Foundations – Page 16 – Natural Building Blog

Hands-On Workshops at the NBC

June 3, 2022October 31, 2015 by Owen Geiger

In addition to the tree house and rocket stove projects already described, there were quite a few other hands-on demonstration projects happening at the Natural Building Colloquium (NBC), and I’ll describe a few of these.

A simple straw bale wall was erected on a prepared concrete foundation; this was directed by Bill Steen with the assistance of Matts Myhrman and many others. This L-shaped wall would immediately serve as a kind of performance stage and could eventually be enclosed for a building.

The Mud Home: Earthbag Foundations

June 3, 2022January 9, 2015 by Owen Geiger

Gravel bag foundations save thousands of dollars, use no concrete and don’t wick water up in the wall.

“There will be many who refuse to believe this will work. What no concrete? Will be their never-ending refrain.

Concrete foundations have been around for less than a hundred years. Buildings have been built for millennia. In the eastern Mediterranean it’s common to see structures still standing over 2000 years after they were built, without a drop of concrete.

Wiki Natural House Foundation Design

June 3, 2022October 3, 2013 by Owen Geiger

The low cost Wiki Natural House foundation is designed to meet UK building codes.

Yesterday’s blog post was about the foam glass insulation we plan to use on the Wiki Natural House. Today we’re giving a sneak peak (first draft) of the foundation design. The primary design considerations are low cost, owner-builder friendly, minimal cement, must withstand cold and wet climate (insulation is key), must align with thick straw bale walls and meet UK building codes. That’s a pretty tall order. Many of my designs are for rural areas with few or no codes. In this case, we have to put a little more effort into workable solutions.

Code Approved Rammed Tire Foundations

June 3, 2022September 28, 2013 by Owen Geiger

If you spend enough time you can find almost anything now for free on the Internet. Jason has been sending me one good tip after another. He recommended Strawworks.com in the UK for their detail drawings. They’re world famous for their expertise in strawbale building. Visit their site to see their code approved rammed tire foundation detail drawing and other excellent drawings, photos and more. Note: I still prefer gravel bag foundations for their speed and ease of construction, however, it can be challenging getting them permitted in areas with building codes.

Another Post Footing Alternative

June 3, 2022August 12, 2013 by Owen Geiger

Concrete footing detail for wood, bamboo or metal posts

Many of our readers use post and beam frames for their natural homes and so it’s important to know various options for setting posts. I’ve been corresponding with Zafra, one of our readers and the lady who helped translate my Earthbag Building Guide into Spanish. She and her partner Daniel are going to use bamboo poles on their natural home in Venezuela, but the method shown here will work just as well with wood or metal poles.

Progress on the Barn / Garage

June 3, 2022July 19, 2013 by Owen Geiger

In the above photo you can see how the chicken coop (the A-frame shape) has been integrated into the barn design. The idea behind this whole grouping of functions was that you would be able to walk under roof directly from the house through the mudroom, into the garage and then either into the chicken coop or the recessed pantry.

You can tell that the skylight over each bay provides lots of open light. The space under the barn siding will be sealed up with mortared stones, so no wood will touch the soil anywhere. There will be a sink just to the left of the chicken coop that the hydrant will spill into.