Rethink Your Life!
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The Work of Art and The Art of Work
Kiko Denzer on Art



[Cob] Re: Foundations

Peter Ellis dukegavin at hotmail.com
Wed Nov 2 13:20:49 CST 2005


I'm under the impression that there are buildings in use today that have 
been standing for hundreds of years on foundations built without the use of 
cement.

As for the Annualized Geo-Solar concept (which goes by more than one name), 
I think it's got to be one of the most fundamentally sound and inherently 
efficient ideas I've seen in a long time.

Peter


>From: Barbara Roemer <roemiller at infostations.net>
>To: <coblist at deatech.com>
>Subject: [Cob] Re: Foundations
>Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2005 08:12:42 -0800
>
>
>
>
>I must be missing something in the current discussion of foundations.  I
>don't want any water to move through my foundations (I'd bet that Falling
>Water overhangs the stream, and that the foundations were very well
>protected from its water) even if it were all concrete, since concrete 
>wicks
>moisture up eight stories.  Water moving through the soil is the primary
>means by which the soil beneath and surrounding your structure is cooled,
>and therefore cools your home (not to speak of erosion and undermining).
>Keeping that soil,  your foundations, and your walls dry will make your 
>home
>much more comfortable and last longer, and do it with far less cost for
>heating than damp soil.  So I think drainage is imperative, both in the
>bottom of the trench, and out from it if you have slope or moving water or
>both.
>
>Of rubble trenches, my understanding is that the rubble replaces some of 
>the
>concrete, but that the foundation still needs to be sound, and whatever
>replacement elements you use need to be bound with concrete: it supports 
>the
>walls, excludes critters and water, and in heating climates, keeps out the
>cold, to one degree or another.  To those ends, it's not advisable to use
>river stone since it doesn't lock together when it's compacted.  Crushed
>sharp stone is what you want.  For foils who want more definitive answers
>about how to do a rubble trench foundation, there's a short article and a
>great drawing in the wonderful book, "The Art of Natural Building" by 
>Joseph
>Kennedy, Michael Smith (yep, of cob wonders), and I think Dan Chiras.  The
>particular article is written by Canadian Rob Tom, the list mom on the 
>Yahoo
>straw bale list, and an expert on RT Foundations.  We used it on our straw
>bale powerhouse, and have seen it used in Northern California on many 
>sites,
>both with cob and bale.
>
>And if you want to really make your house independent of heating sources,
>give it a good solar siting and investigate the Annualized Geo-Solar system
>for excluding water from an umbrella around and under your house, and
>insulating it so the whole area serves as a heat sink for the summer's hot
>air.  It works like a thermal flywheel, releasing that heat during the cold
>season just where you need it, and at a rate that will last through the
>winter until you have natural solar heating again.  You can find info on 
>AGS
>at Don Stephens' site ( <www.greenershelter.com>  ), and a frequent
>discussion of it on the organic architecture list from natural builders who
>are using the system.
>
>
>
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