Comments for Homestead, PhD http://www.homesteadphd.com homesteading to the third degree Sun, 12 Jun 2011 20:01:17 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Comment on I want to live here by Matthttp://www.homesteadphd.com/2011/04/i-want-to-live-here/comment-page-1/#comment-1674 Matt Sun, 12 Jun 2011 20:01:17 +0000 http://www.homesteadphd.com/?p=397#comment-1674 Thanks for the advice! This book has been highly recommended to us, and we've been on the wait list to get it from our local library for some time now. If it's as good as everyone says, we'll likely buy a copy eventually, but for right now we're OK waiting on the library. Thanks for the advice! This book has been highly recommended to us, and we’ve been on the wait list to get it from our local library for some time now. If it’s as good as everyone says, we’ll likely buy a copy eventually, but for right now we’re OK waiting on the library.

]]> Comment on I want to live here by Gary Zukerhttp://www.homesteadphd.com/2011/04/i-want-to-live-here/comment-page-1/#comment-1490 Gary Zuker Fri, 06 May 2011 14:17:25 +0000 http://www.homesteadphd.com/?p=397#comment-1490 One last item I might add, especially in light of your other article on books that changed your life... My house would not exist in its present form had I not read a certain book about design. It would be no stretch to say the book changed my life and totally changed the the way my house turned out. When I look at my house designs prior to discovering this resource I find them laughable and unimaginitive. Almost every aspect of my house is a direct result of the advice in that book. The book is "A Pattern Language", by Christopher Alexander, Oxford Press. If you don't have it, get it ! It will be the best $50 you ever spent toward building your house. Read the intro sections, then skip ahead to chapter 104 where it begins its discussion about house design. (the early chapters are about town/city design). One last item I might add, especially in light of your other article on books that changed your life… My house would not exist in its present form had I not read a certain book about design. It would be no stretch to say the book changed my life and totally changed the the way my house turned out. When I look at my house designs prior to discovering this resource I find them laughable and unimaginitive. Almost every aspect of my house is a direct result of the advice in that book. The book is “A Pattern Language”, by Christopher Alexander, Oxford Press. If you don’t have it, get it ! It will be the best $50 you ever spent toward building your house. Read the intro sections, then skip ahead to chapter 104 where it begins its discussion about house design. (the early chapters are about town/city design).

]]> Comment on I want to live here by Gary Zukerhttp://www.homesteadphd.com/2011/04/i-want-to-live-here/comment-page-1/#comment-1489 Gary Zuker Fri, 06 May 2011 14:07:27 +0000 http://www.homesteadphd.com/?p=397#comment-1489 Angie, the general advice to have the foundation 2 feet above grade is to provide protection from "rising damp and rain splash". By rain splash they don't mean "wind driven rain", but rain that drips off the edge of the roof of drip on to a puddle on the ground then splashes up on to the wall. These kind of water problems tend to occur every time it rains, so over time they will keep the wall wet or erode it away.The "rising damp" is a more difficult issue. How high your foundation must be depends on your particular climate, the soil moisture content, site drainage, and how much your foundation rocks might "wick" the water up. It is also possible to put a water/vapor barrier between the foundation and the cob as long as both sides of the walls allow for good air circulation.Whether you actually need 2 feet between the berm/foundation and the cob just depends on the particulars. If rain splash is not an issue, and you have good site drainage, and water/vapor barrier, then you may not really need 2 feet. Angie, the general advice to have the foundation 2 feet above grade is to provide protection from “rising damp and rain splash”. By rain splash they don’t mean “wind driven rain”, but rain that drips off the edge of the roof of drip on to a puddle on the ground then splashes up on to the wall. These kind of water problems tend to occur every time it rains, so over time they will keep the wall wet or erode it away.

The “rising damp” is a more difficult issue. How high your foundation must be depends on your particular climate, the soil moisture content, site drainage, and how much your foundation rocks might “wick” the water up. It is also possible to put a water/vapor barrier between the foundation and the cob as long as both sides of the walls allow for good air circulation.

Whether you actually need 2 feet between the berm/foundation and the cob just depends on the particulars. If rain splash is not an issue, and you have good site drainage, and water/vapor barrier, then you may not really need 2 feet.

]]> Comment on I want to live here by Angiehttp://www.homesteadphd.com/2011/04/i-want-to-live-here/comment-page-1/#comment-1487 Angie Fri, 06 May 2011 04:17:36 +0000 http://www.homesteadphd.com/?p=397#comment-1487 Gary, thanks for the input. I've come across that quote in my reading as well. Everything I have read has been very insistent that cob must be kept dry. Most recommendations suggest a foundation that extends at least two feet above the ground. What isn't clear to me is whether this two foot buffer space would also be sufficient on a bermed wall. For instance, could you berm the North side of the house with the cob portion of the wall beginning two feet above the upper level of the berm? The below ground portion of the wall would need to be built with a material that can withstand both the inevitable moisture and the pressure from the weight of the berm. I have not yet found any examples of a bermed structure that uses cob in any portion of its construction so, if such a hybrid is possible, we would likely have to figure out all the logistics for ourselves. Luckily, we have plenty of time - we don't a building site or even know what state we would build in yet. Gary, thanks for the input. I’ve come across that quote in my reading as well. Everything I have read has been very insistent that cob must be kept dry. Most recommendations suggest a foundation that extends at least two feet above the ground. What isn’t clear to me is whether this two foot buffer space would also be sufficient on a bermed wall. For instance, could you berm the North side of the house with the cob portion of the wall beginning two feet above the upper level of the berm? The below ground portion of the wall would need to be built with a material that can withstand both the inevitable moisture and the pressure from the weight of the berm. I have not yet found any examples of a bermed structure that uses cob in any portion of its construction so, if such a hybrid is possible, we would likely have to figure out all the logistics for ourselves. Luckily, we have plenty of time – we don’t a building site or even know what state we would build in yet.

]]> Comment on I want to live here by Gary Zukerhttp://www.homesteadphd.com/2011/04/i-want-to-live-here/comment-page-1/#comment-1486 Gary Zuker Fri, 06 May 2011 02:02:40 +0000 http://www.homesteadphd.com/?p=397#comment-1486 Angie, something I discovered in the historical writings about cob is that it needs to be protected from "rising damp and rain splash". The olde saying was "Give Cob a good hat and a good pair of boots, and it'll last forever". If it doesn't stay dry, the straw fibers decay into a mush. So you might want to rethink putting the cob walls next to the moist earth. Angie, something I discovered in the historical writings about cob is that it needs to be protected from “rising damp and rain splash”. The olde saying was “Give Cob a good hat and a good pair of boots, and it’ll last forever”.
If it doesn’t stay dry, the straw fibers decay into a mush. So you might want to rethink putting the cob walls next to the moist earth.

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]]> Comment on Eating local in winter just got a little easier by citypixiehttp://www.homesteadphd.com/2010/01/eating-local-in-winter-just-got-a-little-easier/comment-page-1/#comment-69 citypixie Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:59:37 +0000 http://www.homesteadphd.com/?p=285#comment-69 I saw your reply on http://greenbabyguide.com/2010/02/03/book-review-and-giveaway-super-baby-food/ -- if you are looking for easy to follow ideas, I blog weekly at citybaby.posterous.com.My focus is seasonal, easy, nutritious. I also have a fan page on Facebook that links to the blog if you're interested in following along that way. http://www.facebook.com/pages/citybaby-a-blog-about-baby-food/180130750926?ref=ts I saw your reply on http://greenbabyguide.com/2010/02/03/book-review-and-giveaway-super-baby-food/ — if you are looking for easy to follow ideas, I blog weekly at citybaby.posterous.com.

My focus is seasonal, easy, nutritious. I also have a fan page on Facebook that links to the blog if you’re interested in following along that way. http://www.facebook.com/pages/citybaby-a-blog-about-baby-food/180130750926?ref=ts

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