Grand designs.. bushcraft related

[Dynamite Dan]

Just watching Grand designs now, and theres this bloke whos lived in the woods for 10 years, working in the woods, and living under canvas. Hes finally managed to achieve planning permission to build a full house.

But hes building it out of what he can get in the woods (wood) hes using traditional designs for forest housing, and non of his team are builders.

the host cant get his head around the fact all his plans are in his head, and not drawn up by some team of designers.


WHAT A GUY.

 

[Jodie]

Wow thanks that's great - I'd have missed that and it looks good (and I've only lost 15
mins of it so that's OK).

It's on More4, channel 13 on Freeview and finishes at bed-time - 11.20pm

"Kevin McCloud returns to Sussex to see how Ben Law's handcrafted, self-sufficient
woodsman's cottage has changed over the last 18 months and how it has affected
Ben's life"

 

[British Red]

Ben was one of the guys who started the FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) that checks for the proper sustainable sources of wood here and abroad. He has two books published - The Woodland House aboth the house in question and the Woodland Way about woodland management and living

Red

 

[Snufkin]

Ben was one of the guys who started the FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) that checks for the proper sustainable sources of wood here and abroad. He has two books published - The Woodland House aboth the house in question and the Woodland Way about woodland management and living

Red

Great books. The woodland house is a bit of a coffee table book but still interesting, the woodland way is well worth getting hold of if you have an interest in sustainable living.
He also appeared in an episode of Hugh Fearnley Whittingstalls A Cook On The Wildside.

 

[Dynamite Dan]

glad i caught you in time Jodie, im just a little dissapointed that he used some synthetic membrane on the roof.

 

[Jodie]

I too was surprised - but it may be pragmatic or it may even be a building requirement. It
sounds like there are lots of restrictions in place on his house

 

[gorilla]

wouldn't we all love to live in a house like that!?

 

[Dynamite Dan]

Im glad the presenter came round to the thinking of the woodsman, and possibly learned to respect nature just that tiny bit more

 

[Jodie]

wouldn't we all love to live in a house like that!?

Yes!

Dan - as I missed the first fifteen minutes... was the presenter unconvinced? He
seemed interested but obviously had to ask challenging-ish questions as I suppose
a lot of the audience (self included) would be thinking "but what about...?" and "how
would that work?" etc.

Lovely programme - I felt quite misty-eyed at the end, and the interior looked nothing
like how I'd imagined it to be. It looked quite 'normal'.

Anyway, thanks for spotting it.

 

[British Red]

Ben also appears with Ray Mears in one of his early shows just for interest

Red

 

[Jodie]

Ah I might not have seen that then. Or if I did I obviously failed to notice cos he didn't
look very familiar

 

[demographic]

im just a little dissapointed that he used some synthetic membrane on the roof.

That's cos Tyvek and other waterproof breathable roofing membranes are about the best things for the job.

 

[Dynamite Dan]

I understand the principle behind it, I just think that deviates off his chosen course of building a house, thats all.

 

[Snufkin]

I understand the principle behind it, I just think that deviates off his chosen course of building a house, thats all.

It's not like he's some neo-primitive. He uses a chainsaw and drives a landy. I'm sure he looked long and hard at all the alternatives and the membrane came out, on balance, as the most effective solution. He just wanted to build a home for himself that sat gently in the landscape, which he achieved.

 

[gorilla]

im just a little dissapointed that he used some synthetic membrane on the roof.

i think no matter how eco-friendly anyone tries to be, there comes a point where the proverbial cap has to be doffed to modern technology, especially for such a large project, and such an important part of it.
i'm sure the first of our ancestors to build his house from crudely shaped rock and lime walls took some stick,;
"rock and lime?? are you mad?"
to which he may have replied "i know sticks and cow dung keeps the heat in, but it smells like sh*t, and i'm trying something new"

 

[twisted firestarter]

I know several folk who have built 'eco' houses and their general consensus is that a butyl rubber pond liner is the greenest solution for a waterproof membrane. Yes it does have to be shipped half way round the world but it is natural and ultimately biodegradable.

 

[Snufkin]

I know several folk who have built 'eco' houses and their general consensus is that a butyl rubber pond liner is the greenest soultion to a waterproof membrane. Yes it does have to be shipped half way round the world but it is natural and ultimately biodegradable.

Butyl isn't breathable which could be a major consideration in a strawbale/lime plastered structure.

 

[twisted firestarter]

Butyl isn't breathable which could be a major consideration in a strawbale/lime plastered structure.

Exactly right- it isn't breathable, and that is why it is so good as a waterproof membrane.

 

[Ogri the trog]

Butyl isn't breathable which could be a major consideration in a strawbale/lime plastered structure.

I would have thought that the breatheability of the rest of the structure more than compensates for the impermeability of the butyl roof membrane.

Ogri the trog

 

[Snufkin]

I would have thought that the breatheability of the rest of the structure more than compensates for the impermeability of the butyl roof membrane.

Ogri the trog

On a primarily wooden structure, with recycled paper insulation in your roof the last thing you're going to want is condensation on the underside of your membrane.