It was possible to reclaim almost all of the timber needed for the refurbishment of Bridge 5 Mill. Tongue and groove floorboards, and stud work for the internal walls (4x2, 4x1, 3x2,etc.) was sourced from local reclamation yards. This arrived in varying states and a fair amount of work would at times have to be put into de-nailing and cleaning up the wood before it could be used. This can be quite a long laborious job so it was important to vary the tasks for trainees between this and more skilled interesting work.

We have a beautiful turf roof covering our straw bale bench in the front garden of Bridge 5 Mill, it's a great spot for a sunny lunch break by the canal.

When you come into Bridge 5 Mill the first thing you will notice is the thick walls of our straw bale reception. Straw bales are possibly one of the most insulating building materials that you can use. Straw also has advantages of being a renewable material, of having a very low negative environmental impact generally, and of being low cost.

The idea would usually be to build a whole building out of straw bales. MERCi did not have the land to undertake this type of project, but felt that it was important to have a demonstration of this method of construction. So it was decided to build one of the internal rooms using only straw,reclaimed wood (for the flooring), chicken wire (for the windows and doorway) and adobe to coat the straw. Adobe is a clay substance used to protect the straw bales from getting wet and damaged (and eaten!), but that is breathable - letting moisture in and out of the structure.

The straw bale reception in Bridge 5 Mill is probably the most visually interesting part of the building structure. It is a room with rounded walls and a big open reception window, with patterns created out of the adobe that has been used to cover the straw. MERCi sourced its straw bales from a local farm, and asked the women’s co-operative Amazon Nails to run a practical training course on straw bale construction (as part of the second Building Equality course).

The second floor of Bridge 5 Mill leads out to our lovely roof garden. It overlooks the canal and is a great place to have lunch, it's even got a pond