Primitive Construction

Working With Salvaged Materials- Don Justo's Cathedral

2011-01-18T22:06:00.000-08:00

Who says you need drawings, or permits, or funding- in Spain Don Justo is building an entire cathedral with salvaged building materials. Reclaimed bricks, stone, even 5 gallon buckets create the structure for this lavish cathedral and Don Justo has built mostly by himself. He says he never made drawings, but has the design in his head. He continues on even though because of lack of permits and engineering calculations the structure might be demolished after his death. He apparently doesn't like to talk about the future. He just wants to keep building. For the whole story check out City Noises' article. Photo credits to City Noise.

2011-01-14T17:05:00.001-08:00

The roof on my 1890's home was in rough shape. A fire had burned the rafters in the back of the house, and they needed to be totally replaced. The first step was to get the shingles off. Working with the big tear-off tool I was able to the entire back section off and get the nails set in a day.

With the roof off and the rafters removed it's time to start rebuilding. Ridge board is up in the background, next step is to fit the rafters back in.

The rafters rebuilt. I added two dormers to open up the space.

For the finished roof I choose to use salvaged slate. I arranged a work trade and acquired the slate. With help from The Slate Roof Bible I researched about this amazing material and learned about installing it.

Working my way up the roof. Metal valleys in place. This is a good shot of the new dormer. I added one on the other side too so the roof is cross shaped- a design many churches are built in. Although it is labor intensive, I enjoyed working with the slate and love the look.

Artist Work Station

2011-01-05T20:38:00.000-08:00

Cedrick testing out his new loft/ work station in his studio. Primitive Construction has worked with many artists to build lofts, storage in studios, pedestals, frames, sets etc. If you can dream it up we can probably build it for you. We are always excited to work on creative projects and excel at design build work.

Kitchen Drywall Install

2011-01-05T20:22:00.000-08:00

Hanging drywall (rock as we call it in the trades- short for sheetrock) is like doing a giant jigsaw puzzle. Getting the rock flat and having smooth seams is essential to having a nice finished surface.ceiling goes up first, that way the wall sections reinforce the ceiling piece.

We put the seam high up on the wall so it would be behind the kitchen cabinets and require less taping work. Note the clean holes around the ceiling cans- these are made by pushing the rock up to the ceiling on a drywall lift, when the sheet is aligned properly you pound it with your fist under the cans. This will make a faint indentation on the back of the rock, take the sheet down, trace the impression and cut a perfect hole without any measuring.

Securing the panel. Make sure to mark all pipes and water lines so you don't put screws into them. The manufacturers recomended screwing pattern is a screw about 6-8 inches on each stud. (Some rock has faint little x's on it these are your markers for screw spacing). Following this pattern helps you from getting sagging and popped heads down the road. Make sure each head is slightly recessed to allow it to be mudded over. Do not sink too far or you loose the integrity of that screw hold. Slight gaps like on the bottom right are ok, the first coat of hot mud will fill them in.

The Chimney Project

2010-12-30T01:32:00.000-08:00

Starting out in the basement, rebuilding the chimney with the original bricks. Replacements for the damaged bricks were scavenged from local burned buildings. Each one cleaned of old mortar, scrubbed with a wire brush and soaked in water before setting. Only 30+ feet to go, and about 25 more bags of mortar to mix.

Out the roof. I incorporated dripstones from salvaged slate. Dripstones were all the rage before metal flashing came into being. They divert the water that runs down the chimney away from the crack where it meets the roof.

Plumbing the chimney liner. A liner is not necessary when working with solid bricks. Given that all these bricks were salvaged and 100+ years old I added this for an extra layer of protection, and to help me keep everything plumb.

Sometimes there just isn't enough light in a day. Time to get out the headlamp and set the lights up on the roof. A good way to let all your neighbors know you're crazy- work on building your chimney till midnight.

The finished chimney. In the old days masons had a signature style that identified their work. This design is by Joseph Jenkins and can be found in The Slate Roof Bible. A decorative top is well worth the minimal amount of extra effort, especially considering that if done right will last a century or more. Note the dripstones that spiral around the base.

2009-09-04T19:53:00.000-07:00

This roof had 2x4 rafters on a 20 foor span. they had cracked badly and a new roof could not be put on with out replacing them. We cut through the 3 layers of shingles, wood shake and perlins and took them out on sections.

No going back. Joe lets loose the first section.

Garret and Mike check out the view with the roof ripped off. In the background you can see the temporary was we built to support the other side of the roof. A few feet to the left of where they are standing the wall had bowed out almost 5 inches. With the roof weight off we were able to pull it back in. Even so, with the way the house had settled each rafter was custom fitted into place
Shingles going up. We put in 4 skylights that added lots of light and a great view into this planned to be finished attick space.

Scavenging

2009-03-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I moved to Detroit was to be able to work with scavenged materials. Amidst the decay of society are salvageable building materials which can rebuild and sustain us. When I see materials in the neighborhood which have been abandoned or are to be destroyed I try to reuse those materials. The point of this is to opt out of buying new and supporting logging, transportation of lumber with fossil fuels etc. It is also to be able to provide people with access to low and no cost materials to build with.

On this day we found some shelving that was dumped on a lot in our neighborhood. Four of us went out with drills and crow bars to take it apart. We have been using it to build raised beds to grow vegetables in, and laminating it to make header beams.

We can re-grow off the scraps of society.

Arches At Molly Motor's

2009-03-15T20:06:00.001-07:00

These arches were copied from the shape of the doorways in this house. They are 4 feet off the ground which allows lot of light and privacy in the the living room behind it. The ceiling casts a cool light into the room as light enters through the windows and reflects off it. The colors are bright and stimulating and give off the feeling of being in a warm tropical environment- even on dreary days.

Before and After Pine Street Speakeasy

2008-10-06T22:16:00.001-07:00

Starting out. The basement of an old hotel, now an apartment building on Nob Hill in San Francisco. This basement was the hotel's speakeasy during the prohibition. It had been used as storage garbage room after the speakeasy closed and was in rough shape.
After renovation- floors refinished, plaster resurfaced, woodwork restoration and painting. The bench wraps around most of the room and was a really nice feature. There were tables lined along it. When I sanded the floor I let some of the cigarette burns remain as evidence of the patrons of the past.
This room had a really old type of paint that when originally manufactured was very chalky. It was meant to be whipped off the slick plaster when repainting the next coat was required. It all had to be scrubbed off the ceilings and walls otherwise the paint wouldn't have a good surface to bond to. The old garbage room (left side of photo) was taken down and a doorway was cut into the bathroom/kitchen.

Below is the finished view with "closet" made from two ladders to the left.

Completed Projects

2008-09-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

Custom gates built in LA.

Dining room in San Francisco. 1x4 redwood tongue and groove paneling recessed into wall and ceiling. Below is the kitchen. Designed by Roberta Wahl of Plum Architecture.

2008-09-26T09:33:00.000-07:00

Primitive Construction has been in existence since 2001. We are certified Green Builders. Our Expertise is in working with salvaged and non-toxic materials.

There a lot of ideas about what green building is. There can be no set definition as it is a philosophy which has different values for different people. For us there are a few basic principles we adhere to that help us define ourselves as green.

1. Material Selection

We try to use salvaged and recycled materials whenever possible. Finding windows, doors, electrical supplies etc., from salvage yards utilizes materials that have already been manufactured. This saves you money and keeps us from supporting mining, deforestation and other practices used to manufacture building products which harm our environment.

2. Good Construction

Shoddy construction doesn't last. When you have to replace something in 5 years because it failed, you end up paying for it all over again and you waste materials. Many people think green building is about using new products and technologies, but it is more than that. It many ways it is about looking to the past when people build things to hold-up for a long time.

3. Healthy Materials

Using materials considerate of our clients health is very important. Why should you pay someone to install products that leech toxic fumes into your home and poison you? We respect our clients and their families by using materials that are as non-toxic as possible.

4. Keep it Simple & Local

Carpooling, biking to work, recycling, and supporting local businesses are easy things anyone can do in all aspects of their life to be more ecologically responsible. We try to integrate these practices into our building methods.

Thanks, Blake Carroll

Founder Primitive Construction

415-706-2192

primitive@gmx.com