It seems we’re always racing time, or the weather, or some other factor completely outside of our sphere of influence. It’s a typical October in Alberta, which means we’ve had our first (second and third) snowfall. It hasn’t snowed in a few days now but we haven’t hit above freezing temperatures either and the acreage looks like a veritable winter wonderland. It’s beautiful really, but not entirely conducive to outdoor work- at least not until we’ve more fully acclimatized.
We’ve just about finished plastering the buildings for winter. A few half decent days and we should be done. And we need to get some above freezing weather (forecast for next week) to finish the last row of bags at the front entrance. Other than that, we need to finish temporarily roofing the structures and fit the windows so that we can work indoors through the winter.
We have plans for a rocket mass heater in the living room, as well as a greenhouse sunspace, and have cabinets to build, a bathtub to form, and pipes for greywater reuse to lay out. We’ll also need a part wall in the kitchen. I’m sure there’s more that I’m forgetting. One of these days I’ll get around to writing out a handy ‘to-do’ list but in the meantime…
We also have plenty of outdoor work to complete, including moving tons of earth (quite literally) to build up the garden around the kitchen and living room areas. Because of the sheer mass of the buildings, and the materials we’re using (primarily the earth beneath our feet), the zone immediately around the building on the south side will be different than elsewhere on the property and we hope to be able to grow plants that would not otherwise do well on the property. The ‘surround garden’ will also further shelter the building from some of our more extreme temperatures.
Add to which there are the day to day tasks and preparing for winter- clean up (long overdue), preparing the garage and shop for indoor work, reorganizing materials, covering the last of the raised bed gardens, and so on. (And this doesn’t even speak to the commitments that we have off the property…) It could be overwhelming but strangely it’s not. I think I’ve finally found my ground in this pioneer lifestyle and have come to appreciate the work, even the sheer amount of it. Maybe it’s because I can’t think of another time in my life when the work that I was doing felt so right. And maybe it’s partly due to the fact that my body has had time to heal from the abuse heaped upon it during the building season. Either way, I’m feeling good about it.
Section of kitchen still to be plastered
West side view
Southwest view
Southeast view, from front
New to your blog, but it looks great!!! I am wondering how your structure will perform with the long cold prairie winters. I have been looking at high efficiency natural construction for a few years, but am unsure about high thermal mass (like your lovely dome home) vs High insulation factor (like straw bale) Keep us updated on your winter!
Looking good! It will be so rewarding to complete!
Ewwww! What’s that white stuff on the ground! Call the hazmat team… Heh heh heh, I’m still in shorts and short sleeves, though I did need a jacket the last couple mornings. It was in the 50s, but warmed up to 80. Brrrr….. : )
Hi
I just found your blog, I enjoyed reading about your experience through out this build.
How large is your structure?
I am a earthbag builder myself, living in southern British Columbia. Last summer was spent building a 20ft Dome, 10ft bathroom and 10ft sunroom earthbag home. We used Cal earths bags, the walls are 20 inches thick. It was built in the Kooteneys. It’s going to be a home for a small family that also wants to get off the grid.
Here is a link to the earthbag raised garden bed I recently built also
Anyways, thanks for all the valuable info in provide in your blog.
Cheers
Shari
Hi Dave! We did spend a lot of time weighing thermal mass against high insulation. It does drop to -40 over the winter and warmth and comfort are definite factors. We’ve gone with a design that should accommodate our needs though (rocket mass heater, wood stove, small rooms, greenhouse/sunspace, berming, etc). I’ll try to write out a summary of what we’re doing later this week.
Thanks Sarah!
Oh Mayberry… I can’t very well say ‘bite me’ to one of our loyal supporters can I? So I’ll just congratulate you on living in a climate much nicer than our own. Weren’t you saying that you guys actually have two full growing seasons? I can’t imagine…
Shari, the two main domes are 20 feet each, those are the ones we focused on this year. We’ll finish the other domes (main bedroom: 12 ft, spare room: 10 ft, and pantry/systems room 16 ft) next year. Wonderful to hear there are earthbag homes going up in BC! How is the family liking it?
Cheers!
Brandee
I read Earthbag Building and he provided link to your site. Love what you are doing. Will watch your progress with great interest. Have a few questions, so picked this post to ask.
My background is we live in Northern Indiana, so really interested in your building because we might have similar climates. We can reach lows on -10 F and can get snowfalls of 18″ to 20″…sometimes over night during the winter.
We live in a small conventional home on four acres. I plan on building my daughter a small “retreat room” on our property. She is 14 and beginning to need a little more private space. Our current house is 700 sq. ft with four people.
Have you used a single source for most of your information or gleaning from various sites from the internet? My biggest concern is the foundation. Is your size and depth recommended for your area and climate? How are you finishing off your floors? I am thinking I could build a raised platform/deck on the inside so I can insulate and make it warmer? Have you ever read of anyone doing this?
Thanks again for the great site.
Curt
Hi Curt. Living in a mainly dry (sometimes drought) area, we dug a rubble trench and shallow foundation. I’m happy to say that we did get the worst flooding this area has seen this year and our trench held up- the site was the only spot on the property not flooded.
We’ve read just about everything available on the internet but we’ve relied most heavily on the expertise of Owen Geiger and Kelly Hart for a lot of our questions, and we have the “Earthbag Building” book by Doni Kiffmeyer and Kaki Hunter, and “the Hand-Sculpted House” by Ianto Evans. What I particularly liked about the Hand-Sculpted House (even though it pertains primarily to building with cob) is that it covers all aspects of building- from the foundation to choosing and placing windows; the house as a system as it were. Living in an extreme climate (it is typical for us to range between +40 C in the summer and -40 C in the winter), it is possible to build with earthbags IF other factors are taken into consideration. This week has been very busy but I am hoping to cover that issue in more depth in my next blog.
We’re going with earthen floors. We use a relatively dry mix of gravel reject and clay-soil and tamp it down hard, and then apply several thinner plaster coats to finish. I haven’t read about anyone building a raised deck but we did meet a couple who raised the floor using pallets stuffed with straw in their straw-cob home. I think they were living in Idaho but I can’t be sure…
Some factors to keep in mind for a colder climate- keep the rooms as small as is comfortable, place windows on the south side only if possible (and avoid low e, which blocks solar gain) and consider building a cozy rocket mass heater for those chillier days.
Good to hear from you & happy building!
Brandee