Building a Climate Cabin | Part VIII | Windows, Doors, Tile and Wood Sealant
By Mikael Maynard
It is another beautiful day on the climate farm! The sun is shining bright without a cloud in the sky, there is light gust of wind in the air, mayhaws are being pruned in the field, swales are being made by the pond — and work continues at the Climate Cabin!
Lately the focus has been on installing the windows and doors, as well as sealing the interior wood. In today's blog I would like to tell you a little bit about that!
Windows & Doors
As you know, the windows we purchased are reclaimed, and the doors are hand built by our master carpenter, Mike Shellman. These areas are the primary source of interaction between the inside and outside world, and if they aren’t built and installed properly, a whole slew of issues could occur, ranging from the intrusion of insects to slow energy leaks that wouldn’t be very climate conscious.
Needless to say, there is a lot of pressure for Mike to get every seal and seam to fit nice and snug — but not a lot of need for me to be directly involved.
Shower tile
Installing windows and doors isn’t really my thing, but designing the Climate Cabin shower is something I can ramble on about!
When I initially imagined the shower, I was really inspired by the concept of going “groutless.” Eliminating grout lines makes it easier to clean a surface, since there’s no possibility for mold or soap scum to cake up between the tiles. As I scoured the depths of Pinterest for inspiration, I kept gravitating toward showers that were sealed using a method called “tadelakt.”
Patrick Webb has more on this technique on the website Walls & Ceilings:
“The word tadelakt is an English transliteration from Arabic, meaning “massaged” or alternatively “rubbed” or “kneaded.” The name is meaningful and a big hint to what tadelakt is all about….
“The limestone used to produce tadelakt comes from the High Atlas Mountains to the east. The limestone is argillaceous, meaning it contains a relatively high percentage clay. Also, there is a small infiltration of amorphous silica making tadelakt lime slightly hydraulic. Combining its natural properties with traditional application methods tadelakt’s waterproofing qualities were subsequently put to decorative use in exterior façades, small drinking vessels and famously the “hammams” or public bath houses.”
While this sounds idyllic, there was no one in Folkston — or within a hundred mile radius — who possessed the skills required to apply tadelakt. Once I realized I wasn’t going groutless, I decided to go all-grOUT!
I came across a beautiful hand-made tile that has become very popular in recent years called zellige (also from Morocco — they seem to have climate-conscious construction figured out over there).
Zia tile has a helpful guide to the zellige style:
“The Moroccan government has taken care in preserving the art of zellige tiles and educating the public about its origin. Each tile is made meticulously by hand. It’s obvious when you see the finished product that the process of making zellige tiles is a labor of love.”
“Zellige tiles are crafted from clay found in the city of Fez, Morocco. After a grid is formed, artisans then press the mixture into squares and let it dry out to form slabs. The craftsmen use a shaping block and hammer to smooth the tile and cut it into a more precise shape and size.”
If we were going to go with tile, the aesthetic of zellige was a look that I wanted to go for, but the price tag was not. Long story short, we went ahead and purchased zellige-esque tile by Ivy Hill from Home Depot. These tiles are ceramic and crafted in spain.
Overall, our tile expert said this tile was easy to work with and the end result turned out to be just as nice as I expected!
Wood sealing
Sealing the wood that comprises the interior of the house was really important to me for a few reasons. Not only does sealing the wood help maintain the longevity and appearance of the wood, it also helps to deter wood-boring insects, something I was especially concerned about having had experience with such issues in the past.
For sealing the interior walls and sealing we purchased The Real Milk Paint Co - Half & Half, which is described perfectly on its website:
“A perfect blend of pure tung oil and natural, food grade thinner. One part pure tung oil mixed to one part Citrus Solvent. Most projects require the thick viscosity of pure tung oil to be thinned for better absorption into the surface. Half & Half is the perfect ratio for projects large and small. We’ve done the mixing so you don’t have to!”
If you are going to use this product, you must like the smell of citrus! Our whole house smells like an orange right now. I imagine this will fade over time but it is definitely pretty powerful at the moment.
Ultimately, I would rather have the house smell like citrus from a naturally-derived solvent than smell like polyurethane. Besides, there are many possible hazards of polyurethane exposure.
Conclusion
We covered a wide array of topics today! I hope it wasn't too much of a whirlwind and that you were able to glean some helpful information that will serve you in your future building projects!
Until next time, happy gardening!
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