Building an adobe home in the woods of southwestern New Mexico
Although we started constructing the light straw-clay wall at the end of May, I am just getting around to writing about it now (October). It was a project that took the entire summer, and we are still working on finishing the plaster. For now, I will just provide a basic overview of the process, and … Continue reading Light Straw-Clay Insulation Wall
When we think about building an earthen home, we often don't think about drywall installation. Most earthen homes, however, have at least a small amount of wood framed walls with drywall. These walls are usually interior walls. For example, all of the load-bearing walls in our house are made of adobe. This includes all of … Continue reading Drywall Process
Working two days a week, it took from January 15th until April 10th to complete the base coat of earthen plaster on the interior of the house. It was a long and, for the most part, enjoyable process. Not all of our work days were actually spent plastering, as some were devoted to preparing the … Continue reading Plastering and Hanging Drywall
Finishing the First Floor Layer We worked long days during the first few weeks of December to finish the base layer of earthen floor, room by room. After pouring the first three rooms, we ran out of screened clay. From that point on, one person would screen clay while the other made the floor mix. … Continue reading Finishing the first floor layer and starting to earthen plaster
Now that our work on the roof has concluded, we turn our attention to tasks inside the house. This is a welcome change, as the weather has gotten colder and wetter recently. It's also nice to finally be spending more time inside the house, since we've predominantly worked on it from the outside over the … Continue reading Frame walls, doors, and earthen floors
There's nothing like putting the finishing touches on your roof! Not only is it a relief to finally have the house fully and permanently protected from rain and snowfall, but the finished metal roof is also a final visual layer of the house. At this point in construction, very little of what we have done … Continue reading Installing the Metal Roof
Installing the attic insulation and roof sheathing went much faster than I had anticipated. The quick pace has proven to be quite auspicious, as the typical summer monsoon storm systems begin to play out in southwestern New Mexico. Nick, an owner-builder pal of mine, helped me put up the insulation and sheathing over the course … Continue reading Attic Insulation and Roof Sheathing
We have now finished installing all 52 trusses on the house! After the trusses were installed with all the necessary blocking, I began attaching the hurricane ties, which provide a secure connection between the trusses and the top plate. Our inspector had told me that we could install hurricane ties on every-other truss, so that … Continue reading Completing the Trusses
Putting up the roof trusses feels like a major milestone, as for the first time, the house finally has it's basic shape established. As of the publishing of this post, we have about 3/5ths of the trusses in place. Having figured out the rhythm of the process, the trusses go up at a good pace. … Continue reading Putting Up Roof Trusses
Earlier this week we completed the installation of our tongue and groove ceiling above the vigas. A multitude of T&G boards were involved in the installation. I believe we used 230 individual 1x6x16' boards in all. The finished ceiling presents a grid of prominent vigas supporting a backdrop of clean and orderly tongue and groove … Continue reading Tongue and Groove Ceiling
