Billie Bushe-Murphy

Thanks Jane! I'm really excited to get started 😊

So this summer my partner and I will be restoring an old farm building with traditional drystone walls and a corrugated roof.

We're in Ireland, so it's damp all year round, but it's bone dry inside the building.
Keeping the sheer amount of rainfall we get in mind, we're seeking the wisdom of others in regards to what mortar and plaster to use for the walls.

I was considering cob for the interior walls finished with a limewash and putting in a limecrete floor. But I'm wondering about the exterior walls. A hot-lime mix for the pointing both inside and out is the first port of call. Any suggestions on what to use on top of that? We were advised to put in plasterboard inside but I'm not so sure as breathability is key to prevent mould.

We want the space to be comfortable and warm, it'll have a wood burner and we might put in underfloor heating if we can get it airtight enough.

Dia dhaoibh a chairde!

My boyfriend and I live in Aix-en-Provence in the South of France. We are a french/irish couple of urban-permies trying to incorporate our ideals into the city until we finish our studies and move to the countryside. But the challenge is fun and means that we always have projects-a-plenty on the go!
Currently tending a garden on the rooftop terrace (a wee bit windy at times with the mistral ) and working to have a passive solar heating system, small greenhouse and indoor 'rocket' stove all done before winter sets in (if one of those three things happens in time i'll be delighted haha!)

So thats a little bit about us and hope to chat to ye soon!

Billie & Max

Hi there fellow permies!
Maybe you guys can help me out or point me in the direction of someone who can.
My partner and I are designing a system on our terrace to heat our apartment and keep us warm during the winter months. We live in Provence, France (Zone 8/9) so the winter is not long but still quite cold. We were wondering if anyone could help us out with input and ideas. We live on the top floor of a 5 story building, its a small place with a mezzanine and plenty of south-west facing windows onto a 15m² terrace with a south facing and north facing wall on each end.
The main objectives are
1. for the system to be solar 'powered'
2. not be a permanent structure (we're renting)
3. must only use recupe or recycled materials (for eg. from building sites and the street).
4. needs to incorporate an area for cultivation of vegetables and edible plants.
The plan so far is to build a raised bed/cold frame against a south facing wall connected to a small rectangular greenhouse that frames a low laying window leading into the apartment. This is only an idea for the moment and we are totally open to new suggestions.
We'd really appreciate any help we can get and want to have it constructed in the next two weeks.