About Zone5
“We characterise this zone as the natural, unmanaged environment used for occasional foraging, recreation, or just let be. This is where we learn the rules that we try to apply elsewhere”. -Bill Mollison, Permacultre, A Designers’ Manual”
In Permaculture Design, Zone 5 represents the “Wilderness reference zone”- the zone furthest from human habitation, with the least degree of human design and intervention. I use it here also as a metaphor, the “edge between nature and culture”- so I wish to explore aspects of permaculture design, theory and practice, but also go beyond into the realms of human ecology, eco-philosophy and eco-psychology. The site has a strong Peak Oil focus, and as such is a portal for exploring the issues we face as we live through a time of imminent system collapse.
Name: Graham Strouts Born: Hampshire, southern England, in 1964. I did my first Permaculture design Course in Shropshire, 1989; after a spell in Scotland cutting my teeth in tree-nursery work and tree-planting, I moved to Westport, Co. Mayo, Ireland in 1992. Since then Ive lived in Monaghan and Cork, mainly working in tree planting, woodland management and landscaping; also yurt construction and environmental education in primary schools. In 2001 I purchased a 2 hectare small-holding in the Coomhola valley, 8 miles north of Bantry in West Cork. Since September 2005 I have been the course co-ordinator on the 2-year Practical sustainability Course at Kinsale College of Further Education, teaching Permaculture, Woodland Management and Green Building.
Birth of a Superhut
Note: Much to the dismay of many of my readers, I no longer live in the superhut, but moved into a new timber-framed cabin in early 2008. The Roundhouse still stands and is made good use of as workshop and visitor space.
In September of this year (2003) I moved into the “superhut”: based on Tony Wrenches’ “Build Your Own Low-Impact Roundhouse “, what I now call home is a one-roomed reciprocal- framed roundhouse with cordwood walls. After five years in a 16ft- yurt- and before that five years in a hexagonal hut of about the same size- the superhut feels warm and palatial. When I secured tenure of four acres of land in the townland of Derrydubh (“Black Oak”) two years ago and pitched the yurt here I knew already what I wanted to build, and that it would need to meet the following requirements: -having no money to begun with, it had to be cheap -it had to be low-impact, using local materials where possible, and be energy-efficient; -it needed to be finished by the end of the summer this year- I didnt want to get involved in a project that was going to drag on; and -it had to be technically easy to construct, as although I had good general practical skills, my building skills did not go much beyond yurt construction; In addition, it had to be funky.
The work started in May 2002 when the site was levelled with a mini-digger. The hut. though not earth-sheltered, is set back into a bank. Top soil was barrowed away to make raised beds for a tree nursery, the sandy subsoil piled for later use in the walls. Construction of the frame began soon after. Round poles are structurally stronger for the same dimensions, and loads cheaper and with much less embodied energy than using sawn timbers. Twelve Douglas Fir poles, 10ft in length, were placed upright in the ground in a rough circle about 20 ft in diameter. Each pole was charred at the base in a fire to help preserve the wood where there is contact with the earth, and this end set in holes 2ft deep and packed with stones . Round timbers were used to connect each upright at the top to make a kind of “wood-henge”. I used 10mm lengths of re-bar as pegs to fix the timbers. The poles for the rafters were cut from a neighbour’s Cypress hedge; the rest were the tops of Cedar poles from a nearby wood. About 25ft long and 8″ at the butts, they had to be heavy enough to take the weight of a sod roof. Two of us put the roof up in a day. Having never done it before, we made a rough model first with 12 hazel sticks to get the general idea. This could be done using any sticks- coctail sticks, lollipop sticks- and if you take it in turns to lay the sticks in turn, it has the feel of some kind of ancient oriental puzzle. Now for the real thing. We offered the poles up one at a time, cantilevering them over the henge and tying them at first to make sure they would all fit. The tricky bit is leaving enough room for the last pole to slide in on top of the previous pole and under the first one. At the second attempt we get them all in place and then were ready for the dramatic moment of knocking out the temporary support.
I used only two secondary rafters between each main pair. The next job was to board the whole roof over- about a third of this was done with scrap and salveged timber, the rest was bought from a local saw-mill. It was difficult to do the top bit around the skylight because of the inherent uneaveness of the design. The boards were covered in several layers of plastic- I decided against the expense of longer-lasting buteyl-rubber, but I know of one sod roof in West Cork done only with plastic that is apparently still fine after 15 years- and then covered this with half-rotted hay from a neighbour’s field. Two of us covered the whole roof in a day- we were able to push barrows straight onto the roof from the bank. Much easier than cutting turfs, and can always be added to later. I nailed Douglas Fir fasure boards onto the end of the rafters , an made a simple guttering system by simply running the plastic up and over the fasure boards- an improvment I think over Tony Wrench’s more haphazard system. Each rafter was cut slightly longer than the others, so the water runs to a downpipe to the southwest. I had the dry-stone walls between the uprights built to 18″ high as foundations for the cordwood completed, and the first course of cordwood down while the weather was still warm and sunny at the end of September- thanks to the Indian summers that have been a feature of recent years. I didn’t do much over the winter, but in an uncertain climate there is certainly a lot to be said for completing one’s roof first- while the sun shines! For the cords I used what was available- Sitka Spruce. Softwoods have better insulation value and Sitka has not much radial shrinkage(see tables of comparitive shrinkage rates in Rob Roy). They certainly make cheap bricks, light and easy to work with also. I have little or no clay in my soil, so added in cheap hydrated lime to the sandy soil, along with chopped straw. This sort of mix would not be suitable for load-bearing walls, but is fine for in fill in a frame. At first I did the mixing in wellies on a plastic tarp, but later tried a cement mixer. A bread-mixer would probably be better, but the thing is is that while for a pure cob house you would need w gang of enthusiastic slaves or a big digger to do the mixing, for a small cordwood house like this it is certainly feasible to do all the mixing manually. Good progress was made during the Easter holidays- I had begun to get a lot of work teaching about trees and woodland and building gardens in primary schools- in fact in one school we were able to construct a small reciprocal-framed hut with the children! Second-hand double-glazed windows were sourced and the help of a local carpenter enlisted to build frames for the doors and windows. I worked flat-out through July and August, completing most of the cordwood myself. The ceiling was an awkward job- I used washed sheeps wool as an excellent form of insulation, and finished the ceiling with plaster board. A compromise perhaps but it would have taken forever with wattle and daub and I was determined to be in during September! Only the main rafters were left revealed, showing off the reciprocal spiral around an irregular hexagonal skylight. I chose to have two doors- double glass at the south-east and a split barn door to the north where there may later be an extension. I set large flag stones at the entrances and a raise wooden floor was the last major job. Once the doors were hung and the range and sink fitted I was in!
Below: Looking up at the reciprocal farme roof.
Two months later and Im still delighted. The sun does a good job of warming the place even when there’s no fire down, the cordwod is great insulation, I still havnt got used to all the extra space. It’s a beautiful space especially with the morning sun streaming through. Have I achieved my original goals? Well it was finished on time. I reckon I did about 80% of the work myself- about 5months working time- but with crucial help from my friends when I needed it, including advice from the local building gurus! And it was within budget- Ive spent about E5000- There’s still a lot of shelving and surfaces to do inside, and I may eventually plaster the walls inside. The cordwod was great fun if hard work and I feel it has great potential as a sustainable building method in Ireland.
The roof has more or less greened over by now and looks very funky. Best of all is the reciprocal frame which is great to lie under gazing up at the stars- a cosmic spiral or just a plug-hole to the Universe?
Hey Graham, Inspiring stuff my friend…
Great stuff!
Slowly starting on the path…..
Graham; I am so excited after reading your article. I’m planning on using your ideas this summer at the East Fork Farm. Just the inspiration I’ve been searching for..thanks so much..and congratulations on a super job:)
An great example of simple, low-cost design, Graham. Is my elementary maths correct in estimating the square footage at 321-odd?
Yes that’s about right! Just under the size that would require planning permission here…
Hey Grahame, nice site. I got here from “sustainability” mag. I’ll keep an eye on it! Take care,
I love it! Studying sustainable design~ancestors from County Kerry. You look happy and peaceful! ~Gretchen
hi graham…your house looks fab..congrats..i’m thinking of building a small place myself in kinsale and i was wondering if you knew how big does the house have to be before you require planning permission? iagain fab house good luck with it…deirdre
As far as I know you can build up to 25square meters on your own land without seeking further planning permission- but that may be only if you have planning for an actual dwelling as well; so technically you can build something up to that size but you need planning permission to dwell in it. There may be other criteria, so best check with the planning office.
hello i’m belgian and not really fluent in english. i’ll move to west cork soon and i was wondering if it’s easy to get a planning permission for a cordwood house with green roof. this kind of house is clean and green so is it easier to get the pp? sorry for the mistakes
peppy
sorry i forgot to tell you my project is a green b&b (cordwood solar energy….) with 3 or 4 rooms. and also may u explain me what is a “section 38″ in pp best regards
Graham, Good to see your site developing. It saves me having to create one myself! Given the present financial crisis, and that the whole edifice of society depends on growth and the creation of debt, I wonder what a sustainable economy would look like without either of these? The only models that we have so far are Europe between the end of the Roman Empire and 1760, and feudal China. I am sure that you will say, read Rob Hopkins book, which I will but I think that most people will not find the localisation scenario particularly appealing. Has anyone yet come up with a clearly worked out economic structure that may convincingly replace the increasingly precarious one that appears to be collapsing around us? Answers on a postcard please… Also, on the basis of not being able to sit around and do nothing, see our carbon offset site, http://www.carbonshop.ie. Yes, I know all about that, but it will take all sorts of different appraoches.
Thanks Richard. It is hard to know what it is about the localisation scenario that would not appeal to people- once you have read Rob’s book! I mean, if you take away debt and the systemic need for growth, who would choose to sit in a traffic jam all day? At the same time, people will have to get used to not having a choice- resource depletion and economic collapse will guarantee a more localised future, and the only choice we may have left is whether it will be planned and managed in some way or chaotic and destructive- a bit of both no doubt. One attempt at describing an alternative economic model is Capitalism 3.0 by Peter Barnes: http://onthecommons.org/files/Capitalism_3.0_Peter_Barnes.pdf
Dear Graham
Inspired by your ideas I am going to blow up our entire street, (of caust usin’ an ECO-friendly wreckingball!) barrow-away the rubble and rub the brickdust into my skin until I bleed almost to death, stacking out the remaining ruins with dried apricot leaves cadged from peripatetic apothecaries many of whom would jump cartwheels of joy to be involved in such a venture…
‘The Eden Project’ has nothing on you. And the same goes for dogs.
dear Graham, love your house, planning to build soon here in Italy but they are not keen on “unusual” forms of construction.
Where can I get free info on how to build a house like yours? Does it have to be round? Look forward to hearing from you. Iolanda
Well Iolanda, you have just read one free source of info on cordwood construction! Otherwise try Tony Wrench’s “Build Your Own Low-Impact Roundhouse” which mine was based on.
Hi Graham, Your house looks great! Thanks for all the useful info’, we would like to build one here in Eastern England (Suffolk) and would also be very interested in running short courses on cordwood building and permaculture generally (we currently have an organic 18 acre smallholding), any ideas on a contact in England who may be able to help/advise?
Malcolm
Hi Malcom, If you need permaculture advise in the UK, definately contact Aranya (http://www.designedvisions.com) or Hannah Thorogood (hannah_thorogood@hotmail.com). Both will be at the 2008 covergence in Sept and they’re lovely peeps. I think Hannah lives close by in Essex. I live in Norfolk myself and did my design course with them both in Shropshire, and loved every minute of it!
A friend of mine who lives near by is also a great guy to speak to is Tom Purling (tom@rootstofruits.co.uk). A lovely hippy guy who professionally makes forest gardens for a living, if that tickles your fancy…
Good luck!
)
-Gari
PS – Great site Graham! Love the house! Just wish we had planning laws as relaxed over here…
Hi Graham, Just looked into your web site quickly and am ammazed with its content. I will certainly look through it again when I have some more time. And thanks for the course work this morning we ( Jane and I ) have greatly enjoyed it. Look forward to the next class in two weeks time. Great work, thank you N.B. Do you have a picture for a completed Yurt with its cover on?
Kia ora(greeting in Maaori)Graham! just found you on the wide wide web….. Finding myself in the land down under Aotearoa- New Zealand theese days, I finally resived my residency here, weehej! Your home looks amazing, now its long ago since I visited. Still from time to time I send you my thoughts to you and all the other beautiful people in Eire. I’m living on the south island in our home built house truck and yurt. I love it here.At the moment I’m buizze winter pruning apple trees.People here shout out in joy when I mention the Action plan and Kinsale.The word has spread! Much Aroha(love) from Pernilla
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would be very interested in hearing about upcomming courses in 09. would be very grateful if you could keep me informed. very interesting site-keep up the good work
Hi Graham I would very much like to come and visit you this coming January, perhaps do a workshop together? Please contact me via http://www.foodnotlawns.com or http://www.myspace.com/foodnotlawns. Peace to you, Heather C. Flores, author, “Food Not Lawns; How to Turn Your Yard into a Garden and Your Neighborhood into a Community.” (Chelsea Green, 2006)
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inspiring! thanks
Hi G, I’m loving your roof! I like the careful framing you did for the opening and your choice of plastic for the roof liner. Are you still without leaks? Any suggestions you’d offer to someone also doing a reciprocal roof with timber? Thanks for any suggestions!
Found your blog by chance today. Just wanted to say how much I liked this post. Our family is looking at more sustainable green living. Step by step we are trying to adopt a more natural lifestyle. I think that what you have done here is wonderful. Thanks for sharing.
Dear Graham,
is each main pole of your reciprocal roof fixed into a common element such as a steel hoop at ther top? I wonder what happens if a single main pole fails for any reason. Much like a lattice truss, the reciprocal roof without a tensile common top element does a fine job of spreading the load but relies on every pole being perfect. You’ll notice that most buildings utilising conical roofs without a central support are designed with each pole fixed into a tensile ring so that a number of poles could fail without the roof coming down.
I’m a bit of a worrier and I imagine the weight of the whole roof relying on the integrity of one pole: which one, of course, would only be known in the case of a failure – the load only being spread elegantly between the poles if they are all in pefect condition.
By the way, I’m not a structural engineer but my family had a structural engineering practice for many years and the phrase in the design office was “never trust a truss on its own”.
Otherwise, a beautifully simple and elegant building!
Best wishes
Nick
Hi Nick I think I understand your point but a single pole failing would be extremely unlikely- there is no reason to suppose one would fail unless it became completely rotten. This could happen I suppose if there was a persistent leak – but for it to be that bad the building would have had t have been in a state of severe neglect for a long period i think! True enough, it might only take one pole to go for the whole roof to cave in but it would be unlikely to happen all of a sudden- I think there would be a chance to try a repair before complete collapse- hopefully the same for society as a whole!
Im not sure what would happen
Graham, very well explained article. Could I ask you another qeustion please? How did you wash all that sheeps wool for insulation? Washing machine or do you buy it washed? Your green roof, did you just use several layers of that cheap builders plastic that comes in roll, then rotted hay? what a bout gravel for drainage? Appreciate it again, I am getting there. Oh and do you planon doing a cordwood coarse soon?Paul
The wool was purchased from the UK washed. Some people have used raw wool instead, usually they have added borax to it to deter pests. This could be done by spraying it once it is placed in situ in the walls. I chanced the washed wool without borax- the debate as to which is better continues… On the roof I used 2 layers of builders plastic, and then a couple of layers of pit sileage cover which comes big enough to cover the whole roof several times in one piece with no joins. On a similar roof we used radon barrier plastic, but it required joining with adhesive and tape. I didnt bother with drainage, but there is a down-pipe at the lowest corner. No plans for a cordwood course at present Im afraid.
Hey Graham, please write what did you use to cover the hole on the top of the roof(the inner circle). Any pictures would be appreciated. Here is the only article I can find about skylight in reciprocal roof: http://small-scale.net/yearofmud/2009/07/30/making-a-custom-tractor-tire-skylight/
Thanks!!
Graham, Paul here again. I have my structure up and braced. I am about to put the green roof on(similiar to the way you did yours using builder and silage cover). I want to put a flue up threw the roof? I was thinking of using a couple of sheets of galvanised steel with the flue threw it with led around. Do you think this would work. I dont want the plastic to melt, or any insulation to go on fire. I see you put your flue out the side. I am building my walls with straw, plus I already have a straight flue sourced. Thanks again Graham, will I send u pictures so far?PaulC
Hi Paul best to use an insulated flu pipe- from the stove up it can be single skin but should be insulated as it passes through the roof, which also helps the stove burn more efficiently. If in doubt best check with a builder for safety. Some pictures would be great!