that we move on to SplinterBike 3 (although I’m sure here too is a one pound bet somewhere).

The point here is that Michael is planning a new and improved SplinterBike.., and James has a new challenge.

A World Hour Record

This means 2 things.., James has to ride a 100% wooden bike for one hour and set a new record, and Michael has to build a 100% wooden bike which can be driven for a whole hour while supporting a 200 pound “athlete”.
Well.., I don’t know about you.., but I would love to see that happen. Hence the SplinterBike Club.

So.., now for the hard part. Of course it takes time (mostly time) to build a 100% wooden bike. The actual cost of the bike (wood and glue) are not astronomical. What is expensive is setting a world record. You have to buy the officials.., oh wait.., no.., rent the officials.., rent a venue and the world record setup.

All in all.., it takes money.., like everything else.

BUT.., YOU CAN HELP and be a part of this adventure.., that is simple.., become part of The SplinterBike Club and receive the keyring.., no.., not just a keyring but one that “has been made from the same wood stock from which the original SplinterBike was created”.

Wow.., for only  ONLY £49 including shipping. (shed key not included), you can own a piece of history and share in the glory of a yet to create piece of history.

So.., what are you waiting for.., I have such a keyring and I can say.., if ever there was a perfect keyring (especially for a shed), this would be it.

Good luck Michael and James.., I hope you’ll get to set another World Record!

Our friends Bridget and Michael from rammed-earth.org suggested we start growing our own sedum for the green roof, it will save some money and we do have the room for it now. So we bought a few plants at the garden center and started cutting and planting the cuttings in seed-trays.

Come spring we will plant them out in one of the veg beds we have dug where they will stay until they are ready to go on the roof. For now I bought these two variety’s Sedum Reflexum en Sedum Sieboldii but I am planning to buy more.

1. Rammed Earth Blocks

In the beginning we started out thinking we wanted to use rammed earth walls. We did a course in England led by the guy who build the Eco Shed, Michael Thompson and where enthusiastic about it.
The reason we decided not to do rammed earth walls is that it is labor intensive, you need to get the right mix and the earth you use needs to be stone free, which is nearly impossible here, we would need to sift it a lot hence the labor intensity, with Rogier having a bad back we would need to get help.
We have found a company in Holland (Oskam v/f) who produces beautiful rammed earth blocks.

2. Straw Bales

Straw bales have a great insulation, are cheap and you can build walls yourself with it.

3. I-joists

Floor joists and roof rafters. A lightweight and very stable option to massif joists and rafters, a reduction of 2/3 of wood opposed to regular massif wood.

4. Insulation – paper fibers or wood fibers

We haven’t decided yet on insulation but paper fibers or wood fibers are a good option. The fibers are blown in with a machine so there are no chinks.

5. La Pierre Bleue Belge

This is a stone found in Belgium that we are going to use to build the walls of the attached hot-house

6. Plato Pine

If we can afford it we will get Plato Pine for the outside . This is thermally treated wood which won’t need maintenance, painting or oiling.

7. Slates

We probably have to use slates made from stone, which will be expensive but the Belgian company Eternit makes artificial slates with solar panels on the slates. Visually it looks amazing. We need to figure out what the efficiency is opposed to regular solar panels.

8. Green Roof

On a part of the house where there is a flat roof it will be covered with sedum plants. With sedum there is hardly any maintenance, it looks great and it is a good sound barrier. We’ll enlist help from a friend of ours who started de Dakdokters, a company in Holland, they specialize in green roofing.

9. Tigchel Wood Burner

Build from the same rammed earth blocks this wood burner is a slow burner which will give out heath throughout the day. It will also provide us with warm water and will provide the floor heating.

10. Recycled materials

Obviously.., we will try to use as much recycled materials as possible.

A few years ago when we first came up with some idea of living a more sustainable and self sufficient life I saw a book on a friends bookshelf called The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency – the classic guide for realists and dreamers from John Seymour.
I wasn’t really nice company after that because I was engulfed in this book for the rest of our visit.

I believe that living a more sustainable and self-sufficient life you really need to go back to the basics as much as possible. The original version of this book was written in 1976 and although it has been updated a few times the essence of the book is still applicable in these days.

John Seymour leaves no subject unturned, from sowing, growing, harvesting and preserving your own food to raising life stock and even butchering and preserving the meat or making dairy products. He gives sensible and affordable idea’s for reducing energy consumption and DIY projects. Most of the tools he uses are without an electricity cord attached and could probably be found on flea markets or similar.
If ever “ the shit hits the fan “ in this world then you would be glad to have this book to survive.

It is November now and we where supposed to have a foundation at this point. It all did not go according to plan and we have the feeling that we will be saying this a lot during this project.
It is all because of to many people working on this project and being depended on their help to get the work done. Lotte had found a Dutch engineer who was willing to do the calculations for free which was great but it also meant that we had to wait a little longer then normal.
Then the local commune had to come and check the poles for the foundation our contractor had put in, that took some time as well and above all that it turned out that our Dutch engineer was not ” allowed ” to work here in Belgium so his calculations need to be signed of on by a Belgian engineer.

Holidays

Together with a few Holiday weeks we have had here in Belgium means that we did not met our deadline to have the foundation in before the frost started.

We are disappointed about all this but we have learned a lot as well. I have learned that I should listen more to alarm bells ringing in my head and take charge of this build instead of waiting for others to do so.

So now we wait, for winter to end and for the frost to disappear so we can start with the foundation and continue with the rest of the house.