[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GtklTVKMFY&w=560&h=315]
“We started these EcoRanchos back in August 2011 and we are making steady progress since then. Here’s an update we posted on YouTube today. We are placing regular updates on our webpage on the building progress and hopefully we have the structures under roof by mid April 2012!”
Best regards.
Walter A. Hutterli
LandTrees
“Go Green is not just a slogan for us, it’s a way of life and how we see our environment. It is also a way we go about our daily business.”
Previous blog post: Earthbag EcoRanchos
Hello Owen,
Here is another update.
It shows the Wood Finish we are giving to to our exterior Wood Panels. The interesting thing about this is that the Router Cut we decided to use is a copy of what the US Army Corps used in their early housing and recreational wood structures during the construction of the Panama Canal.
I believe this type of finish, named “Rustic or Rustical Weatherboards”, should enhance protection against Insects and Water damage as the panels interlock.
Many of these wood buildings built more then 70 years ago are still in good condition today.
Cheers.
Walter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoM_VYpjvmM
Lisa,
The wood structure for the upper half of the Dome was not our first choice. It was conditional to obtain the building permit from the local authorities.
We are “Pro Trees” and did not like the idea. Also we knew this was going to complicate our Earthbag Structure.
There are several aspects you need to consider before engaging in this:
1) It is very labor intensive and probably very costly if you do not have
your own wood available.
2) It is very time consuming. This type of Roof has put back about 3 months
on our building schedule.
3) Over the years this Roof Structure will be more subject to maintenance in
our Region (Tropical Weather).
Having said the above we took advantage in raising the Roof space to gain more head space at the Loft. At the end we feel it will work quite nicely.
Thank you for your comment and input!
very nice combination of earthbag, post and beam….great way to have a built in loft!!
That’s a very practical, clever design. You can tell they’ve put a lot of thought into it.