by Steve Byrne | Feb 9, 2018 | buildings, natural building
One of the hardest things about producing your own food isn’t growing it, it is storing it afterwards. It really wants to break down as fast as possible, and all manner of creatures want to eat it first. Until now we’ve stored food all over the place – hanging up in the living room; in cupboards. In short, not ideal. Another issue that we had was that our 4000 litre rainwater tanks and pump were not terribly pretty and very exposed to cold temperatures. The pump especially has been badly damaged by freezing twice now. The problem, as they say in permaculture, is the solution, and in this case takes the form of a strawbale barn, which incorporates the water tanks as its back wall.
by Steve Byrne | Nov 29, 2017 | buildings
Prior to landing at Lackan, I’d never re-roofed a house – let’s face it, its not something you do every day. Throughout our search for a house, my primary selection criteria was ‘is the roof straight’, and on that basis, this cottage was winner. There are two cottages here, and on one we kept the old corrugated roof, for reasons of budget and fear, and the other we re-roofed, having a bit more money and confidence. Hopefully this post will be of use to others who are wondering what to do with their old cottage roofs.
by Steve Byrne | Nov 24, 2017 | off grid, self-catering
Today we had the pleasure of welcoming the crew from Animo TV, and presenter (and architect) Hugh Wallace, as part of filming for a new RTE series about restoring old buildings. One of the restorations they are following is a cottage similar to ours, and so they came...
by Steve Byrne | Jul 26, 2015 | off grid
When we built the classroom space, the intention was always that it would be a space for people to come to and discover new things – not only from the person giving the talk or presentation, but from each other. So it was this weekend as we hosted the first...
by Steve Byrne | Jul 8, 2015 | buildings, natural building
Another excellent video from Permaculture Magazine, produced by Permaculture People and narrated by Kevin McCloud. Many, many good reasons in there why natural building is the way to go. More info here
by Steve Byrne | May 31, 2015 | buildings
Today we were pleased to welcome old friends and new – the Freckle magazine crew of Lynn, Hannah and Mick, with Andrew and Liam. Together we earth plastered the last of the walls, and gained some mountains and geese, as well as applying some finish coat plaster...
by Steve Byrne | May 30, 2015 | buildings
Saturday was the first of our earth plastering days, and we made amazing progress – the first scratch coat nearly complete on the west wall, and this amazing tree too. Can’t wait to see how our Sunday crew get on, and fingers crossed for good...
by Steve Byrne | Oct 31, 2014 | buildings
We were visited by Lauren and Phil this week, who were very modest about their earth plastering knowledge but turned out to have considerably more experience than we do. They rustled up some plaster test patches on a couple of spare bales, and we (well Phil)...
by Steve Byrne | Oct 27, 2014 | buildings
Stage one of our earth plastering is now complete,and all the bales have a coat of clay slip. Some of the holes have been filled with clay slip mixed with a generous amount of finely chopped straw, and it is looking a little less undulating around the edges...
by Steve Byrne | Oct 26, 2014 | buildings
Yesterday we began the process of rendering the strawbale walls by applying a coat of clay slip (just a runny clay and water mix) to the surface of the bales. Messy work, as transferring it from bucket to wall involves about half ending up on the floor, but it will...
by Steve Byrne | Oct 24, 2014 | buildings
Now that the floor is fixed down, we’ve been able to get on and get the strawbales in. First, wooden spikes made of willow are driven into holes in the floor – Then the first layer of bales is placed onto the spikes which prevent them from moving...
by Steve Byrne | Oct 20, 2014 | buildings
Pargeting isn’t a word you hear very often, but it’s a wonderful technique that involves making raised designs in (commonly) lime or earth plasters. From the very start, this is something we’ve really wanted to have a go at, and here are some...
by Steve Byrne | Oct 20, 2014 | buildings
Well at last we managed to sell enough things to pay for some flooring in the build. Clarke Cunningham supplied us with some rather fine Douglas Fir boards, which look great, although they aren’t fixed down yet. They’re windproofed from underneath,...
by Steve Byrne | Sep 19, 2014 | buildings
Well. here it is – or the outside at least. Six weeks of frantic building activity is at an end. There’s something very satisfying to go from a pile of timber – below – to a wonderful sturdy, weathertight building. We’ve had help from all...
by Steve Byrne | Jun 17, 2014 | buildings
Something we’ve been asked is ‘what exactly will this eco classroom look like? The answer, is – something along these lines, although to a certain extent it will be determined by the materials that become available. The interior above is a similar...
by Steve Byrne | Jun 13, 2014 | buildings
At the end of our second week, and we are within £100 of being at the two thirds stage in our bid to raise money and build an eco classroom here at the farm. In the process we’ve got to know loads of new people, and will hopefully get to meet many of them in...
by Steve Byrne | May 31, 2014 | buildings
An Eco Classroom for Lackan Cottage Farm from Steven Golemboski-Byrne on Vimeo. As many of you will know, we welcome all sorts of different people to the farm, all the time. From local and international volunteers, to the GIY group, permaculture courses, and the many...
by Steve Byrne | Jan 11, 2014 | buildings
It struck me as we work away here that our efforts are incredibly transient – part of a cycle of ebb and flow at Lackan, as occupants appear, make their mark, the place blooms, and then they age, and the place ages with them, falls into disrepair, and is ready...
by Steve Byrne | Aug 14, 2013 | permaculture
In this, our first year of growing here at Lackan Cottage Farm, we have been blessed with great abundance. Indeed so great has been the harvest of some produce that we are able to share it with others. Elaine and John from the Turnip House came to visit, and we...
by Steve Byrne | Jun 23, 2013 | permaculture
Midsummer is already upon us, and to mark the occasion, we have erected our own standing stone, which looks toward the mountains with which it shares its roots. We will mark important occasions through the year with a circle of stones. The granite here weathers...
