Building with dirt.

[Meketrefe]

Lets say we have a piece of land that is a bit secluded and we want to build a little bit of a safe-heaven there.
Also we want a construction that is robust but we do not want to spend a fortune.
Something that could provide good shelter and/or easy to make structure for a storage building.

We have several options:

• Use a prefabricated setup. This could be temporary anyway.
• Go underground. It brings a set of complications.
• Old container system. These could also go underground.
• Hearth bag/tire/bottle building. I see lots of benefits for a long term and strong solution.

One could also use a combination of any of the above and resort the more traditional methods at least as a temporary solution
but I wanted to gather people's thoughts around earth building. Also in the area there is no shortage of clay that mixed
with sand is a great way to use local resources.

Here a few examples...

Also I have been thinking that the hesco type of structure would be very convenient for a temporary unit and later to
be used as storage or something else.

One could use the gabion system with rocks find in the terrain but also use the gabion to create a DIY hasco type
of method. This will allow to put a structure up in one weekend or two depending on the resources and machinery.

Thoughts?

[24Pink14Stink]

Great use of resources, low cost, significant amount of labor involved. Lead resistant. Sounds like a fun project. I'll have to document the pole barn I'm building.

[Norm DeGuerre]

Containers are soooo cheap per sq ft, and decently secure compared to wooden structures
be aware the wooden floor will be loaded with pesticides

[Meketrefe]

Great use of resources, low cost, significant amount of labor involved. Lead resistant. Sounds like a fun project. I'll have to document the pole barn I'm building.

Well the labor is relative. It depends what you do. A DIY hesco type of structure one could do with a bobcat/tractor loader over a couple of weekends w/o a lot of labor.
Once the main structure is up then it is a matter of what kind of installations and finishing one wants. I would like the idea to take advantage of a small slope to build a
semi-burried structure. Some build very nice homes like that. ...I think they call them earthships..
the key is to have something very dry so one needs to put some rubber insulation and drainage and raise the floor with stone before putting the final flooring.
All that water can go into a cistern for later use.

[24Pink14Stink]

Well the labor is relative. It depends what you do. A DIY hesco type of structure one could do with a bobcat/tractor loader over a couple of weekends w/o a lot of labor.
Once the main structure is up then it is a matter of what kind of installations and finishing one wants. I would like the idea to take advantage of a small slope to build a
semi-burried structure. Some build very nice homes like that. ...I think they call them earthships..
the key is to have something very dry so one needs to put some rubber insulation and drainage and raise the floor with stone before putting the final flooring.
All that water can go into a cistern for later use.

Yeah, like you said in your initial post - depending on resources/machinery available.

The hesco idea is a great concept and utilizing sloped ground males sense for all kinds of reasons - insulation, drainage...

[Meketrefe]

Yeah, like you said in your initial post - depending on resources/machinery available.

The hesco idea is a great concept and utilizing sloped ground males sense for all kinds of reasons - insulation, drainage...

Insulation is not needed. The earth gives the best insulation there is. They key is to have some good water barrier and pickup
the water with some stone and drain at the bottom. The blocks are more for estructural purposes as a cheap way using a combination
of the gabion and diy hesco. If one burries some sides however I would put a dead's man support that one can easily link to the
gabion using rebar iron and maybe a bit of concrete just for that section. A 4/5 inch pvc pipe could be also use to create a deads man
support and at the same time encase some smaller pipe for utility lines.

In our summer house we built a nice shelter in the land and a covered patio using a back wall made of granite in the bed rock behind, then some of the loose
rocks as extra support and walls and then old rail road ties to build the support for the outdoor patio that is roofed half the way.
We didn't use the gabion and instead the traditional granite wall building techniques based on a structure was already there probably
from the 1,300's or before. You know... legos for stone fans.
The cabin has 12x22 ft and it has a kitchen, a storage area and a place to hang a hamack or later put a bunk bed if you want.
the nice thing is because it is built on one side supported by the granite wall it is very nice in the hot summer days even it is facing south.
We have lots of trees on top of the slope too. A few chesnut trees!
For water we have a natural water spring so all we do is pump it into a plastic cistern for pressure but you can drink out of the open spring.
I need to find some pics. I have them somewhere.

The software seems to be freezing again. Frustrating.

[usmcveteran]

Any new thoughts?

[Meketrefe]

I was thinking the tires could be used to build an underground sooting gallery using trenches as lanes and then have a small 45 degree open roof for venting. All year bench and prone rifle alley. 200 yards?