 Click for large view | The vault during a recent plastering party. Looking inside, the skylights can be seen as bright spots in the right-hand wall. |
 Click for large view | Putting on the sleepers and plaster on the north side. The sleepers are what the purlins and other parts of the roof structure attach to. They are wired to the exterior rebar and mesh on the vault surface, and also bolted through the bales themselves to large mesh washers on the inside. That's not Portland cement, it's plaster made with local "blue goo" clay, sand and straw. |
 Click for large view | Plastering the west gable end from a ladder. There is now scaffolding to make it easier. |
 Click for large view | Overview of part of the site on a cloudy day with the tarp rolled back so we can work. From here, it takes only a few minutes to roll it down, and a half hour to tie it for the night. |
 Click for large view | Late afternoon view. The ledge near the top on the right (south) side is held up by tapered wedges driven into the bales. This is an easy way to make moveable scaffolding on vaults for plastering and any other work. From just above the ledge, a high porch roof will extend out and over the buttresses. The tall metal thing leaning against the vault, next to the ladder, is the "Bale-O-Veyor." It hauls heavy buckets of plaster as well as bales. |
