#cellar

Gay CurmudgeonHermitsDaily
2025-04-21

The basement mural/collage I maintained for thirty years included scenes from both Deephole and Artpig movies.

2025-04-02
02/04/2015: Yesterday, I received my #hemp calf fiber package and continued working on the #door project. The fiber feels as soft as angel hair, and I really enjoyed working with it. It’s an excellent material for environmentally friendly #sealing , perfectly suited for insulating doors and windows—no toxic construction foam needed at all!

Excursus Story of Calafataggio:
Caulking (calafaturation, calafataggio) is a waterproofing technique for wooden hulls, carried out by the master caulker (mastro calafato). It creates a joint between the planking boards that can withstand the sea and endure over time. In the past, the technique essentially consisted of inserting fibers—often hemp or tow—between the planks of the hull and impregnating them with pitch. Today, cotton or hemp is used, along with synthetic resins or tar. The process is performed manually using a wooden mallet, called a "calker's maul," and a special flat-tipped chisel, known as a "malabestia," which allows the fiber to be pushed into the seams (the connections between the planking boards) without cutting it.

#cellar #renovation #diy #craftmanship #greenbuilding #sustainability
The image shows a metal door installed in a rustic, unfinished wall. The surrounding wall has exposed plaster and areas of rough, uneven texture, indicating ongoing renovation work. A light fixture is mounted on the ceiling, with electrical conduit running along the top.
In front of the door, there is an open cardboard box labeled "HANF" (likely referring to hemp insulation material). There are two spatulas on the box. Some loose hemp fibers are spilling out of the box onto the tiled floor. The scene suggests that insulation work may be in progress, possibly for sealing gaps around the door or improving thermal efficiency in the space.This image shows a close-up of the door frame and its mounting structure. The door is slightly open, revealing the metal frame and the wall behind it. The wall has a rough plastered surface with an uneven texture, indicating prior renovation work.
Two black metal brackets are secured to the wall with screws, helping to anchor the door frame. The brackets have an open slot design, possibly to allow for adjustment before final tightening. The frame itself appears to be a sturdy metal construction with ventilation or drainage slots.
This view gives insight into how the door was fixed into the wall, showing both the structural integration and the unfinished nature of the surrounding plasterwork.
2025-04-02

New York by Emanuela Meme Giudici (2014)

Open metal access hatch to a below-street-level space, featuring interior stairs and food preparation area.
2025-03-27
March 27, 2025: Wedding of door and #frame. Today, we aligned, #fixed, and mounted the cellar #door. It has a good, solid fit with a few millimeters of spacing left on the sides and the top for later insulation, sealing and plaster. It took a little longer than planned, but it wasn’t urgent, and I had other priorities.

I am still considering whether to seal with hemp calf fiber or just perlite plaster (the gap is 5–15 mm). I think both options would work well—any suggestions?
Foam is convenient and easy to apply, but it's harmful to both health and the environment. Fortunately, there are good alternatives for many things in life.

The metal door looks a bit blank and empty. If you know an artist who would be interested in painting both sides of the door, I’d love to hear from you or them! (also via direct message or email)

#cellar #renovation #work #diy #craftmanship
The image shows a metal door with a light-colored, possibly off-white or gray, textured surface. The door has a dark metal frame and a black handle with a keyhole. The surrounding walls appear to be unfinished or partially renovated, with patches of exposed rough plaster and some areas of smooth white coating. The floor is covered with reddish-brown tiles, and there is a light fixture above the door with electrical conduits running along the ceiling. The overall setting suggests that this door is installed in a basement or utility room.This image shows an unfinished doorway installation in a room with rustic, partially renovated walls. A dark metal door frame is being installed, with metal brackets protruding from its sides for securing it to the wall. The lower part of the frame is supported by a wooden board, which helps with alignment and leveling.
In the background, another closed door is visible, which appears older and has a worn surface with some scratches or stains. A light switch is mounted on the wall near this door.
The walls have a mix of exposed plaster and rough, unfinished patches, suggesting that renovation work is ongoing. The floor is covered with reddish-brown terracotta tilesThis image shows an unfinished doorway installation in a room with rustic, partially renovated walls. A dark metal door frame is being installed, with metal brackets protruding from its sides, likely for securing it to the wall. The lower part of the frame is supported by a wooden board, which helps with alignment and leveling.
In the background, another closed door is visible, which appears older and has a worn surface with some scratches or stains.
The walls have a mix of exposed plaster and rough, unfinished patches, suggesting that renovation work is ongoing. The floor is covered with reddish-brown terracotta tiles.This image shows an unfinished doorway installation in a room with rustic, partially renovated walls. A dark metal door frame is being installed, with metal brackets protruding from its sides, likely for securing it to the wall. The lower part of the frame is supported by a wooden board, which helps with alignment and leveling.

In the background, another closed door is visible, which appears older and has a worn surface with some scratches or stains. A light switch is mounted on the wall near this door.
The walls have a mix of exposed plaster and rough, unfinished patches, suggesting that renovation work is ongoing. The floor is covered with reddish-brown tiles
2025-03-25
25/03/2025: After taking a week off from the #door project, I continued working on it yesterday and today. I closed the holes for the iron bracket fixation and decided to mount the bracket sideways.

The spacing of the original holes was too narrow, and I didn’t want to widen it towards the front side to avoid further dust from the angle grinder cuts.

Last week, I spent some time rethinking the approach and ordered natural insulation material (hemp strips) along with suitable screws and dowels.
Unfortunately, the local DIY stores don’t stock many natural building materials, and I don’t want to use construction foam or similar products.

Today, I drilled the floor very carefully using a special drill bit in steps of 6mm → 8mm → 10mm (without percussion drilling) to avoid damaging the delicate terracotta tiles, then fitted the plugs. To ensure the screw heads sat flush with the wood, I deepened the holes with a countersink bit.
I then screwed in the Torx screws by hand to minimize expansion force in the dowels and reduce any further risk of cracking the tiles.

Finally, we fitted the door, and so far, I’m satisfied with the progress and the custom fit.

#cellar #renovation #screwed #work #diy #masonry #greenbuilding
The scene shows a narrow hallway leading to a door at the end. The walls have a rough, partially plastered finish. The door frame and threshold have been adapted with wooden trim, which aligns with a pine wood pieces for a precise fit.
The floor is tiled, and there is a nwooden threshold strip at the entrance, not yet fixed and with two screws on the ground. The lighting and overall condition suggest an old cellar space undergoing restoration. The walls still show some signs of moisture and unfinished areas, indicating ongoing work.The scene shows a narrow hallway leading to a door at the end. The walls have a rough, partially plastered finish. The door frame and threshold have been adapted with wooden trim, which aligns with a pine wood pieces for a precise fit.
The floor is tiled, and there is a newly installed wooden threshold strip at the entrance, secured with screws. The lighting and overall condition suggest an old cellar space undergoing restoration. The walls still show some signs of moisture and unfinished areas, indicating ongoing work.
2025-03-14
13/03/2025: We further adapted the individual pine wood piece trim to the door and door frame. It involved a lot of measuring, marking, drilling with a 1.5mm drill bit (hand drill), #carving with thin chisels as well as fine adjustments.

#cellar #renovation #work #diy #woodworking #greenbuilding
The image shows ongoing renovation work in a narrow passage with an aged brown door at the end.  The floor is partially covered with protective cardboard sheets, suggesting active construction. The rough, unfinished walls and visible repairs indicate a working place. A wooden piece is placed on the cardbords as a the lower individual strip for the door frame.
2025-03-14
14.03.2025: Added plaster to both sidewalls with a mortar mixture of natural cement and thermo insulaiton morter (composed of NHL5, air lime, perlite, and sand). You could also mixed expanded clay balls (e.g. leca) or hemp shives into the mortar for thermal insulation.
These #natural materials work great together for insulation and quick structural reinforcement. A major advantage is that you can apply a thick layer of this mortar in one single step.

Mixing the materials yourself can save money, especially for larger projects, and ensures that no additives have been included in the mortar.

#cellar #renovation #work #diy #masonry #mortar #greenbuilding
The image shows ongoing renovation work in a narrow passage with an aged brown door at the end. Two perforated metal strips have been installed vertically on both sidewalls, embedded in fresh mortar. The floor is partially covered with protective cardboard sheets, suggesting active construction. The rough, unfinished walls and visible repairs indicate that the space is being prepared for the next stage of restoration.The image shows two natural mortar bags on a terracotta floor with a white plastered wall in the background. The left bag is a special natural thermo-insulating mortar in a green package and the right one is a natural quick-setting cement in a yellow-brown package.
2025-03-14
13.03.2025: Aligned the new entrance with two perforated metal strips installed vertically on both sidewalls, embedded and aligned with prompt quick setting natural cement. Structural reinforcement and alignment in once.

The mortar must be mixed stiffly and the wall must be dust-free and well pre-wetted, so that the thick cement layer does not fall off.

#cellar #door #renovation #work #diy #masonry
The image shows ongoing renovation work in a narrow passage with an aged brown door at the end. Two perforated metal strips have been installed vertically on both sidewalls, embedded in fresh plaster or mortar, likely for structural reinforcement or alignment. The floor is partially covered with protective cardboard sheets, suggesting active construction. A red marking on the tiled floor appears to be a reference line for further work. The rough, unfinished walls and visible repairs indicate that the space is being prepared for the next stage of restoration.
2025-03-14
12/03/2025: The first big #challenge was leveling the uneven #floor in two directions (12mm and 5mm) with a custom-made lower bottom rail crafted from arolla pine wood. My brother helped with measuring and making this custom piece—it would be expensive if we calculated it by the hour! 😂

We first marked the cuts and used a Japanese saw, leaving a 3mm gap for later planing on the machine. On the side walls, I drilled three large holes on each side to set the frame anchors into the concrete later.

#cellar #door #custommade #handcrafted #renovation #diy
The image shows a narrow passage leading to a worn brown door with a rough, aged appearance. The walls are made of a mix of exposed bricks, crumbling plaster, and rough concrete, giving the space an old, unfinished look. The ceiling has visible cracks and a white electrical conduit running along it. The floor is covered with reddish-brown terracotta square tiles, contrasting with the rugged walls. A red crowbar leans against the right wall, suggesting ongoing work. A yellow spirit level rests on a wooden beam positioned across the entrance, possibly for measuring or alignment purposes. The space has a rustic, basement-like atmosphere, with signs of wear and renovation.The image shows a narrow passage leading to a worn brown door with a rough, aged appearance. The walls are made of a mix of exposed bricks, crumbling plaster, and rough concrete, giving the space an old, unfinished look. The ceiling has visible cracks and a white electrical conduit running along it. The floor is covered with reddish-brown square tiles, contrasting with the rugged walls. A red crowbar leans against the right wall, suggesting ongoing work. A yellow spirit level rests on the floor positioned across the entrance, possibly for measuring or alignment purposes. The space has a rustic, basement-like atmosphere, with signs of wear and renovation.Custom made wooden beam made out of arolla pine lies on cellar floor which is tiled with terracotta.  The walls are made of a mix of exposed bricks, crumbling plaster, and rough concrete.
Gay CurmudgeonHermitsDaily
2025-02-04
Y⃒̸̷̝̜̙ͥͥͥngmaryngmar@social.tchncs.de
2025-01-29

Basement exploration. This was mostly potato storage. It has a big hole in the wall for dropping potatoes down a chute into the cellar from the outside.

If you're wondering how thick our foundations are, they are two chicken food sacks thick!

Some forgotten preserves down there to sample as well.

I'll need to route drain pipes through here and do some creative fixing of the floor above. Maybe a good place for a heatpump exterior unit.

#Homestead #OldHouse #DIY #Building #Cellar #Basement

Part of a basement. There's some wooden boards where the potatoes used to be stored. Two steel pipes cemented into the floor to hold retaining boards. A wooden shelf on the left holds a glass jar with yellow stuff inside. The far wall has a steel mesh in a wooden frame covering the potato chute.A couple jars of mystery preserves, some yellow, some reddish, sitting on a shelf.The ceiling is made from steel beams with concrete between them. For unknown reasons the bottom was covered in tar paper, which has been partially torn or crumbled off. It looks like the concrete was cast directly onto the tar paper, so perhaps it was part of the mold. The steel beams are still painted green and have some welded on hoops, likely for transport.The chute with the steel mesh removed. Two PP chicken food sacks of something (probably straw) are stuffed into the hole as insulation. There's a rodent's supply of gnawed open seeds on the right. The foundation wall is very thick, as thick as two chicken food sacks lengthwise.
Fabián Rodríguez 🛡💾 🇨🇴 🌴magicfab
2025-01-10

Groundfridge - The naturally cool cellar - The Groundfridge is an autonomic operating and naturally cooled , developed for storing wine and food. Discover more about the Groundfridge here.
groundfridge.com/

via magicfab.ca/liens

Gay CurmudgeonHermitsDaily
2024-12-27

Basement Mural/Collage I added friends to for thirty years. 1993--2023.

Gay CurmudgeonHermitsDaily
2024-12-16
2024-12-15

Ein alter Trocken- und Waschkeller mit weißen Hemden by Maschinenjunge (2002)

White shirts hanging to dry on clotheslines in a basement laundry room with a sink and paint buckets.
Gay CurmudgeonHermitsDaily
2024-12-06

Basement Collage/Mural I maintained for thirty years. Friends Jane, Mark, Jon, Jon Voight as Noah, and Joan. 1993--2023.

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