permaculture

["John Schinnerer" <john@eco-living.net>]

Aloha,

> Pounding rebar into the ground is tempting but really it can be a
> critical error.  Rebar or any steel is not supposed to go directly into
> the ground.  It will rust in most climates and the rust will travel
> right up into the structure.

Well, it's not "ground" as most of you know it... ;-)  It's an experiment,
I'll keep y'all posted on the slow decay (or not) of the rebar below the
footings.  I have other exposed bits of metal here and there at the top
and bottom edges of the wall, mostly edges of mesh or lath (galvanized). 
I'll be keeping an eye on those too.

> I think my friend Jack Rowe did not use rebar, lath nor chicken wire.
> He tied tar paper to the outside of the remesh

What is 'remesh'?  I'm assuming it's neither hex mesh (a.k.a. 'chicken
wire', etc.) nor expanded metal lath, since you say he didn't use
those...?

> My dream is to build a basement that's a cistern, so the walls of the
> cistern serve as a footing for the house and the poured lid can be
> polished, stained and etched serving as the fist floor as well.

I've seen at least one or two similar to this, using masonry block
foundation/tank sealed on the inside to hold water.  The cover wasn't the
floor, though, it was under a raised floor.  I'd rather store (at least
some of my) water above the level of my dwelling faucets and avoid
pumping.


John Schinnerer, MA
-------------------------
- Eco-Living -
Cultural & Ecological Designing
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