Wooden I-beams are installed during the straw bale stacking process as anchor points for hanging cabinets or heavy artwork. This must be thought about at the planning stages, because straw bale walls covered in plaster are not strong enough to hold the weight of heavy objects.
In preparation for applying the natural clay plaster on the straw bale walls in this timber frame home, the walls had to be stuffed tightly between all the bales with packed straw. Air spaces in the straw bale walls allow a greater chance of fire, so these air pockets must be eliminated. The spaces can be no larger than an egg.
The family that bought this house found what they thought was a minor roof leak causing a discolouring of the ceiling drywall. After inspection, they realized that the roof had been built without tar paper, causing major leak and insulation issues.
Due to the house being older, the floor is quite sloped at the outer walls where we put in the bathroom. This meant that the toilet and bathtub had to be shimmed to get them level.
The family was so excited to have the new stairs installed that they kept walking up and down them all day, just because they could! They are happy to have safe stairs for their children, and their in-laws from Australia are already looking forward to not having to watch their feet as they walk down each step.
Once the timber was finished, the owners were so pleased with the look that they decided to incorporate it into the kitchen area as an accent piece. The counter was cut to fit around the post, and the top half of it shows above the cabinets.
We had to sand the post in three different stages to get from the rough painted wood to a polished look that could be coated with oil to enhance the beauty of the natural wood.
When demolition happened in this basement before the renovation started, this structural post was exposed. It was rough cut and painted blue.
Once the paint is done and the flooring is installed, the renovated rooms begin to look more like the vision of the homeowner. Attention to detail when cutting and laying the carpet makes a huge difference in making the room look professionally finished.
There was a big push to get the drywall finished so the owners’ family could help them paint on a certain weekend. Hanging the drywall sheets goes fairly quickly, but waiting for the drywall compound to dry between coats challenged our tight time schedule. Using fans to improve ventilation makes a big difference, especially in a basement with small windows.