Shelter Building Design in Hazelbrook, New South Wales | Architectural designer

Shelter Building Design

Locality: Hazelbrook, New South Wales

Phone: +61 400 177 296

Address: Po Box 8 2779 Hazelbrook, NSW, Australia

Website: http://Shelterbuildingdesign.com.au

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• Home improvement
• Architectural designer

24.01.2022 As part of the stay at home renovations, I decided to lighten up the wardrobe with some home made lime/clay paint. I had just been waiting for the shops to get ...skim milk powder back in stock. Two coats on and I am happy with the result. Third coat will go on tomorrow before the test earth floor goes in. Thanks to James Henderson for the recipe. Before and after photos show the colour change. See more

24.01.2022 Gave a successful presentation about "Hemp Building and Bushfire" at the the online International Hemp Building Conference last night.

23.01.2022 Thanks to the Scholarship from Pro Clima. My Passive House Training Course starts on Monday. Looks like I am in for a big week and a half, there is a lot of material to cover.

23.01.2022 Nearly ready to move in at the Medlow Bath hemp house. The internal render and Marmoleum floor look great. The colour of the studio works surprisingly well, the owners just need to decide on a colour for the house.

22.01.2022 What an incredible day. After an early start in persistent drizzle resurrecting the tarpology, and getting the site in order, the hemp and binder delivery (that... was supposed to have arrived on Friday afternoon...) turned up at 8am, not on the flat deck crane equiped truck like last time, but on a covered tail lift truck (with pallet jack) - fine for flat surfaces, but completely unsuitable for suburban building blocks!! After several valiant attempts met with abject failure, the only remaining option was to set the 9 remaining pallets of lime binder and hemp down on the road. Not the service we paid for, and three hours 5 of us would much rather have spent helping run the mixer and putting up formwork gone... ...and then came the challenge of getting it off the road, and onto the site... I still dont know how we did it, I just know we are forever in debt to a small team of amazing friends who put in a mighty effort (far beyond any reasonable expectation, and not at all what they signed up for), but incredibly by days end we not only got around 7 tonnes of material off the street and under cover, but got enough formwork up to set a new Australian record of 46 mixes of hempcrete in one day!! Absolutely astounding. Popular opinion among the team attributed our success to provision of a sumptuous Indian feast for lunch by our revered team of chefs, and most particularly by the copious quantities of Loushel Mellys home-made RockyRoad served up for morning tea, lunch, and a recovery supper... But ultimately, all credit is due to Kirstie Shelter for directing operations, and pushing through to the end. So excited to have been joined by hempcreter extraordinaire from SA Madeleine Hardy today, if we can sustain this level of momentum, we might even finish!! Thanks again to all who took part today, and those joining in over the weekend! See more

22.01.2022 HEMPCRETE BUILDING WORKSHOP this Australia Day long weekend. Join us at Hazelbrook in the Blue Mountains on 25-27 January 2020 to learn how to build with hemp while constructing Lisa and Brent Hoares home. A very successful hemp building workshop was held in early January to build the first section and now you have the opportunity to participate in the whole wall building process from bottom to top as we complete the second pavilion of their home. There is no cost and a delicious lunch is provided. Please message me, email [email protected] or call 0400 177 296 if you would like to attend.

22.01.2022 Excited to be sharing the past and future direction of Hemp Building in Australia, with the rest of the world, as building with hemp and in bushfire areas are my two areas of expertise.

22.01.2022 Tried to smash the South Australian Hempcrete record but were only able to do so when we brought in a little bit of South Australia to help. Great to have you with us Maddy Hardy. New record to be set today.

21.01.2022 Day 4 of the wall raising saw a slower start as we reached higher and came to terms with working on trestles and milk crates, but we hit our strides after lunch... and achieved an impressive 31 mixes by the end of the day. Our team shrank a little as some had to leave, yet others joined in to help maintain momentum, our deepest thanks again to all involved! A special shout out to Rick who put in a solid day on the mixer! Lunch was Asian themed, a tasty selection of noodles and salads, powering the afternoons push to the ceiling on the rear wall, and to the top of the final level of form work on the other walls, in preparation for a productive half day on Friday due to forecast high temperatures, followed by a trip to the lake? See more

20.01.2022 Another smashing day! We surpassed our expectations again with 53 mixes!! Cracking effort by all! Happy days... A sad day too, farewelling our since-before-Chri...stmas Wwoofer Mav Hopkins who has been such a huge part of the build. Although this was the last day of the Hempcrete Workshop 3.0, we are pleased to announce there are still two days to learn from, and experience the energy of SA Hempcrete goddess Madeleine Hardy!! Maddy is truly a force of nature, and is bursting to share her passion for hempcreting. If you can join the weekday crew to raise the walls to the ceiling, youll be guaranteed an adventure! Thanks yet again to our remarkable cooks, who again fed and replenished nearly 20 hungry and hot hempcreters!

20.01.2022 As part of my render frenzy I am trying out two of the Tradical lime render products - the Batir for indoor use only and the PF80 suitable for indoor or outdoor... use. But first I needed to get the sand and colour right. Not all sands are created equal and it seems that a well graded and not too course river sand is hard to find. I love the colour of the yellow course river sand but it is too coarse and too many small rocks to use on its own. The orange coarse river sand had a few less rocks and slightly less course, but still too coarse for a thin coat of render. The buff coloured river sand was left over from a project on the South Coast. It has no small rocks and is a finer sand, by far the nicest to render with but the colour is a bit bland. I have decided to sieve some of the yellow sand and cut it 50/50 with the buff coloured sand, and in this way getting a full range of particle sizes without the small rocks. See more

20.01.2022 Jake and his team from Mudchuckers were back on site at the Hazelbrook Hempcrete house today finishing the external render. It was great to see how the rough trowel finish was smoothed off with a sponge when leather dry to create an undulating textural finish.

20.01.2022 Trying out Rockcotes Earthen Render.

19.01.2022 A site visit this morning to a project at Allview Escapes at the end of Hat Hill Road showed me what a good fire plan, well executed, looks like. The property was surrounded by burnt landscape on all sides, the road in was a wasteland of burnt trees and yet the property looks like a green oasis. A well managed garden, water supply and hoses on site and clients prepared and willing to defend their property together with help from the RFS, have made this property a bushfire survival success story.

18.01.2022 Day 2 of the Hempcrete Workshop was another amazingly successful and rewarding day. Newly acquired skills were put to use and another 36 mixes were poured, smas...hing yesterdays benchmark of 28! (50 here we come!) The day began with the exciting reveal of the first form work panel, providing observations for an instructive feedback session on a couple of sections with too much tamping, or pressing, and some with too little, but most was just right! And other panels showed improved consistency. Further skills in the art of crafting window sills were conveyed, and a great lunchtime presentation on hemp houses cross the nation was fascinating, thanks again Kirstie Shelter! The team was again magnificently fed by our incredible catering department, and we cant wait to see who pops in to visit tomorrow! See more

17.01.2022 Gloves on the washing line - a sign of work completed. After 6 days with a fabulous crew of friends and volunteers keen to learn about hemp building, stage 1 of Brent and Lisas Hazelbrook Hemp House has been completed. Now builder, Chris Clarke, is putting the second storey on, ready for stage 2 of the hemp walls to begin.

17.01.2022 Day 6 was a big one, 25 mixes of hemp/binder (each 0.1 cubic metre, so 2.5m3 today!) in a lot of high and awkward spots as we worked to complete the first store...y - and (with a final push after 6pm) we did it! The task was made immeasurably more reachable, both figuratively and literally, by the arrival of the scaffolding early in the morning, thanks heaps to Grant and his team! Today saw an invigorating injection of new energy to the 17-strong team that more than made up for the efforts of good friends whove moved on. Newbies quickly became as skilled as old hands, and the walls rose to the ceiling in every corner. Our French-themed lunch was truly impressive, and kept everyone going for an extended afternoon shift, topped up by a fabulous cake for afternoon tea. The catering team were humbled by praise received; yet their magnificent efforts were truly the fuel that has powered this project. We have been so fortunate to receive so much time, effort, labour and skilled problem-solving aptitude from so many, and sharing good food together has been the very least we can do to honour these gifts. We will be taking a short break from the hempcrete mixer to strip and clean the form work, and give our builder Chris and his team a chance to catch up and complete the framing and roof on the second storey, but will be back into the full swing of it from Wednesday to Saturday next week, and then well be turning our efforts to the Northern Pavillon!! If youd like to lend a hand and become part of this groundbreaking project, please let us know and well add you to the roster! See more

17.01.2022 Day 3 on the Hazo Hempcrete build

16.01.2022 Did the trial earth floor today and put a little bit of hemp in it, because I love building with hemp. The workshop I did with Viva Homes gave me the confidence... to try an earth flour myself. Learnt a few things today, but that it what a trial floor is all about. Now just have to wait 3 weeks before I put the linseed oil on. See more

15.01.2022 Hempcrete would be the perfect product to retrofit existing homes to make them more resistant to bushfire. Hempcrete has a BAL FZ rating, can be easily fitted around an existing timber house frame and easily incorporate existing services, its insulation and thermal mass qualities will reduce the heating and cooling costs of the house, it is carbon negative so the extra building work will not increase overall greenhouse gas emissions, it creates healthy, natural, vapour permeable walls eliminating the risk of condensation and it can be grown in Australia, supporting local farmers and a local hemp industry.

15.01.2022 I love visiting builds under construction and even better when they are nearing completion. In this mudbrick house at Tomerong, on the NSW South Coast, owners Kerry and Akira have been doing a great job lime washing the walls, creating a light and airy interior. Looking forward to the finished product.

15.01.2022 At the online Building Designers Conference. Watching with a Covid safe small group of fabulous designers, on the NSW South Coast where we could squeeze in a morning bike ride to the beach before the sessions started.

15.01.2022 Thanks to Hudson Doyle at Hemp Lime Construct I had the opportunity to try out the Tradical Lime Decor product on the renovation of my 20 year old mudbrick house. The walls needed a bit of lightening and this lime render did the trick. No more dark corners and a base cost to flatten the walls out a bit to reduce the dust settling on the lumpy parts of the wall. I love the finish and the lime Decor had great workability and was nice to apply. The all in one bag also made it easy to mix up.

13.01.2022 Attended Viva Homes 2 day Earth Floor workshop to give me the confidence to do my own floor. Did a compressed earth floor in two coats over Hebel panels, at Sharyns beautiful home at Narara Eco Village.

13.01.2022 I made a bit of this floor at the Viva workshop. So proud to see it finished and drying, ready for oiling.

12.01.2022 https://youtu.be/7ET-6EyylOI New Video is out about the amazing Soil Mixing Machine built by Will and friends of Integrated Biotecture Design. We're using it on...site at the moment to sift, mix, and transport the mix down to site for us to use in the SuperAdobe earthbags for the Hobbit Studio. Fun fun fun! *First Vlog on the GoPro too, worked out oookaaaaayyy :)

12.01.2022 WE DID IT!! After a stunning effort in 32 degrees our amazing team smashed the (unofficial) hempcrete record out of the park! Our previous PB was 46 mixes, the ...standing record was 42 held by Madeleine Hardy in South Australia, and today we achieved 55!! (0.1m3 per mix = 5.5m!) This means we built 10% of the wall volume of the entire build in one day!!) Enduring gratitude to again the 17 strong team (different members each day, but 17 has been a remarkably consistent number!) who made it all happen! Many apologies from Brent, who was called to Councillor duties at the Australia Day Citizenship Ceremony for a couple of hours in the morning, and was able to assure Albo of our shared passion for fighting Tories! But thanks again to more incredible Rocky Road and a sumptuous Greek lunch by Loushel and Jasmine, we powered on under Kirstie Shelters direction, and huge energy from all the team! A special thanks to twins Matt and Sam, Marks and Amber, Adrienne, and our new Wwoofer from Japan, Chika. Although tomorrow will be the final day of the Hempcrete Workshop 3.0 proper, the mixer will be on site for the rest of the week, and any help we can get to use it for the final stages of hempcreting would be enormously appreciated! See more

11.01.2022 So rewarding to spend a cold, rainy day insulating. Particularly when the insulation is made from hemp and it is a renovation to your own house. In this case the insulation is as much for acoustic insulation from the noise upstairs as it is for thermal insulation. Now we just need to start manufacturing this in Australia so that it can become widespread in the building market.

11.01.2022 Ceiling goes up, with lime washed lining boards and lit up by some beautifully bright down lights. Next step to re render the walls.

08.01.2022 A coat of Rockcote Clay Decor has transformed my dark and dated kitchen into a light, fresh and airy space. Huge thanks to my friend, Steve, who helped out. The value of lasting friendship, he helped me bag the walls first time around, almost 20 years ago.

08.01.2022 On Saturday I visited Narara Ecovillage on the NSW Central Coast. It has three hemp houses so far and Geoffs hemp home was open for visitors. The house has 250mm thick hemp walls and was built by 10 volunteers over 5 days, it has off form unrendered walls on the inside along the east and south walls. The north wall is lightweight clad, but rendered to match he hemp walls. The house achieved an impressive 8.8 stars and has a through the wall (non ducted) heat recovery ventilation system and has a concrete slab on ground with slab edge insulation. It also has double glazed Murray River Gum timber framed windows made by Against the Grain to reduce thermal breaks and meet the BAL 29 bushfire rating. Many thanks to Geoff for opening his home and sharing his hemp building experience.

05.01.2022 Day 5 was always only going to be a half day in 36 degree heat, and as we were reaching the ceiling and the tops of exterior walls, the mix count was only a mod...est 13 due to the more cramped and complex hemp packing and tamping required. Still a magnificent effort, with large wall reveals and much new form work installed. The team saw a significant influx of new helpers, and we farewelled others whove been here all week, thanks again to all involved! As always, the site was a hive of learning and problem solving, of great value to those participating with a view to undertaking their own projects. Scaffolding is due to arrive tomorrow to enable the construction of the second story, which should begin in earnest on Monday! Another magnificent lunch was served, Indian themed, everyone looking forward French baguettes tomorrow, with lashings of Edith Piaf! See more

04.01.2022 Last week I had the privilege of visiting Nicole at Nelligen whose hemp house survived the recent bushfires. This was due to good property management and defence as well as material choice. Unfortunately, her neighbour was not so well prepared.

04.01.2022 On the suggestion from Jason Dash, my local Rockcote supplier, when I rendered the laundry on my 20 year old mudbrick place, I added about 20% Clay Decor to the Rockcote Earthen Render to give it a lighter colour. I am pretty happy with the result.

04.01.2022 There is a Hempcrete wall in the back corner of this house that Hudson from Hemp Lime Construct and I built at a workshop with a group of enthusiastic helpers. Thanks to Husdson for donating the Hempcrete materials for this build. Next step is to get in and render the hemp walls, a job put on hold by a small virus.

03.01.2022 At Narara Ecovillage on the weekend I stopped in and visited Hayden from Curvatectures Superadobe workshop, Building Linda Scotts organic home, complete with round Hobbit door. Light rain did not stop work continuing on the bag filling and wall raising. Mechanization of the earth sifting and moving has sped up the process. Also where the doors will go the bags have been filled with sand, allowing these sections of bag to be cut out later.

03.01.2022 My favourite stop on the Industrial Hemp Conference tour south west of Perth was hemp house Sativa Sanctuary, built by Gary Rogers, of Hemp Homes Australia. Owner, Andrea, had contacted me a few years ago with questions about hemp building, before she embarked on her project, and we were both thrilled to finally meet up with each other. The crisp external render was contrasted by the off form internal walls and this was tied together with the beautiful use of timber windows and doors.

03.01.2022 Spent the last two days at the Australian Industrial Hemp Conference at Fremantle. On the field trip today visiting hemp farms and buildings. First stop was the Department of Primary Industry Research site at Manjimup.

03.01.2022 Woo hoo. Thanks to Pro Clima and their generous scholarship I will be off to Passive House Designer Training. Seriously excited to be able to learn more about the building science behind the Passive House concept.

03.01.2022 It’s Blue. My new Marmoleum, natural linseed Lino floor in my kitchen and living room. The old tiles were covered in a primer then a self leveling compound. After that there was a layer of cork underlay then finally the Marmoleum. It is softer and warmer to walk on than the tiles and I was able to change the floor without the dust of removing the tiles, plus it’s blue, very, very blue. The floor installers likened it to a Greek Island. Great to have some colour in the room, now I just have to move the rest of the furniture back in.