Community Bunkhouse Build
Recent work has been focused on building of a bunk house, which will serve as accommodation for residential courses at the Land Skills Hub at Fivepenny Farm in Dorset.
The bunk house will accommodate 16 people in 8 bunks on a single story, with provision for at least 4 wheelchair accessible beds. It will be a roundwood timber frame structure with straw bale infill with clay plaster inside and lime render outside. The build has been carried out as a community project, with instructional volunteering opportunities to learn various aspects of natural and low impact building. There are countless ways of creating a comfortable and sturdy building from natural materials. This is one of them. Care will be taken to explain the thinking behind each process so people can take inspiration from how we do things as well as feel empowered to try things differently. We aspire to create an environment of popular education where each person is seen as bringing valuable experiences and input to the processes. We’re not just creating a building, we’re building a community and a movement. Building skills is only one part of the spectrum of skills we need. We need social skills, facilitation skills, organisational skills, motivational skills, communication skills, conflict resolution skills, and so much more. Awareness and knowledge and lived experiences of everything under the sun is sought and valued.
Stages of the Build
Foundations
Rammed earth into discarded car tyres to form plinth foundations. This will be the most physically challenging part of the project. Core activities involve ramming earth into car tyres with sledgehammers and mallets, creating strong and stable plinths for the building to rest on
Platform construction
A level platform will be build on our rammed tyre plinths, made of roundwood girders, wooden joists, insulated and topped with a sub floor. The platform will measure approx. 6m by 12m and extend beyond the foundation points by the width of one straw bale. This is so the uprights for our timber frame sits directly above the foundations and the bale walls extending beyond them, which also serves to protect the tyres from UV damage.
Timber framing
Courses in roundwood timber framing for the Norwegian ‘grindbygg’ system, covering all aspects of the process of creating a grindbygg timber frame from roundwood logs.
Walls
We will construct a floor plate around the perimeter of the platform, and a wall plate under the rafters. The bales will be inserted between these with timbers either side of doors and windows and the grindbygg system will be used to compress bale walls.
Roof
Work consists of putting up rafters, fitting noggins between them, attaching a bamboo roll mat trellis to the underside to give key to the clay plaster ceiling, insulation, breather membrane, battens, roof boards, rubber membrane and turf.
Internal stud walls
Constructing simple stud walls from 2x4s to create a small private quarters within the bunkhouse.
Plastering Phase
We’ll be working in stages to complete the external lime and internal clay plastering. It’s hard to give exact dates on when these will take place as they are depending on the timeline of jobs that need to happen beforehand such as soil going on the roof and the scaffolding being rebuilt at the right level for plastering. Also weather dependant, but these dates are a good guess at when we will be working on the plastering
Stage 1 19th—21st Aug using lime externally we will apply the first coat (stipple coat which is a watered down Lime plaster slurry. And scratch coat which is a mix of lime plaster, clay earth dug from site and straw) to the walls.
Stage 2 26th—29th Aug we will carry on the work of applying the base (levelling) coat of plaster with a thin finish coat on top. There will be less emphasis on choosing and testing plaster mixes and more on application. You will still learn loads and plastering takes time and practice to get the hang of it, but luckily we have a big building to do, so by the end you’ll be a pro!
We will be up on scaffolding but at the level of the bottom plate of building, so only slightly raised off the ground. Lime is extremely alkaline so full PPE and protective layers need to be worn at all times - goggles, mask, full length gauntlet gloves will all be provided but please also wear long sleeves and trousers for these two phases.
You’ll learn how to make up the mix, how to prep the wall, how to apply the plaster, and about the different layers and what changes between them. Luckily for the first coat we’ll just be massaging it into the straw with our hands so you’ll get used to the material that way. It is crucial to get right to ensure a good key for the subsequent plaster coats, which isn’t difficult, but important to be meticulous and conscientious when doing it.
Stage 3 16th—19th Sept using clay internally we will apply the second base coat (first key coat already done). This is using clay from the land, mixed with sand and straw. Clay is a beautiful to work with and doesn’t require any PPE, the muddier we get the better! This stage is also where things can get creative with some 3D sculptural cob in the walls.
Stage 4 30th—3rd Oct using the same clay and sand but no straw this time, we will complete the last layer of plastering with a super smooth finish coat.
What to bring with you:
for lime stages - full long sleeve layers, top and bottom
tools that could be handy - plastering trowels, hawks, floats, spray water mister. All of these will be provided if you don’t have your own.
snacks! We eat so well here but any additional snacks always go down a treat.
Camping equipment if you’re camping, we do have some spare pillows and blankets for when it gets a bit cooler.
Important things to note:
Arriving on Monday evening ready to start on Tuesday for morning meeting at 9am
We ask everyone to chip in for the running costs of each of these volunteer weeks for things like food, insurance, water and gas, and all the invisible costs. We suggest £15 per day but whatever you can afford is appreciated.
The plastering phase will be led by Rosie Fieldhouse
Rosie will be bringing her expertise and enthusiasm for natural building to the project. With over five years of hands on experience, particularly in Cob, Wattle & Daub and clay work, Rosie has honed her craft through a strong connection to the land and traditional methods. Her passion lies in reviving and sharing endangered heritage skills, especially with those discovering them for the first time. Whether it’s sculpting walls, mixing plaster by hand or stomping in cobby mixes, Rosie is happiest when covered in clay and looks forward to sharing that joy with everyone involved.
The roof, windows & doors construction will be led by Han
Han will be leading the final stages of the green roof build, which will include plenty of practical tasks like earth moving and reconstructing the wooden scaffolding to support the plastering work. With over 35 years of experience in building, Han brings not only deep expertise but also a genuine passion for teaching and empowering others, especially when it comes to using power tools confidently. They are especially committed to creating an inclusive environment and are keen to work with people who may have previously felt excluded or marginalised within the construction world.
