here's the deal
it's cold and raining outside and don't want to get wet and muddy yet so i'm writing this
in an effort to develop one more small part of my personal economy, i'm expanding my
chicken flock from 65 to somewhere around 100.
my 16x23 barn isn't big enough (aren't they all just a little too small?) so I've added a 14' metal clad shed roof off the back of the building with a 2-3/12 pitch.
the wall will sit 10 feet from the existing barn wall
over the past 25 years of building, i've grown sick of right angles and now that i'm making my own large additions and buildings, i can begin to explore rounded walls
the walls of the new coop are
locust poles set to below frost line (34" in NE OH) with grid between the uprights of
ash poles dowelled into the beams
i've had to bring the floor up with infill (24" at barn wall and 30" at the addition wall) as the barn sits on a hill side.
blah blah blah
whatever
i'll get pictures later of what i can
my questions for you all are about the walls.
has anyone on this list ever used phragmites bundles instead of
straw bales?
i've never worked with the stuff myself (though i'm pretty sure i will)
this isn't about thatching
not really
my intention is to secure the bundles horizontally, woven through the frame/grid of the wall
i figure to use 6-8" bundles, laid up to create long "ropes" of the reeds
then covering the wall with earthen plaster
i've played with plasters a bit
our Seedhouse has
native earthen plaster on the inside and a true lime plaster (mined near Toledo OH) on the outside
i will likely just be adding some of the lime to the exterior layers
i guess there are to questions that i have
1. how well does earthen plaster stick to Phrag?
i would think it would be similar to straw.
biggest difference being the direction of the reeds.
2. has anyone ever tried to bend phrag around corners?
my intention is to also wrap the doorway with the reed "ropes"?
i'm sure i will be able to learn this stuff by getting wet and muddy
in time on that
my thanks
c
here are pics (ALL of them) of the Seedhouse
https://www.flickr.com/photos/94872676@N08