My husband and I bought some land and dug a 1,000 square foot basement, 8' deep on the high side of the hill and about 3' above the wash (dry until it really rains!) on the shallow end. The deep corner its the southeast corner, shallow on the west (at the wash) and about 4' deep on the north. My husband left me soon after and i left it alone, but now I'm working on a cob house (i finally found an answer better than a dilapidated) trailer. I have 2 walls dug, I'm thinking (not the best sides I know) and its been sitting for 7 years without sliding. I have something that looks like bamboo but the Cherokee tell me its not and they told me the Cherokee name, but I forgot. I know its clay, and quite athiest as it its because a neighbor got his trac-hoe and dumped "dirt" in our driveway to make it drivable and assured us it would wash away after the first rain. But that never happened. Every rain floods over the dirt in the driveway but the dirt was still there until a friend "fixed it" 7 years later.
Anyway I'm thinking i could build a cob house in the deep corner of the cob house. It stays dry after floods, although I know I'd need a drain for the hillside. I'm studying, but I've never done anything like this before. I'm on my own, can't find anyone to help. But I've got some rock, something like bamboo, a whole lot of clay with pebbles and rocks, and a basement. I'm only planning on about 100-200 square foot since its just me. So can I build in this basement (always in the shade). Any advise would be nice!
