It’s been fun watching the web stats on our blog hit record highs every month (at least up until our new blog that doesn’t yet show this). I take the surge in readership as a sign we’re on the right track. Our message about building do-it-yourself, dirt cheap houses using locally available natural materials is resonating worldwide. A new admin feature on our WordPress blog shows what country visitors are from and the number of hits. Not surprisingly, many readers are from the US (highest number of visitors), Canada, United Kingdom and Australia. But it’s surprising to me to see so many visitors from South Korea, Romania, Russia, India, Mexico, Spain, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Ukraine, New Zealand, France, Netherlands, Philippines, South Africa and on and on – almost every country in the world, in fact.
earthbag house
Exterior Log Siding
You can a short video about this at www.youtube.com I’ve talked about wood siding on earthbag houses before. In that previous blog post, I talked about using slab wood and other low cost offcuts from sawmills, and cutting your own wood. Another option is buying factory made siding. There are lots of styles and options … Read more
Additional Passive Cooling Strategies for Hot Climates
The following list includes dozens of low tech, low cost ways to cool buildings in hot climates passively without electricity or machinery, i.e., passive cooling or natural cooling. This list is in addition to the 11 or so simple passive cooling techniques that I talked about in my video the other day. Altogether there are over 50 practical methods for cooling your home sustainably.
Saltillo Tile
“Saltillo tile is a type of terra-cotta tile that originates in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. Saltillo-type tiles are now manufactured at many places in Mexico, and high-fire “Saltillo look” tiles, many from Italy, compete with the terra-cotta originals. Saltillo tile vary in colour and shape, but the majority range from in varying hues of reds, oranges … Read more
Cordwood Construction on Gravel Bag Foundation
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_KwwLOg_WI&w=420&h=315] There are a lot of little details you can search on the Internet. This is just a basic introductory video to show you the cordwood/earthbag concept. What I like to do is have the mortar recessed slightly. It looks a little better if the wood is protruding slightly. You smooth this out. The … Read more
Grain Bin House Videos
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDE3E5vSknM&w=420&h=315] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UVQ3QLD6Cc&w=420&h=315] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmrF3er7zus&w=420&h=315] It really helps to see finished examples of what others have done. Once again it’s YouTube to the rescue. Cornell University’s Silo House Glenburn Silo Home Silo House aka The Cabin in the Woods (low quality footage but has some good points)