The Finished Frame- Roundwood Timber Frame Construction
Blessed with sunny days, Ty Pren has completed the frame of the house, including the workshop, and a drink was shared by all during the ‘topping out ceremony’. Thanks was given to the wood energies that have helped us reach this point.
The Ty Pren team has been working efficiently and co-operatively on the roof of the house which is kept as eco as possible using a Pavatex wood fibre board for the insulation and recycled steel for the top layer.
Ty Pren will soon be handing over to Richard Sylvan of Heartwood Natural Building who will lead the installation of the straw bale walls that provide world class insulation value.
The five hundred bales will then be rendered with lime and clay plasters under the guidance of Straw Works and Heartwood Natural Building. They will be hosting courses in natural building throughout the summer – see http://www.danyberllan.co.uk/ for details and to get involved.
We have loved building the frame for this affordable home with a very low carbon footprint. It has been nice to be immersed in the ideals that shape the people who come together to create a One Planet Development site like the one at Rhiw Las.
We wish Erica Chris and Tanwen all the very best in their new home on completion.
From Forest to Frame – Future Proof Homes from Ty Pren.
The current frame is for a family dwelling at Rhiw Las, which is a group of four low-impact small holdings in Carmarthenshire. Erica and Chris have been approved for planning through the One Planet Development so a Ty Pren building is ideal for the ecological requirements.
Our techniques and processes help to reduce the carbon footprint of the build. Ty Pren has been selecting, extracting and framing larch trees from the same woodland for this frame which keeps the transport costs down.
Using hand tools we have been stripping larch poles and framing them. The larch trees are carefully selected for the needs of the building. The frame is made from primarily round wood which adds extra strength to the building. The wall plates are square cut and scarved together.
The pegs are made from seasoned sweet chestnut. The green wood that we frame will tighten around the seasoned pegs strenghthening the joint. Some of the pegs are dyed with a solution made from vinegar and wire wool, to distinguish them from other size pegs.
Once the frame was completed it was taken to the site in Carmathenshire on the back on a flat bed lorry ready be raised.
This is the only transport cost of the timber keeping the CO2 emissions to a minimum. The frame took us all day to load and unload and stack on site.
Chris and Erica had marked out the plan for the placement of the uprights. We took laser levels and were ready to start raising.
Once we had raised the first bent Erica and Chris knocked in the first pegs of the building.
We have worked well as a team to raise the frame, all putting our heads together to solve any technical issues if they arose.
And so the frame is raised!
Prior to the rafters going on there is not a nail in the building. The rafters have been milled from a tree from the same woodland that the frame came from.
The frame looks fantastic in this beautiful setting.
The dynamics of the team have changed for this build, Ray and Blue are not currently with us . We have found two apprentices to work and learn with the team. Mark and Cathryn have worked very hard honing their skills and have been a real asset. Thank you to volunteers Emily, Lyka and Ian for helping us along with the build, your contributions were really appreciated and it was great to have you in the workshop, we hope you enjoyed your experience!
Ty Pren out and about- Promoting Low Carbon Builds at Coppicewood College
Ty Pren was invited to join Coppicewood College as part of their 10 year anniversary year celebrations at The Really Wild Food and Countryside Festival in Pembrokeshire. Many of the members of Ty Pren began their woodland craft careers here, learning coppicing, woodland management and greenwood craft skills. We all agree that their course was life-affirming and well worth every penny.
It was great to meet and work alongside Martin, David and Andrew, who helped our daughter make quite a lot of spoons, so many thanks to him for that! We also enjoyed talking to so many people at the festival, we hope to be a part of some of your exciting projects in the future.
The Really Wild Food and Countryside Festival was a lovely event; we especially enjoyed the brownies, the pizza and the cider! The view of the beautiful coast was beautiful too, and watching the mud runners was both amusing and inspiring; thanks to everyone involved for a great weekend!
If anybody is interested in Roundwood Timber Framing Courses, here are the links: C.A.T. and Denmark Farm.
Timber Roundhouse with a Mandan frame
We may not update our blog very often as we’re always in the workshop or on-site somewhere, but we thought we’d show you a recent little roundhouse frame we did. It’s based on a Mandan design and will be used as a studio/summer house/classroom by the owners. We’ve done the frame and they plan to get family and friends in to finish off the rest of the construction, with some pointers from us.
We’ve also done some more traditional framing and created a wood store and storage shed for our friend Bruce from Coppicewood College
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Ty Pren will be running a number of courses this year, two at C.A.T. and one through Denmark Farm conservation centre. Follow the links for more details.