Over the course of this past year ATA has convened its team (masked and socially distanced, of course) to add our labor to some of the natural building features of the Dicolen Residence, a strawbale rebuild project of the family’s original home lost to the Tubbs Fire in October 2017.  

The strawbale walls are coated with PISE, a Gunite-applied stabilized earth mix.  As the material—a mix of quarry fines including clay, along with sand and white cement—dries, the troweled interior surface often cracks, requiring patching and in this case also an application of a grout wash to fill micro-cracks and bring the walls to a more uniform finish.  

Our team gathered again another day to work with the owners in mopping a solution of iron sulphate, a non-toxic solution typically used to fertilize azaleas and rhododendrons, onto the concrete floors.  Applied in several layers, this stains the surface a rich rust color, revealing some of the variations in the surface, an economical and efficient finish given the floors radiant heat (area rugs are OK).  

The project is nearing completion and move in, with its water and electricity now hooked up, and the rooftop photovoltaic system sending electricity into the utility grid.