[Greenbuilding] Combined Clay Plaster and Living Roof Workshop in Frederick County Maryland

[Sigi Koko]

Combined Clay Plaster AND Living Roof workshop announcement in Frederick
County Maryland 
Black Ankle Vineyards will be hosting Sigi Koko to lead a combined hands-on
Clay Plaster and Living Roof workshop on April 19-20, 2008 (see details
below).

When: 8AM to 5 PM 
Where: Mt. Airy, MD
Cost: $50 one day/$75 both days, (includes lunch)

TO REGISTER: Participants MUST RSVP and send payment to attend. Please
contact Marci Snyder by email (marcisnyder at buildnaturally.com) with any
questions or to reserve your space ASAP. Participation will be limited.

DESCRIPTION: natural plasters provide non-toxic, inexpensive, and beautiful
finishes that are durable and breathable. They are especially suitable as
finishes for strawbale walls. Lime plasters/stuccos are particularly
suitable for exterior finishes and earthen clay plasters are suitable for
interior finishes or on well-protected exterior surfaces (or where
maintenance is not a bad word). Clay plasters consist of a combination of
clay and sand, and often also contains some fiber, such as chopped straw.
Clay plasters are beautiful and durable for interior and protected
applications, and provide additional thermal mass to interior spaces to help
improve energy performance. Often materials for the plaster come directly
from the site.

Living Roofs refer to a roofing system that is made to support the growth of
plants on top of the roof. The roofing system includes waterproofing to
protect the spaces below from leaking, and then supports growing medium
(soil), drainage for excess water, and plants that can tolerate long periods
of drought without access to groundwater. Living roofs offer multiple
benefits, most notibly: cooling of the roof surface (and thus reduction of
heat gain into building in summer) and absorption of stormwater. These
benefits will be described more fully at the workshop.

The building we will be working on during the workshop is the wine tasting
room for Black Ankle Vineyards. Black Ankle Vineyards, a new winery which
will open this summer, is focusing on making world class "wines of place"
that will display the unique flavors of the land they were grown on. The
owners wanted the buildings on site to be built with the same sense of place
by using as many materials (including rain, sun, soil, etc.) from the farm
as possible. We have designed the wine tasting room to be low in energy use,
to integrate stormwater management into the design of the site and building,
and to utilize local, sustainable, and healthy materials. A shortlist of
"green" building features includes:

*	the straw for wall infill was grown organically on site; clay
plaster will use earth from the site 

*	most of the structural and finish wood was harvested and milled on
site 

*	all stormwater will be collected for irrigating gardens or allowed
to percolate on site 

*	passive solar design will heat in winter and naturally cool in
summer 

*	straw bales will create super-insulated walls with natural non-toxic
finishes, such as clay plaster made from site soils 

*	living roofs will help absorb rainwater and keep the interior spaces
cool in summer 

FORMAT:

We will begin Saturday morning with an overview of earthen plasters. We will
follow with a demonstration of the skills used to assess ingredients, mix
plasters, and apply them to wall surfaces. Everyone will then be invited to
get hands-on experience.

Sunday will begin with a morning overview of living roof systems and their
benefits. Following the overview, participants will be invited to continue
with clay plastering or assist in installing the living roof.

WORKSHOP COVERS:

CLAY PLASTER

*	Overview of natural clay plasters, including benefits and challenges


*	Site tour showing what prep was completed, particularly any lathing
requirements 

*	Demonstration on the art of mixing clay plasters, including how to
assess on-site materials for suitability and how to determine mixing ratio 

*	Demonstration of application techniques 

*	Hands-on experience applying clay plaster to strawbale

LIVING ROOF

*	Overview of living roof systems, "build you own" vs. purchasing a
pre-engineered system, choosing appropriate plants, design considerations,
plus benefits and challenges 

*	Tour of installed elements (waterproofing membrane, drainage layer,
drain outlets, chain drain installations) 

*	Hands-on opportunity to install soil medium and plants