There’s a wide variety of fill material that can go in earthbags – road base, subsoil, gravel, crusher fines, etc. Use what’s low cost and locally available. But also consider durability and climate. Do you live in a very cold climate? Then consider using insulating materials in the bags. Do you live where flooding is … Read more
Maggie Doyne, a 23-year-old woman who took a year off before entering university, has had great success in housing and schooling about two hundred orphans in Nepal, and in the process discovered who she is and her purpose in life. It’s quite a touching story. She thoroughly understands the importance of believing in one’s self … Read more
Previous posts have introduced Bill McNulty’s cast stone method. This post is about his second patent — a second process that explains how to make other types of cast stone with sodium carbonate. Abstract: Inorganic cementitious material A method of producing a new type of cement, hereafter called Conch-krete. Conch-krete is created by adding sodium … Read more
Anyone watching the news can’t help but notice the large number of devastating natural disasters that have been going on. One of the greatest needs in the world is disaster-resistant housing – houses that can hold up against hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, flooding and other natural disasters. Alex Klein, author of Introduction to Container Homes and … Read more
My Stone Dome rating keeps goes up and down. It’s been in the top 10 lately. There’s still time to vote if you haven’t already. But the larger picture is far more important. I think geopolymer is a million dollar idea. Most houses fall apart in a few decades, need constant maintenance and are made … Read more
About two months ago a friend sent me a link to an unusual website by Klaus Dona about ancient stone objects. No one has ever been able to explain how these tools or objects were carved. Basanite stone (lydite) is impossibly hard to carve with the copper or iron tools available at the time, and … Read more