Foundation September 2020

I'm doing this the same as my chicken coop based on the concept of raising the soil under the walls.

Below: Last rafters going up.

Meanwhile...I've begun to use a cement mixer to make cob AND IT WORKS FANTASTICALLY !!!!

Below left: Ceiling is repurposed metal sheeting from a friend. It is super lightweight and will not rot if repurposed roofing on top of it ever leaks (old screw holes patched with silicon). On top of that ceiling is vapor barrier plastic repurposed from mattress store. Then on top of that is bubble insulation. Then strips of 1x4's along rafters to create an air space before final repurposed metal roofing on top of it all.

A temporary little stove put in before an 11" snow & single digits. It kept things warm enough to continue drying & not be damaged. We had a fun evening cooking potato harvest.

Above: New pup Frida enjoying the sunporch bench.

November 2020
NE corner section of walls is straw bale:

Below left: NE corner cobbed up. Middle below: Half bales between cob & corner of existing building. Dowel stakes in corner post to help secure top bale.
Below right: Bales covered in first coat of earthen plaster. 

BELOW: Late November 2020, Lime stucco done
Grabbing little windows of time to finish things that can't freeze. Broke a rib reaching over a wall for a dog bowl so I'm moving super slow at the moment. Still, planning rocket stove for inside. Have bricks, drums, perlite & urbanite, but I still need quite a bit more 8" stovepipe.