A PASSION FOR SOLUTIONS
At Timber and Trowel, we design and build climate-ready, eco-friendly homes and buildings made from local and natural materials.
If you’ve come across this website, chances are you don’t need convincing, but here are some reasons we do what we do:
The problem
Our homes account for nearly the majority of our negative impact on this planet.
The Canadian construction industry:
Represents 30% of the total municipal solid waste deposited in landfills.
Uses 32% of electricity produced.
Produces 39% of the nation’s CO2 emissions.
Builds houses which are often full of mould due to low passive breathability and ineffective active ventilation systems.
Builds homes that are generally constructed using toxic materials, often making their occupants chronically sick over time, especially inhabitants with chemical sensitivity.
Many homes, when faced with extreme climate activity, become toxic waste zones. Look at any community that has faced a forest fire, for example—burnt homes are shipped away to hazardous waste processing facilities.
Materials are often shipped over long distances, consuming huge amounts of fossil fuel and emitting unnecessary C02.
Most homes are rectilinear, homogeneous, and uninspiring.
…the list goes on!...
A round strawbale home I recently built. Stone foundation, cob stem wall, round wood timber frame. Click the image to explore the building process!
some solutions
There are beautiful, functional, ecological and economically feasible solutions for adapting to the unapologetic reality of climatic change and ecological degradation.
Our homes need to be resilient in the face of changing climates: We now have to design according to a location’s geography and weather patterns, avoiding building flammable homes in fire-risk areas and avoiding building floodable houses in flood-risk areas.
Most natural wall systems are highly fire-resistant or fireproof. A good site design using permacultural principles can also help in fire preparedness and flood preparedness.
Our approach, in regards to climate change and housing design, is two-fold: design for a changing climate while simultaneously avoiding contributing to further climate exacerbation. In other words, design for high energy efficiency (minimize carbon footprint by wise material selection and sourcing), use regenerative design (lock carbon in materials) and contribute to regenerative agri-economies.
Utilizing permaculture design principles, we can build homes and buildings that are rooted in place; built environments that utilize awareness of the local environmental conditions, solar gain, vapour permeability, thermal mass, and factoring weather patterns in roof design.
We source materials locally as a rule and source from further away as an exception. We understand how to adjust material use based on localized availability; solving multiple problems simultaneously and stacking the functions of the building process. Economic, ecological, personal, and social aspects can all be considered in our designs.
We utilize our varied repertoire of natural building systems and techniques such as strawbale, cob, light straw clay, hempcrete, timber framing, round wood post and beam, clay and lime plastering, stone foundations, and lower concrete-usage foundation systems -to name a few- to create unique solutions for each project.
Finally, as certified permacultural designers, we can finish off a build by assisting in the design of a resilient, productive, and welcoming ecosystem around your new home or building, as well as any additional systems such as water catchment, renewable energy, or water purification in your landscape.
