good news

[goshawk at gnat.net]

Well as you all may  remember my strawbale storage burned down a 
little over a week ago.  I have now picked out a spot to build our 
cob octagon house. Ok I've never actually build a house, only a 
storage "barn". I guess it's time to move up in the world. If you 
folks can bear with me and throw some feed back my way or slap me if 
I get too far from reality.
1. right now I got a guy with a back hoe coming down and combined 
with my chain saw will cut a path to the site (being gentle of 
course) We will level the site and might have hime dig the septic 
tank hole as well. (unless anyone as any comparative costing 
alternatives. 
2. I will bring out a dump truck of gravel and fill in the bottom of 
the footings with the gravel, then using cement and granite rocks and 
cement begin making a stem wall. From what I understand it should be 
three inches greater of each side of the cob wall. I live in a hot 
summer / mild winter (still some below freezing weather). I thought 
of  18 inch thick wall. Sound good? too thick?
3. how high should I make the rock stem walls? Is one foot above 
grade too high (or can you be too high).
4. Window and doors. Can you still use headers like in regualar 
construction?  
5. The floor. I am thinking of a wood floor off the ground with a 
crawl space under house to run electic wires and plumbing. If I was 
doing an adobe floor would these thing be imbedded in the floor?
6 let me know anything I should pay close attention to while drawing 
up plans. 
Thanks 
Pat.
"If you don't have enouph madness in you, go and rehabilitate yourself" - Rumi