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.
Foundations
Another Post Footing Alternative
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
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.
The Mudroom Entry
This is what the mudroom entry looks like today. It is totally enclosed and functional, but there are still some refinements to accomplish, like making steps to the front door. Those doors were a pair of recycled French doors that I got for free. This room is not insulated. The siding is the same rough-sawn … Read more
Framing the Barn / Garage / Mudroom
This large 30′ X 30′ structure rests entirely on a dozen primary concrete piers. All of the lumber is rough-sawn from a local mill out of beetle killed wood. Most of the heavier timbers are Ponderosa pine, 6 X 6 posts and 6 X 10 beams, with 2 X 8 rafters. The beams are pinned … Read more
The Pantry/Root Cellar
After finishing the chicken coop described in yesterday’s post it was time to start work on the pantry/root cellar portion of the complex. I hired an excavator to dig out part of the hole and give me a head start on the project. While he was here with the machinery he also leveled an area for the rest of the building, dug an extension of the water line so we would have water next to the chicken coop, and brought in road base for inside the barn.