permaculture

["storm30" <storm30@telus.net>]

For the longest time I was thinking of sprayed concrete (shot-crete) and 
domes. Think Monolithic Dome - especially since I wanted to create a passive 
solar, earth bermed home with earth roof. Yesterday surfing Google I came 
across cement prices/shortages. For example in 2004, China used over 50% of 
the world's cement, creating shortages elsewhere. (this is an internet fact I 
do not verify it's correctness) But it did get me thinking about alternatives 
to cement. It can only get worse from here on in.

I know the thread of gabions came up a while ago, I believe the gist was 
hard, heavy, time consuming work and one doesn't want to have to fiddle with 
the wire.  When searching gabions on Google a whole plethora of sites come 
up. The metal cages most sites have look easy -ish and interesting. 
http://www.terraaqua.com/
http://www.weld-mesh.com/homepage.htm

Has anyone had experience with them? The one thing I can't find is even a 
ball-park price.  I looked at pictures of  projects - Jubal  used gabions and 
then straw bales. I think about straw bales (insulating) because I live in a 
cold area close to wheat farming. 

Mike Jubal's Straw bale vault uses gabion foundation:
http://www.potkettleblack.com/natbild/jakubal.html 

Sun Ray's Son's House:
http://www.potkettleblack.com/natbild/sunray4.html

What I really like is Sun Ray's son's house, strawbale/earthplaster with a 
living roof. Does anyone know how the straw bales stay dry with the earth 
roof and if it provides enough insulation value?  I would love a dome shaped 
living roof. My main idea was to use earth brick to build a 20ft across 
circle to waist height and then inflate a re-usable dome shape. Use the curve 
and support to finish dry laying earth bricks and plaster the outside and 
then the inside (once form is deflated) for strength. The idea is from an 
African web-site I can't find the link to right now. In desert climates this 
would be the end of construction - hot in the day and cold at night the mass 
of the structure provides the heat at night/cool day of course. My situation 
is different.


My climate is cold and stays cold for months at a time (Alberta, Canada). I 
live close to the rocky mountains, so rocks for gabions and clay soil is not 
a problem. My problem is that I haven't found any way to insulate earth 
brick. Even though my climate is dry, my desire to blend my home into the 
environment and protect from tornados/hail ect and passive solar benefits by 
berming - earth on earth brick and insulation may be too damp, and I haven't 
heard any experiences of straw bale and earth berming with earth brick - 
which would be ideal. 

I would love to do an earthbrick dome interior for passive heat benefits and 
then a strawbale exterior for insulation covered in an earth plaster - I 
could forgo the living earth exterior but if there was a way without risking 
moisture damage I would have the best of both worlds. (I also have to plan 
for snow sitting on top of my dome) Yes I could seal everything up with a 
chemical, but then I lose the breathability of straw and earth and risk 
trapping moisture between the layers. Tire crumb is easily availble, which 
I've read is excellent for drainage in place of gravel, as for insulating 
with it...


Any way, hope I start a thread...my dilemma at the moment just runs around my 
head like a hamster in a wheel. Any thoughts would be appreiciated.

Thanks Storm30


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