"Cantemerle" Chronicle Building

Construction of a building falling harmoniously with its natural and human envir
onment.
- Surface area: 130 m² outbuildings - Budget: 90,000 ⠬ (600,000 FF) - Bio: use
of natural materials and non-toxic - Duration of work: the building permit issue
d in mid-February 2002, the move is scheduled for late July 2002, the house must
be completed in five months.
FIRST PHASE: The bioclimatic study.
Optimizing habitat relationships with bio-climatic conditions: the comfort of th
e occupant depends on how the building responds to the climate. - Sun. Making th
e most of sunshine: the house will be located on the ground that receives maximu
m sunlight, the main facade faces south. Here the field looks to the west and th
e mountain is the south. The house will be located at the highest point of the s
lope and as far north as possible, taking into account regulatory constraints: t
he minimum distance to adjacent properties, landscape: fit harmoniously into the
topography and vegetation landscape elements: hedges existing trees, the space
distribution: orchard, garden, barn, gazebo, walkways ... - The wind. Here two m
ain winds which we must protect: the north-west, which brings cold and rain, and
the southern dry but soft and violent. To the north the house will be flanked b
y an addiction that will protect oceanic influences (workshop). The house will b
e located as close as possible to the fence bordering the field. The influence o
f the southerly wind is limited by the choice of grounds: A hedge of trees borde
ring the land south and the village perched on a hill a few hundred meters form
a windbreak. - The humidity. The region is not particularly humid, but it is imp
ortant to maintain rising damp, especially when the house is built on a slope. H
aving opted for a wooden building, an environmentally friendly solution is to pu
t the house on stilts, ensuring good ventilation (This can also be a way to avoi
d radiation from radon particularly important in areas with granitic).
The géobiogie:
Highly developed in China where the habitat is designed in a very close relation
ship with the living and the cosmos, this science is much more materialistic in
the West where he will update items that may have adverse influences on inhabita
nts, such as the presence of groundwater, cavities, electromagnetic networks. Ha
ving requested a bio-geologist valuation of the land, the environment and the ho
use project, we found that the results of an bio-climatic and bio-geological ana
lysis is perfectly consistent: Geo -biology was used to refine the results of bi
omedical research climate.
The Nature Store web: www.eco-logis.com
SECOND PHASE: THE PROJECT
The ecological bias requires careful attention to the material of construction:
Priority will be given the materials available nearby, requiring minimal energy
to manufacture, adapted to their natural environment and traditional, biodegrada
ble, cheapest possible . If the project falls within the framework of self-const
ruction, we will move towards a material requiring little technical knowledge, i
f not, you should check that there are companies in the region capable and motiv
ated to perform project. But the decisive factor for the choice of material is o
bviously the empathy of the person for a certain type of habitat: You must love
to want to live in a house of straw, wood, hemp, clay, brick single-wall ... In
this case the wood has been chosen for aesthetic reasons, comfort, economy, inte
gration into the landscape. Furthermore, it turns out that the region is a produ
cer of lumber: plantations and mills are a few miles apart, we have chosen to bu
ild our house of Douglas Wood. This wood is very hard when dry, light, very larg
e it can have joists and beams framing long-range and is very resistant to attac
k by borers and fungus, therefore no preventive treatment. Finally, the color re
d looks very good indeed for the appearance and warmth of "home, sweet home. Eco
nomy. When comparing estimates, it appears that timber construction cost 10% to
20% cheaper than its equivalent in "hard"
THIRD PHASE: CONSTRUCTION
Foundations (February 19)
- The location with stakes and string fixed on the ground plane and the orientat
ion of the house.€In the case of a construction of wood Clain, the implementati
on must be accurate to the nearest cm for all the pieces have been prepared in t
he workshop. They should be able to adjust accurately, we can always correct the
field errors, but not so. - Foundations. Dig 40 cm x 40 cm for the workshop and
the pads. For the workshop, a partition wall to zero starting point with the hi
ghest cement blocks. Bushels for the piles of scrap iron home. - Plug and drying
of cement: 15 days.
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Floor and roof (April 15)
Poles erected on the piles supporting the joists of the floor: a main beam and g
irders resting on the top plate of the walls. The boxes are identical to those o
f the floor are installed into the roof structure and ensure its rigidity. Const
ruction Details: - The cover interior and exterior joints screwed and glued main
tain a perfect seal the walls. - Consoles support the strong advance of the sout
h side roof.
Roof insulation (26 April)
For the roof, the design constraints imposed upon us a very efficient insulation
in sheets or rolls, not very sensitive to moisture, insects and rodents, flame
retardant and of course the lowest possible price. We therefore chose the sheep
wool in thickness from 10 cm cut and arranged in the roof boxes
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The floor insulation
The house resting on piles requires us to isolate the ground. The material selec
ted must meet the following qualifications: Waterproof, good insulation, firepro
of, insect repellent against rodents and other predators, easy to implement, the
lowest possible price. The bulk cork meets these criteria, we have trimmed the
caissons to a depth of 6 cm.
Flooring
The soil of the ground floor is entirely covered with chestnut flooring. This ty
pe of wood is chosen for its durability and beautiful appearance. The Prosecutor
's Office "English" mounted with small boards offer the advantage of not playing
, or bending or creaking. It will then be sanded and past oil for hard floors (a
esthetics and ease of maintenance).
Access
The main entrance of the house by a wooden staircase and an outdoor gallery slat
ted Douglas running along the front ouest.Le wood is stained and past oil lasts.
Partitions
The bulkheads are Fermacell, a material equivalent to drywall but much stronger
and healthier as composed mainly of gypsum only cooked with cellulose fiber. The
frame is made of wooden squares 45 mm on which are screwed the two skins Fermac
ell of 1 cm. Some rooms (rooms, toilets) are soundproof panels with thermo-hemp
semi-rigid 50mm thick simply sandwiched between two skins. The hemp is cut with
a grinder or a special knife.
The Nature Store web: www.eco-logis.com
Making a concrete slab insulation hemp
The workshop is the only part of the house in direct contact with the ground. It
is therefore necessary to protect against possible rising damp and isolate heat
. For that we have made a concrete slab of hemp with the following steps of manu
facture: - A hérissonnage stones to the movement of moisture. - A waterproof pl
astic film - Upgrade - Manufacture of concrete: boon, hydraulic lime, sand and w
ater. - Hemp is drawn to the rule: The carbonation of the lime is very long, it
took two solid months before covering the slab floor joists on OSB.
Settling!
We're moving August 1st. The house is not quite finished because the workers hav
e gone on vacation, they will return for the finishing touches after August 15 G
iven these uncertainties can be seen that five months after the first sod, the h
ouse is habitable, within budget, solar collectors provide hot water for free an
d live in a wooden house is an incomparable pleasure. There will still be a lot
of work before considering the finished house: arrange the kitchen, lay the tile
s in the bathroom, the vitrified flooring, built in mud brick wall around the st
ove, build a wooden fence strung around the deck , finishing the workshop ...
Postscript - Review of the construction
Five months after the first sod, the house is habitable, the budget is respected
. Living in a wooden house is an incomparable pleasure.€After a winter and a su
mmer house in the woods, we can already draw some conclusions: the wood is a per
fect insulator against the cold, 10 inches of solid wood enough to insulate wall
s. As against the wood has no thermal inertia, a large body like a mud wall is e
ssential to avoid variations in temperature. The wood is very sound: strengtheni
ng the soundproofing walls. Finally, wood is a poor insulator against heat: we m
ust ensure proper roof insulation and especially avoid the sun's rays penetrate
the house during the summer months. If our review made you want to live in your
house turn into a bio-climatic, feel free to contact us is our pleasure to help
you advance your project. THE STORE OF NATURE (Web: www.eco-logis.com) tel. 05 6
3 50 24 81
The Nature Store web: www.eco-logis.com