[Cob] strawbale, geodesic domes, and igloos

[GlobalCirclenet]

Good discussion, huh. Lest I be misunderstood, Karen, my partner and I have
been do-it-yourselfers all our lives and we plan to build our own house
next year. We already do our own plumbing, painting, etc. etc. and we're
not "professionals" at any of this, though I do run a market garden and
bedding plant business. 

But still I'd hesitate to do plastering or stucco without working alongside
an experienced builder or plasterer. Even though we make the extra effort
to do things right and do the research first. My concern is the typical
"alternative" type person who thinks they can cut corners or they know as
much as a professional. It just ain't so. It's not that most people can't
learn to do things; most people just don't have the determination and
sticktuitiveness to learn what must be learned, go outside and sweat or
shiver, and do a job right the first time.  I have to disagree on how easy
building is. Building to code is no laughing matter when they red tag your
house and you have to start ripping out work and hire someone who knows
what they're doing. It is beyond the ability or willingness of the average
person. Check some of the building code books on sale at the building
stores like Home Depot we have around here (maybe not in Alberta,
hopefully). 

There's a valuable article How Not to Build Your Own House at
http://www.buzzburrell.com/bb/hownot.html .  It's also among the links on
my own Building For Life page at http://herbfarmer.net/buildinglife.htm .
See the menu on the left. 

paul at largocreekfarms.com
http://herbfarmer.net

"Any housing solution that involves paying for industrially produced
building materials and commercial building contractors is doomed to certain
failure. If houses are to be built at all, in sufficient quantity, they
must be built without money. We must go right outside the framework of the
money system, bypass the factories, and ignore the contractors."  -- Hassan
Fathy

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 7/23/2004 at 11:14 AM Dognyard wrote:

>GlobalCirclenet wrote:
>> 
>> For non-builders to play around with alternative methods and
>> materials is inviting disappointment or disaster, and those pushing
these
>> alternatives without the drawbacks aren't helping the cause of
>> sustainability and energy efficiency.
>
>Oh! Oh! 
>
>I beg to differ. What you are calling non-builders, I will, for the
>moment call inexperienced builders. And an inexperienced builder is only
>that for a short time :-). I am, somewhat, an inexpereinced builder, but
>that sure doesn't deter me from learning to do something myself and to
>avoid depending on expensive alternatives. Building a house is technical
>to a degree, but it isn't rocket science. It can be learned fairly
>easily - either hands on (seminars, etc.), or with lots of reading and
>research - IF, one is amenable to learning to do it correctly.
>
>When it comes to plastering, though, it is even less technical. There
>are things you need to know to do it correctly, but to me it is more
>artistic than technical - especially when it comes to the finishing
layers.
>
>So owner-built homes may not be for everyone, and some people may indeed
>not be capable of learning to do it well enough to pass codes, etc., but
>I do believe that MOST people are entirely capable. And even those who
>cannot learn, are more likely too stubborn to listen to good advice and
>follow it, and not incapable of learning at all.
>
>See, I have a tendency to go against the popular opinion that "the
>masses" area an uneducated lot. On the contrary, they are smart enough
>to want to build their own homes and not be in debt for the rest of
>their lives, then they are smart enough to learn how to plaster a wall
>correctly.
>
>Oh...and depending on "professionals" if you happen to have the money to
>do so, is certainly no guarantee a job is done properly. If I do
>something wrong, I have no one to blame but myself, and I just get busy
>and fix it. If someone else messes it up, then I have to waste good time
>and energy in chasing them to try and get it rectified - often to no
>avail. I have way more confidence in myself than I do in any stranger.
>
>I am just now FINALLY getting do something in cob! (YAY ME!). I am
>building a pump house (stick built from scavenged material - so far it
>has cost me about $18 and I think I have to go buy a bit of plywood, so
>maybe another $50 all together), and along one wall, I have put in a
>stone foundation and will be building, essentially, a garden wall. It is
>not part of the pump house itself, but will lean up against it. So I
>will get to play with some finishing on that wall, including the finer
>earthen plasters as I finish it.
>
>Karen in Alberta
>
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