[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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