Lucky Smith

arianna higginstwo wrote:"Right to farm" : wait WUHhh?? So you can have two buildings on one parcel of land in a residential area?? I dont believe it. Although Id *love* to believe it. I can have a small dedicated building for a home business which would be cool

Arianna, you would need a property zoned agriculture or have a farming exemption on the property.

Thank you all for your responses. I am definitely interested in going to a workshop. As for me, I have mostly resolved to leave Florida for Tennessee. There are several counties in TN that have no building codes so you can do whatever you want. Sounds like that is far less of a headache.

Mart Hale wrote:I have been playing with making aircrete,     I have made an aircrete rocket L tube.  

I have seen that there are also domes going up.        Don't remember where....

I have interest in domes, I like to follow Aircrete harry on youtube.

I saw Aircrete Harry's method and it is similar to the Monolithic Dome folks who sell even more complex molds (but use a different concrete product). My impression of the method was that it was quick and easy but you would have thicker walls/insulation using blocks or form molds. I'm no expert so I could be wrong.

I recently purchased the online course from Tiny Giant Life and I really like the course. Most lessons are broken into 15-20 minute bites. The first two structures are built using home made molds. I believe he also builds one with blocks but I haven't gotten to that part yet. (This guy also has a YouTube)

Hi all,
I am interested in building a home with alternative building techniques in Florida (northern or central). I have a few questions and was hoping I could find some answers from this awesome community.

1) Permitting, Building Codes, Code Enforcement - This is my biggest concern at the moment. Florida has a Right to Farm law that allows you to erect any non-residential structure without a permit. Florida also has laws that allow you to be your own contractor for your residence. As far as I can tell Florida counties can not opt-out of state building codes as some other states allow.

I would like to avoid attention as much as possible and getting myself on the local government's hit list is undesirable.

Does anyone have any knowledge of which Florida counties would be friendly to alternative building?

2) Tropical Structure Design - Has anybody built an Earthship or dome structure in Florida? I have seen the YouTube video of the Earthship in Florida but they hired the Earthship builders to come complete it. The project has been going for several years.  

After much research I believe the best solution for me would be Aircrete domes. I think berming on the north side of the domes and adding earth tubes may help with cooling. The biggest concern is moisture and mold/mildew.

I think it would be possible to design a "filter" at the end of the earth tube exit that contains salt to create a natural dehumidifier. I also read that clay walls would absorb the moisture. I do plan on having modern amenities available but want to be prepared for all contingencies.

Anybody out there doing this stuff in Florida?

3) Mosquitos and other pests - How do you keep the various bugs and critters away from your living spaces naturally? I read there are several plants that keep mosquitos away. Has anyone found something effective at keeping the bitey bugs at bay?

Thanks all. If nobody else has the answers I will probably be finding out the hard way and posting about it in the future!