Once again woefully behind on my updates but the good news is- we’re finished! At least the structure itself. We laid the last earthbag in early August, finished the cob office by September and I just finished the interior base plaster on October 2nd. (We’ll finish with a tinted final plaster next spring, and tadelakt finish the floor, but it’ll do for now.)
Last night we fired up the mass heater and spent hours enjoying the fruits of our labour. The living room is quite spacious and we’ve decided to leave it that way. It’s nice having room enough for a dance floor right in the middle of our living space and the acoustics in the building are wicked! And I love how multifunctional our new couch is! Heats up our bums, throws enough radiant heat to heat a good portion of the room, boils our tea and even makes toast. (I’m actually really looking forward to finding out just how much food I can prepare on the mass heater alone.)
We’re not quite done yet. We still have to put the insulation and rafters up. We’re working on a low rock wall that surrounds the south side of the building and moving several (more) tons of earth for the garden it will support. We’re a long (long) way off having our solar panels mounted and our electrical system in place. But our house is up, the berming is pretty much complete for this year, the mass heater is working nicely, and our wood stove is in place so what’s left on the list seems like nothing compared to the work that’s reached completion.
Toasty couch 
Entrance to office
A couch that makes tea!
Pioneer Maid
**My apologies to the many people I’ve neglected to respond to in the last while- I’m working my way through your messages this morning and will do my best to get back to you before heading out. Still lots to finish up and I am really aiming for completion before the snow flies after which I’ll have more detailed updates and try to stay more on top of correspondence.**
So, so excited for you guys. And impressed, no, awed. And inSPIRED. Can’t wait to see more pictures both interior and exterior. Congratuf*ckinglations.
“Congratuf*ckinglations” pretty accurately sums up how we were feeling when we lit a fire in the mass heater the other night and got to enjoy some of the work we’ve done- thanks so much Zafra!
Love you Brandee! You are truly an inspiration to so many in so many ways! Great news you are able to enjoy the work you’ve put yourself through over the past few yrs! Wow love the look! Love you! xox
It definitely has been a lot of work- happy to see it coming to completion. Thanks Roxanne!
You likely heard of these folks, but JIC:
http://www.permies.org.
The founder Paul is a little unique and there is a pretty smart and doing-it group assembled around him. But beware! Easy to spend a lotta time online. Broadband is the new necessity.
Congrats on your new digs.
Cheers, Rufus
Shane is a fan of that site- I’m not sure I’ve been on it before, haven’t had much time for surfing but I will check it out. Thanks Rufus!
I love your cozy home. Congrats, your hard work has paid off.
It does feel quite cozy with a fire going and not a bit of a draft anywhere in the house. Thanks Frann!
Wow, that is really beautiful! Excellent work y’all! That is a home to be proud of!
Thanks Craig! We’re pretty happy with it.
Fantastic job! Congats on making the dream a reality. Completely envious of your stove…
It is a beautiful stove, isn’t it? Thank you!
looks really nice, Is that a stainless steel barrel on your rocket stove? if it is were did you get it?
It’s an oil drum that we burned out, cleaned, and sanded off. I can’t remember where we got that particular one- we had a couple on the property when we bought it and Shane’s brought home a few from the area since. They seem to be everywhere out here…
I enjoy reading through an article that can make people
think. Also, thanks for permitting me to comment!