Just in time for the new year, the tarps came off the floor, the last of the mess from rendering was swept away and the stove was lit! Bliss! Finally we had a home instead of a building site. Many heartfelt thanks go to all those who have helped to bring this project so far. There is always more to be done, but it now feels the brow has been crested.

It has been a long winter this year. Snow drifts up to half a metre in March. Severe frosts (up to -10o C) right through since October. The Slab Stove has proved quite capable of heating the house, though it does take two or three hours to start making an impact, longer if it's been out for several days. (See Stove section in Designs for more info) .

Limewash & Render has stood the winter well except for the most exposed corner of the house where the limewash has flaked away gradually (due I think to frost action on rain soaked walls). Render underneath is sound ~ will reinforce this area during the summer. Straw seems fine and dry throughout.

Ventilation has proved the most thorny issue. Unsure of the behaviour of the airtight roofing (pond liner) in practice, we left the underfloor uninsulated and a very large 'mouth' of unrendered and uncompressed straw infill right around the bow of the front (approx. 4 sq. metres in area), plus two substantial 'nostrils' in the apex of the roof.

Initially, condensation on the windows inside was quite severe, probably due to the fact that there was no heat at all in the house until late December, allowing the damp to get a good hold. Humidity was then typically around 93%. However regular heating has now reduced this to around 64%, much more comfortable, and condensation is now rare and slight. But draughts in windy weather, especially wind from the North or NorthEast (also the coldest!) make heating the house difficult. In the short term I stuff the nostrils when the wind is Northerly and this makes a lot of difference, though there is also considerable draught through the 'mouth' at such times, and indeed the floor is always icy whenever the wind blows in any direction, since the drystane founds (designed to keep a good airflow around the base of the walls) work far better than anticipated! Think I'll stuff the joists with Thermafleece before next winter, put fine anti-midge mesh over the nostrils and see how we get on.

There have also been several unexpected benefits:

The acoustics inside are amazing. Very like walking around inside a drum or guitar, the place is 'live'. Any singing or playing inside resounds around you, but without the the long delay typical of a church. Test recordings made on the 12volt studio have a great intimacy. I look forward to developing this aspect of the house.

The feel emanating from the surrounding natural materials is palpably different to a 'normal' building, helped by the absence of intense, disruptive 50Hz magnetic vibrations generated by mains electricity. Has to be experienced rather than described, but it is peaceful, calming, and I feel gently opens folk to other, more subtle influences around them.

It has been pointed out that the alternating layers of lime/straw/lime in the walls, and straw/butyl/wood in the roof, effectively form an Orgone accumulator as discovered by Wilhelm Reich, which may account for some of the sense of vitality and inspiration within. Alongside this has been a deliberate (though largely intuitive) attempt at shamanic architecture, broadly speaking aimed at drawing down the sky to energise the earth and interior to create a healing space, as well as a home. And it's certainly working!

Finally, though less unexpected, the sense of pride and well-being at having formed your own four walls, hewn your own heat, sorted your own sewage, and any other number of alliterative acheivements resulting from such a fundamental task as providing your own shelter from the storm is wonderfully empowering, at many levels, and something which far too many folk have been deprived of for far too long.