A selection of projects I have built.

Welcome to my natural building portfolio. Here you will find a selection of projects I have completed.

Limewashing Obrestad Lighthouse

Limewash for a lighthouse

The Lighthouse was opened in 1873, and is a rare example of granite stones being used on the West Coast of Norway. Because of this, it has been given Norway’s highest order of listed building protection. The lighthouse also has a lot of history from the second world war, where it was modified by German troops to be a lookout, and features artwork on the basement walls painted by troops stationed there.

For many years there would have been people living in the lighthouse, burning fires in the fireplaces. Nowadays the lighthouse is automated and functions as a museum and art gallery. The lighthouse has been increasingly suffering from damp, which is damaging the building and the historic painting within.

The dampness has been attributed to:

  • Inappropriate materials being applied to the building – in the form of cement pointing, and latex paints.
  • The change in use of the building and no longer having proper ventilation (the chimneys have been blocked)

The Solutions to Damp

As part of a series of works to preserve the lighthouse, it was decided to:

  • Remove the cement pointing and replacing with lime.
  • Fix the guttering so that water did not pour onto the face of the wall.
  • Limewash over the blocks and pointing to give the building a ‘skin’ of breathable lime.

Why use Lime Wash?

To many, lime may look much like cement. It has some very key differences in how it handles moisture. Cement will trap moisture in, while lime will allow the moisture to breathe out of the building.

Many historic buildings have had cement added in efforts to protect them by well-meaning people. Cement is a harder and stronger material, but because of the way it handles moisture is largely unsuitable…. and some other reasons that I shall save for another post.

Why not use a local contractor?

The job was put out to tender, following the production of a report on the lighthouse. None of the proposals that came back were suggesting using suitable materials. Some even suggesting the use of cement.

The knowledge of how to use traditional materials seems to have largely died out in this part of Norway.

Natural Tiny House
Me
New build
Natural Tiny House
Design Museum – Waste Age Exhibition – Clay Plastering
The Design Museum
New build, Plastering
Design Museum – Waste Age Exhibition – Clay Plastering
RHS Show Garden
RHS Malvern
New build, Plastering
RHS Show Garden
Straw Bale Studios
Private Domestic
Craft, New build, Plastering, Timber frame, Workshop
Straw Bale Studios
Scottish Roundhouse
Hobbit Hideaways
Craft, Heritage, New build, Plastering, Timber frame, Workshop
Scottish Roundhouse
Green Woodworking
Craft, Workshop
Green Woodworking
Limewashing Obrestad Lighthouse
Obrestad Lighthouse
Heritage
Limewashing Obrestad Lighthouse
Straw bale home – Ty Twt
Private Domestic
New build, Plastering, Timber frame, Workshop
Straw bale home – Ty Twt
Heritage cob repair of 1700s barn
Heritage
Heritage cob repair of 1700s barn
Princes Foundation – Dumfries House
Heritage, New build
Princes Foundation – Dumfries House
Earthen Floors – Eco friendly flooring systems
New build
Earthen Floors – Eco friendly flooring systems
Community Rebuilds
Community Rebuilds
New build, Plastering, Workshop
Community Rebuilds
Anglo Saxon Longhouse
West Stow Village
Heritage, New build
Anglo Saxon Longhouse
Kopparberg Urban Forest
Kopparberg
New build, Timber frame
Kopparberg Urban Forest
Tiny Home Dome – compact living
Aprovecho
New build, Plastering, Workshop
Tiny Home Dome – compact living