“A compact stone barn in the Irish countryside is now a sumptuous holiday cottage perfect for romantic escapes. The current owner converted the barn, now named Crows’ Hermitage. It is located behind his house in the hamlet of Ardcath, less than an hour’s drive north of Dublin.”
stone house
Gabion Band Stone Construction
Special thanks to Randolph Langenbach who sent me this information on rebuilding rural stone houses in earthquake zones with gabion bands. The basic concept uses ring beams of stones wrapped in strong mesh to tie the masonry walls together.
Update on Bionic Soil Road in New Mexico
This is an update on a previous blog post about Bionic Soil that turns soil to stone. In this instance Bionic Soil is used on a road, but the same materials could turn an earthbag house into a stone house.
“A New Mexico company promised to deliver a pothole-proof, waterproof road to people in one of the most impassable communities in our region. 4 Investigates wanted to see if it held up. [KOB said their story about Bionic soil went viral last year.]
Bionic Soil: Turn Soil to Stone
I saw this on Facebook where someone said stabilizers aren’t necessary. That is usually the case. Compacted subsoil in earthbags covered with plaster is the norm. But there may be situations where stabilizers are beneficial such as in extremely wet areas. There’s even the possibility of making an earthbag stone wall without plaster using this type of construction. There’s also the option of spraying it on walls to create stone PISE. Let us know if you try this out.
Stone Houses on Tumblr
Tumblr is another good site for browsing images of natural homes. Here’s their page on stone houses.
Stone House in Mount Pelion, Greece
Okay, maybe you don’t have the money to pay a dozen workers for two years to build a house like this, but you have to admit the design and craftsmanship on this stone house is amazing. There’s a lot to be learned from showhomes like this. Study the details and maybe you can include some similar stonework in your dream home.