Are you ready to build? Having just completed a workshop with the California Institute for Earth Art and Architecture (www.CalEarth.org) we can answer with a resounding "YES!"
The wonders of Super Adobe:
Charlie and I slept in this exact one for our first week at Cal Earth.
The "Eco-Dome" can be built & finished by 4 people in about 9 weeks. It is 400 sq. ft. and this particular model cost just under $5,000 to construct and finish. Add more helpful hands and reclaimed construction materials to significantly reduce build time and cost.
Looking for something closer to a "normal" home. Check out the roughly 2,200 sq. ft. Earth One.
What is Superadobe?
These are tubes of sandbag material filled with 90% Earth from the building site and 10% cement. Between the bags is a single line of 4 point barbed wire. Can it withstand the Elements? When tested for Earthquake resilience by the city of Hesperia, California, the Hesperia Building Official said: "The buildings were stronger than the testing equipment." Fire doesn't burn Earth. Wind can't lift this home. Water is a risk for unstabilized, open-air Superadobe bags (shown above), but stabilizing with 7%-12% cement and properly maintaining a waterproof membrane will ensure a home for the next couple generations to grow up in.
Needless to say, the Cultural Recyclists are excited about this new technology and experience. I am seriously considering building a ~150 sq. ft. home for myself back in PA (it's all part of a Plan to be elaborated on in a future post).
Keep dreaming my dear readers. As we have found out, with enough faith and determination, they might just come true one day...
Yours Truely,
Will
Awesome!! I would love to help you build a house! I'm starting to run and have been cycling over an hour on a stationary bike about every other day. Are y'all still in California then?
Posted by: Chrisromain.blogspot.com | 02/28/2011 at 02:03 PM
We are! Just finished up the workshop and are heading now to Joshua Tree where this woman Lisa is working on a double eco-dome! So we're going to get hands-on right away! I would love to see you again man, its been much too long! Hope things are well back in Kansas! Bless you brother!
Charlie
Posted by: Cultural Recyclists | 03/01/2011 at 10:35 PM
Hey guys... good stuff! I would love to help build one of these in PA. Always been interested in sustainable building, I do plaster and paint now. Give a holler when you're ready to do it! JanelClement on Facebook. :)
Posted by: Janel | 03/06/2011 at 12:49 PM
Indeed, workshops help a lot to enhance skills, or if not enhance, gain additional skills.
http://www.sinanitos.com
Posted by: Account Deleted | 08/02/2011 at 03:24 AM