[Homestead] build to last? was: preserving poles

eureka at hctc.net eureka at hctc.net
Sat Nov 3 20:06:23 EST 2007


On Sat, 3 Nov 2007 18:25:32 -0500
  Gene GeRue <genegerue at ruralize.com> wrote:
> So, perhaps, vernacular to you in this regard means your 
>personal heritage, the today result of your life journey?

Yes, I suppose that would be my heritage. Although with 
recent genealogy research we are proving to be a little of 
absolutely everything, so perhaps borrowing from many 
traditions that resonate and are achievable with what's on 
hand would be OK.

> You have enforced building codes where you live?

Building permits are required, but obviously not enforced. 
A lot of "six pack deals" going on in the good-ol boy 
world here. We recently discovered (through a system 
failure) the septic system upgrade filed at the courthouse 
and signed off on by the local inspector eight years ago 
was never installed. We don't know if the previous owners 
screwed us, or if they were screwed by their contractor. 
The local government is so corrupt it didn't seem worth 
persuing in court. My husband spent the entire summer 
rerouting the sewer line. We figured, why bother taking 
out a permit, when we were only doing what was on file 
anyway?

> Like small river stone?

Exactly. Our land is largely a natural conglomerate of 
greyish limestone river erock compressed by the earth into 
what looks like concrete aggregate. In the creek bottoms 
the stone is loose, and it is also readily available for 
delivery by a local supplier. I like your idea of 
slipform, and seem to remember a cool reusable form design 
in Home Work.

> Nothing is unstackable if a suitable bonding medium is 
>used. How  about slipform masonry, using either concrete or 
>clay/sand/cement as a bonding medium? Think of the stones as large 
>aggregate, then make them exposed after the medium sets up overnight by 
>brushing with appropriate tool and water.
  
> The cedar here in the Ozarks is Juniperus virginiana, 
>which range extends into Texas. I wonder if it is the same.

Juniperus virginiana, which grow a very straight trunk 
ranges into Texas mostly in the Blackland Prairie east of 
Austin. They are planted a lot in Texas cemeteries and are 
often called cemetery trees. Here in the west, we have 
Juniperus ashei, a much more branchy subject with no real 
central trunk and lots of smaller limbs better suited to 
fence posts. One consideration is using the rock/masonry 
in slipform for short perimeter walls on which to stack 
strawbale, something locally available that I actually 
have experience with, and would insulate well enough that 
air conditioning would be less costly. Perhaps the small 
juniper branches could be used as latias (sp?) in the 
ceiling if I could find anything big enough to use as 
vigas, although not necessarily in a New Mexico venacular.

> Well, do so in spite of all that. Beside your unusual 
>stone (what color is it?) and smallish woody shrubs or trees, what 
>is the nature of your soil? Have you read how cob is created?

Don't you have limestone in the Ozarks too? The limestone 
rock is gray, and the overall soil on the land a 
greyish-dun no doubt coming from the mother stone. Would 
say the soil to rock content is 30-70, so not much dirt. 
The soil seems to be about 15" to 24" deep on top of an 
impervious layer of the limestone cobble conglomerate. 
Interestingly, the fireants bring up a more brown 
clay-like soil (shapes when pinched) from where we have no 
idea, we haven't hit any digging. Maybe their little 
bodies go beneath the rock shelf? Different species grow 
on each side of the creek, and a geologist friend 
suggested there is a natural fault going on which would 
also account for our artesian spring well.

The soil down in the creek is quite different and 
delicious--an earthy mixture of decaying leaves and 
topsoil from adjoining lands that comes down in the flash 
floods. By comparison to the plateau prairie, it's almost 
tropical feeling down there. We "mine" this soil, hauling 
it up to the garden where we cannot till because of the 
rock and have a very nice raised garden built from 
discarded pallets.

I have experienced cob--helped build the two room house 
(that washed away two years later) designed by Gail Borst 
illustrated on the cover of the cob book. I found it 
physically much more demanding than strawbale, although I 
like the look of it. I also like the idea of some interior 
rammed earth walls. There is a B&B in Marathon made out of 
papercrete. I don't know much about this but would like to 
know more. Seems like a great way to repurpose junk mail.

--Sage
Way Out in Texas


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