Doug Kalmer
26th December 2007, 08:58
311
312When I decided to build my first and last house, I knew I would use
alternative building methods. The problem was deciding which alternative to
chose. I knew I wanted earth sheltered passive solar, but that still left
many options. Choosing to go alternative is easy; finding your way among the
myriad methods is not. So, after much study, I chose to use timber frame
(post & beam), infill that with cedar stackwall, and slipform stone and
concrete foundation walls.
Trying to conserve both money and planetary resources, I cut the timber
framing from my property, scrounged cedars where I could, and gathered every
stone I could find (and lift) within about five miles of my place.
Slipforming is an old building method where wooden forms are set up wall
thickness apart. A flat-faced stone is placed against a form, and concrete
is poured in behind the stone, forming a wall with embedded stones facing
out. Once the concrete has set up, another layer of forms is placed on top,
and the process is repeated.
Now, with two (or more) layers of forms up and concrete set up, you can
remove the bottom forms and leapfrog them up the wall, thus greatly
conserving form lumber, as you work your way up and along the wall.
Most stones are not very large and heavy. Flat-faced stones do not have to
be very thick to cover a fair amount of wall. The heaviest piece of wood in
my house is easily heavier than the heaviest stone.
In my search for stone, I found several old homesites where the only
evidence of a home having ever been there was a stone chimney or pile of
stones. This is a tribute to the enduring quality of stone. It won`t rot,
burn, or get eaten by insects. After you have it mortared in place, it will
remain right there, looking exactly like it does, virtually forever. An
added benefit is that externally insulated stone is an excellent heat sink, or thermal mass. It
soaks up excess solar heat on cold sunny days, and returns it at night.
Conversely, it keeps indoor temperatures cooler during hot days, acting as a
thermal flywheel, evening out temperature fluctuations in either direction.
And we get all of these benefits from a free resource!
We mixed our own concrete, which helped to keep costs below the cost of a
block wall, not counting labor. I feel I should mention that the stonework
is, in the opinion of many, the most attractive walls they have ever seen.
Another benefit is that unlike the typical stick-framed wall, once you pull
the forms and mortar, you`re done: no sheetrocking, painting, etc. Plus,
there's no maintenance ever. Thick stone walls do not transmit sound very
well, either, making for a quiet, attractive, evenly heated interior space.
The walls can be insulated on the outside by applying sheet insulation and
stucco. If anyone would like to see the finished stone walls, they are
invited to call Doug Kalmer at 931-722-5031.
For further reading: Build Your Own Stone House by Karl and Sue Swenke and
Our Home Made of Stone by Helen Nearing.
Stone House: A guide to self building with slipforms by Tom Stanley
***Slipforming is an old method, but it is also still used in modern
commercial buildings as well. Basically it means using reusable forms, I
built mine all 18" high, and either 4', 6' or 8' long, they were 2x4 frames
with plywood or boards on one side. The frames are drilled on the center of
the 2x4 every 2', so they can be bolted together. The process of using them
we called "Space, Lace and Brace". We started on a poured concrete footer,
and placed two 8' forms 12" apart, facing each other, this is for a 12"
thick wall. We then took 12" sticks and placed them in a few spots between
the two form faces, to keep them 12' apart, (Space) we them wired thru the
forms, tightening the wires by twisting nails into the wire, to tension the
forms against the sticks. (Lace) Then we braced the forms by temporarily
nailing a 2x4 to the top edge of each form and the other end to a stake in
the ground to keep the form plumb. (Brace) We had collected a large pile of
stone, any stone with a flat face on at least one side can be used, I just
placed one stone at a time against the inside face of the inner form, and
then placed concrete behind them, filling in the concrete with what we
called "uglies", or stones without a flat face, to use less concrete. Bolt
more forms end to end, and go along the wall, building up to the top of the
18" form. We would do about 30-40' a day, mixing concrete in an old gas
mixer. After the bottom layer is set up, bolt another layer of forms above
them repeat the process, and then when the second layer is set up, you can
remove the bottom layer of forms, and use them for the third and successive
layers, "leapfrogging" the forms up and along the walls. This process is
described in the Nearings books, which is where I got the idea from, except
we put the stone face on the interior, and insulated the exterior for
thermal mass. BTW, excellent concrete can be made with less Portland cement
by using crushed limestone base mix, it`s what the state uses for the base
of roadways. 7 parts base mix to one part Portland. ***
DIY Solar Article can be found here:
http://www.solarfacts.net/articles/experiences/experiences_living_on_solar_-_doug_kalmer.html
house-
http://community.webshots.com/user/sundug
Cedar cordwood article-
http://www.daycreek.com/dc/html/doug_kalmer.htm
This is something I wrote about 10 years ago when Greenpeace asked me to
give a talk, I wrote this up, and never got a chance to talk, so I sent
it to Countryside. It`s a little long, and I took much of it from other
sources.-
http://www.countrysidemag.com/issues/2_1998.htm and go to the first,
featured article. The house looks totally different on the outside now.
Gallery of Solar Homes- second one down-
http://www.jc-solarhomes.com/gallery.htm
Search "Slipforming" "stone building, and combinations of those terms.
312When I decided to build my first and last house, I knew I would use
alternative building methods. The problem was deciding which alternative to
chose. I knew I wanted earth sheltered passive solar, but that still left
many options. Choosing to go alternative is easy; finding your way among the
myriad methods is not. So, after much study, I chose to use timber frame
(post & beam), infill that with cedar stackwall, and slipform stone and
concrete foundation walls.
Trying to conserve both money and planetary resources, I cut the timber
framing from my property, scrounged cedars where I could, and gathered every
stone I could find (and lift) within about five miles of my place.
Slipforming is an old building method where wooden forms are set up wall
thickness apart. A flat-faced stone is placed against a form, and concrete
is poured in behind the stone, forming a wall with embedded stones facing
out. Once the concrete has set up, another layer of forms is placed on top,
and the process is repeated.
Now, with two (or more) layers of forms up and concrete set up, you can
remove the bottom forms and leapfrog them up the wall, thus greatly
conserving form lumber, as you work your way up and along the wall.
Most stones are not very large and heavy. Flat-faced stones do not have to
be very thick to cover a fair amount of wall. The heaviest piece of wood in
my house is easily heavier than the heaviest stone.
In my search for stone, I found several old homesites where the only
evidence of a home having ever been there was a stone chimney or pile of
stones. This is a tribute to the enduring quality of stone. It won`t rot,
burn, or get eaten by insects. After you have it mortared in place, it will
remain right there, looking exactly like it does, virtually forever. An
added benefit is that externally insulated stone is an excellent heat sink, or thermal mass. It
soaks up excess solar heat on cold sunny days, and returns it at night.
Conversely, it keeps indoor temperatures cooler during hot days, acting as a
thermal flywheel, evening out temperature fluctuations in either direction.
And we get all of these benefits from a free resource!
We mixed our own concrete, which helped to keep costs below the cost of a
block wall, not counting labor. I feel I should mention that the stonework
is, in the opinion of many, the most attractive walls they have ever seen.
Another benefit is that unlike the typical stick-framed wall, once you pull
the forms and mortar, you`re done: no sheetrocking, painting, etc. Plus,
there's no maintenance ever. Thick stone walls do not transmit sound very
well, either, making for a quiet, attractive, evenly heated interior space.
The walls can be insulated on the outside by applying sheet insulation and
stucco. If anyone would like to see the finished stone walls, they are
invited to call Doug Kalmer at 931-722-5031.
For further reading: Build Your Own Stone House by Karl and Sue Swenke and
Our Home Made of Stone by Helen Nearing.
Stone House: A guide to self building with slipforms by Tom Stanley
***Slipforming is an old method, but it is also still used in modern
commercial buildings as well. Basically it means using reusable forms, I
built mine all 18" high, and either 4', 6' or 8' long, they were 2x4 frames
with plywood or boards on one side. The frames are drilled on the center of
the 2x4 every 2', so they can be bolted together. The process of using them
we called "Space, Lace and Brace". We started on a poured concrete footer,
and placed two 8' forms 12" apart, facing each other, this is for a 12"
thick wall. We then took 12" sticks and placed them in a few spots between
the two form faces, to keep them 12' apart, (Space) we them wired thru the
forms, tightening the wires by twisting nails into the wire, to tension the
forms against the sticks. (Lace) Then we braced the forms by temporarily
nailing a 2x4 to the top edge of each form and the other end to a stake in
the ground to keep the form plumb. (Brace) We had collected a large pile of
stone, any stone with a flat face on at least one side can be used, I just
placed one stone at a time against the inside face of the inner form, and
then placed concrete behind them, filling in the concrete with what we
called "uglies", or stones without a flat face, to use less concrete. Bolt
more forms end to end, and go along the wall, building up to the top of the
18" form. We would do about 30-40' a day, mixing concrete in an old gas
mixer. After the bottom layer is set up, bolt another layer of forms above
them repeat the process, and then when the second layer is set up, you can
remove the bottom layer of forms, and use them for the third and successive
layers, "leapfrogging" the forms up and along the walls. This process is
described in the Nearings books, which is where I got the idea from, except
we put the stone face on the interior, and insulated the exterior for
thermal mass. BTW, excellent concrete can be made with less Portland cement
by using crushed limestone base mix, it`s what the state uses for the base
of roadways. 7 parts base mix to one part Portland. ***
DIY Solar Article can be found here:
http://www.solarfacts.net/articles/experiences/experiences_living_on_solar_-_doug_kalmer.html
house-
http://community.webshots.com/user/sundug
Cedar cordwood article-
http://www.daycreek.com/dc/html/doug_kalmer.htm
This is something I wrote about 10 years ago when Greenpeace asked me to
give a talk, I wrote this up, and never got a chance to talk, so I sent
it to Countryside. It`s a little long, and I took much of it from other
sources.-
http://www.countrysidemag.com/issues/2_1998.htm and go to the first,
featured article. The house looks totally different on the outside now.
Gallery of Solar Homes- second one down-
http://www.jc-solarhomes.com/gallery.htm
Search "Slipforming" "stone building, and combinations of those terms.