greenspree.ca at The Sietch

I figure it’s time for a status update on the straw bale home. It’s been a slow 3 or 4 months since the snow started back in November, other than the interior walls, the plumbing and electrical rough-ins and a few small items we haven’t done much on the house.

A few weeks ago we had the main ventilation shaft and fan installed and will now be able to go ahead with insulating the attic! We ordered the wood for the second story ceiling and the danish oil finish for it. Two weeks ago we spent the long weekend cleaning my father-in-law’s shop and laying out and pre-finishing the wood for the ceiling. The danish oil was a labour intensive finish for 2400lnft of 1×5 t&g pine but it was fantastic to be able to use this non toxic finish without wearing masks. We also completed a last few niggling attic chores like vents for the bathroom fan, dryer and fresh air intakes.

We’ve also finished 85% of the cedar soffit which looks (and smells) great! As soon as the weather turns, which doesn’t appear to be happening anytime soon, we can get back to stuccoing inside and out. Actually, as soon as the attic gets insulated so we can control the temperature in the house we could start doing some stucco inside as well.

This past weekend we finished vapour barrier and started installing the the prefinished pine ceiling panelling. It looks great and is a breeze to install with my father-in-law’s compressor and air nailer. Still my shoulders are a little stiff from having my arms above my head for two full days. By this weekend we hope to have the ceiling paneled and ready for blown-in insulation.