Quote:
Originally Posted by conradpdx
depending on your soil type you may wish to check out Cal-Earth - Photo Gallery Super adobe could be a lot cheaper and easier to design (though a bit more physical work) than strawbale.
Not to come down on strawbale, I've been following thier progress for over 15 years now, but I think there are better but less "sexy" methods to building shelters than the 1st little pig method.
<edit> though I gotta admit I'm a bit envious. I'm too much of a city slicker, but I'd love to live in a building code free zone to carry out my mad little experiments. |
We have considered many, many alternative construction methods along with costs, dangers, time in (DIY only so education/experience is key), strength, versatility and efficiency. With cost being at the very forefront of our considerations, strawbale construction is by far the best bang for our buck. There are also abundant sources of information to back up safety and structural integrity claims for local building inspectors if you live an area where they'll actually listen to you. Since the post and beam structure to accommodate an in-fill bale wall style is 90% complete and the materials are locally available, it's pretty much a done deal. Everything from the strawbales to the mortar mix are available right here within a 60 mile radius.
Thanks for the information though. I'm going to check it out anyway just because I do that sort of stuff. lol