So glad I found your channel. I’m building an earthbag structure and will be putting in an earthen floor. So much trial and error, but a cheat code (others experience) is best
Bravo, bravo... love the floors! I have been dappling in the study of earthen structures for a long time. Time moves so fast! I have only had one Adobe ( natural bricks) without and modern moisture controls. It had to thin walls for my taste. It was 3000 square feet. The floors were sand flagstone. These days, as a very senior ... senior DIY'er, Cob is calling me. Ramed earth... to much machinery and organization is required. So with an extreamly simplicity, I am plotting on a small 600 square foot structure. One with clay titles fired in an on-site earthen pit. I hope to gain vicarious knowledge from your excellent video's. Thank you...
You'll love it! No machinery required, thicker walls are possible, and the floors came out amazing! We ended up doing 3 layers, and I'll be posting more of that process over the coming months. Very happy with the final result, and they were actually put in 2 years ago and still going strong/well! Thank you for joining me here, and best of luck with your project!
floor does not need to be watered or cleaned. This is the first layer, there are two more layers left. After that, it is sealed with tung oil, which creates a water-resistant barrier. The result is like a concrete floor, only breathable and natural
Hi, you’ve probably already gone over this. But around how much did you save for the land and how much have you spent so far. I really want to do this and already have a ton of work I’ve done with permaculture and on the green side. I’m pretty locked into the city right now but did you have a house before that you used the money from selling that? Also in the area you live, do you feel like you have a good community? My fiancé wants to do this as well but that’s one of her biggest thoughts
Hi Luke! great questions! We bought land for about 20k. We saved up for about a year and a half to cover that plus immigration fees, and enough living expenses for 3 years. We lived super simply. Our rent was between 150-200/month, small space, no hot water, leaky roof, only cooking at home.. we cut as much as we possibly could so I could put it into the first year of the house. Then when the savings ran out, I found online work and work online at nights and during the rainy season (no building during that time), which allowed me to save enough to build for 5 months a year. I cut lots of costs also by being my own architect, engineer, and project manager and teaching my workers how to do each step vs hiring out people who already know these things. I spent a lot more money than I needed to because I made so many mistakes and had to gut out different parts of the house and redo several times. Our ceilings are also very high so that makes it more costly and time consuming. But, a reasonable house of maybe 800 sq ft, between 2 people, if you know how to DIY it, can costs anywhere between 20k-60k, depending on your design, materials, what fixtures you choose, etc.! You can make it super affordable or as complicated as you want, and depends on the costs of materials near you too!
So glad I found your channel. I’m building an earthbag structure and will be putting in an earthen floor. So much trial and error, but a cheat code (others experience) is best
Yes!! 100% best when there are cheat codes!! 😆 super exciting you are building natural as well! It's a fun learning process that's worth it 😊
Great video! Wow, such a big difference in the two walls for when you used more sand.. good to note!
Thank u!! Yes!! Huge difference! But even the more cracked one has been fine with a nice lime plaster over it 😊
Bravo, bravo... love the floors! I have been dappling in the study of earthen structures for a long time. Time moves so fast! I have only had one Adobe ( natural bricks) without and modern moisture controls. It had to thin walls for my taste. It was 3000 square feet. The floors were sand flagstone.
These days, as a very senior ... senior DIY'er,
Cob is calling me. Ramed earth... to much machinery and organization is required. So with an extreamly simplicity, I am plotting on a small 600 square foot structure. One with clay titles fired in an on-site earthen pit. I hope to gain vicarious knowledge from your excellent video's. Thank you...
You'll love it! No machinery required, thicker walls are possible, and the floors came out amazing! We ended up doing 3 layers, and I'll be posting more of that process over the coming months. Very happy with the final result, and they were actually put in 2 years ago and still going strong/well! Thank you for joining me here, and best of luck with your project!
every house with a earthen floor needs a meditation room
Great videos. Trying to find one where you show making earth and tadelakt shower in bathroom. Do you have that?
I have lota of footage but havent posted yet!! Stay tuned 😊
Love it ❤
🥰🥰
What happens if you go for vacation? Will the floor start cracking if you dont water it? Or do you use a irobot wet auto clean?
floor does not need to be watered or cleaned. This is the first layer, there are two more layers left. After that, it is sealed with tung oil, which creates a water-resistant barrier. The result is like a concrete floor, only breathable and natural
Where abouts is the videos for the other layers please?
Not uploaded yet!
Hi, you’ve probably already gone over this. But around how much did you save for the land and how much have you spent so far. I really want to do this and already have a ton of work I’ve done with permaculture and on the green side. I’m pretty locked into the city right now but did you have a house before that you used the money from selling that? Also in the area you live, do you feel like you have a good community? My fiancé wants to do this as well but that’s one of her biggest thoughts
Hi Luke! great questions! We bought land for about 20k. We saved up for about a year and a half to cover that plus immigration fees, and enough living expenses for 3 years. We lived super simply. Our rent was between 150-200/month, small space, no hot water, leaky roof, only cooking at home.. we cut as much as we possibly could so I could put it into the first year of the house. Then when the savings ran out, I found online work and work online at nights and during the rainy season (no building during that time), which allowed me to save enough to build for 5 months a year. I cut lots of costs also by being my own architect, engineer, and project manager and teaching my workers how to do each step vs hiring out people who already know these things. I spent a lot more money than I needed to because I made so many mistakes and had to gut out different parts of the house and redo several times. Our ceilings are also very high so that makes it more costly and time consuming. But, a reasonable house of maybe 800 sq ft, between 2 people, if you know how to DIY it, can costs anywhere between 20k-60k, depending on your design, materials, what fixtures you choose, etc.! You can make it super affordable or as complicated as you want, and depends on the costs of materials near you too!
Can mice and rats dig in?
They do not! The top layer (video coming soon) is a hardening layer, it seals the floor naturally with tung oil.