It’s good to know a variety of building ideas to draw from as you design your dream home. Box beams are hollow, nonstructural members made from ¾” plywood or solid wood. They add a beautiful look that can dress up an otherwise boring ceiling without too much time, cost and labor. You could build box … Read more
Ferrocement doesn’t have to mean gray and boring. Here are just a few options for finishing ferrocement ceilings, beams, columns and walls. Image source: Arquitectura Organica (Nautilus House) Image source: Flying Concrete
A big thanks to Luke for tipping me off on the Earthbag Builders group at Facebook. The focus of the group is primarily on earthbag, but there’s also related content such as this excellent video on converting shipping containers into low cost housing. I could watch videos like this all day long.
“Hi Owen. We certainly learned a lot from this building process. The most important lesson was this: someone on site must be familiar with construction techniques and be good at providing quality control and project and crew management. Our experience was that if you are not using volunteers who are independently enthusiastic about earthbag building, … Read more
“A series of domes constructed of earth, sand and water combine to make a home for Thea Bryant and her family. Dried mud is collected in buckets all around the structure and can be reconstituted by simply adding water. The structure was built using 40-year-old plans developed for the United Nations to build homes in … Read more
The photo above shows a gable end wall made with earthbags. Although you could build this way, it is faster and easier to frame gable ends with wood or bamboo. Framing the gable ends saves moving all that weight high on the wall. This little detail can save you days of hard work. This is … Read more