PEP Badge: Natural Building

This badge is about building big things.    Build experiences with several styles of natural building that work in a cold climate, with the grand finale being a wofati.


Sand Badge

(under construction)


(“lloyd list”) do 3 of the following:
  - create 12 adobe bricks 12x6x3
  - make a natural paint and paint a 4x8 area
  - use low grade cob to fill between logs in a wofati - 20 feet
  - create a rock foundation under a skiddable structure
        o to level the structure
  - add 25 square feet of roof (cedar shakes or similar style of wood roof) to a skiddable structure



Straw Badge

(under construction)

Wood Badge

(under construction)

Iron Badge

build a wofati and live in it for a winter

  - sleeping space (twin size or larger)
  - rocket wood cook stove (rocket badge)
  - rocket oven (rocket badge)
  - a sink-like place to wash dishes
  - place to store food and related kitchen gear
  - area on top of wofati is fully planted
  - place to sit and eat for four people (from woodworking badges)
  - willow feeder can be a separate structure (willow feeder badge)
  - minimum of 200 square feet interior
  - cob floor
  - one magnificent thing
        o round door
              - well insulated (so, at least 8 inches thick)
              - at least 6 feet in diameter
              - hinge point is outside of the door
              - latch mechanism is in direct center of door
        o taller structure with a magnificent loft space
        o working with art and/or oddly shaped round wood
              - the amount of work is clearly as much (or more) than making a magnificent round door
              - “art” is difficult to measure.  good chance that the evaluator might say “more”
        o 600 square feet
        o double deck
              - 10 foot eave instead of 5 foot eave
        o indoor bathroom
              - shower
              - willow feeder
              - sink
  - must be a door and window on the uphill side, and another door and window on the downhill side
  - mouse tight (mice cannot get in)
  - doors have wood hinges
  - uphill and downhill walls are super insulated
        o straw bale
        o slip straw
        o double wall
              - possibly with one or more bee hives
  - structure must be 100% complete by october 15.   “live in it for a winter” means october 15 to march 20
    with being gone for no more than 7 days.  (online daily selfie photo journal including inside and outside temp?)

A couple of things I can think of, though I do not know where to put them, is in making a beam out of wood by hand. I made 10 beams in my old house before I got my sawmill...

I have also built many things out of dry laid rock. A rock wall, rock check dam, etc could be useful on a homestead???

For an intermediate project what about a dog house built log cabin/Straw bale/Cob/Earth Berm, etc??? I know a lot of people do not consider a dog house much of an undertaken until they actually build one. They have a lot of details in them, and take a fair amount of time to do right.

Travis, stuff about prepping a log to be used for things is in woodland care.

drystack stuff is in earthworks.

I'm going to try and paste in some of my notes about natural building to see if that helps ...





brainstorming bits and bobs ….

cob wall
cob bench
outdoor cob structure that can handle rain
tipi poles?
thatch roof
wattle and daub
adobe bricks
compressed earth block
(sand)Use adobe bricks and/or CEB to build something, like a medium doghouse or a bench.
(wood)Build arch form and incorporate adobe arch into a project  (garden wall etc)
(wood)Build adobe RMH. have a fire in it within 2 days of beginning construction (not including adobe drying time)
(iron)Build adobe vault, without centering (no forms, using nubian method)

rammed earth
lath and plaster
natural paint
Spoil milk and make milk paint and use it to paint something
Make limewash and use it to paint something
Make clay based paint and use it
green roof stuff
Build a living roof with membrane and compost and straw
reciprocating roof on a dog house or small shed
Reciprocating roofs are cool but kinda useless compared to a shed roof or gable
reciprocating roof on an outdoor classroom
cedar shake roof on round wood
Round Pole rafters on a shed or gable rectilinear building with bender board sheathing
dry stack foundation
rubble-trench foundation
passive solar
Build passive solar hybrid  building (cob/bales or light-straw/round pole/bales, etc) 10x20 or larger
glass bottles with cob
2 ways, bottles in cob, as the wall is built and carve out to add bottles after
building a shower
Plaster shower with waterproof earth or lime layers.
creating clay tiles
log building
tiny house on a trailer
Tiny house on skids
natural insulation material
Slip straw
Slip chip
Lime/wool
Lime based concrete or mortar

building with pegs
Small timber-frame
building with lashing

Sawdust-lime insulation


Build tiny cob or cob hybrid (light straw in framing or bale, etc) cottage or wofati, 200 sqft. Roof it, install earthen or stone or log end floor, plaster it inside and out and spend a winter in it.



and here are some wild notes on straw badge so far:

omplete all the BBs in the “lloyd list”

build a tiny shed on skids I would suggest “Build a Tiny Straw Shed”
6 feet wide and 3 feet deep
hold one garbage can
hold one sand barrel (for winter traction)
hold one recycling can
maybe a shovel or two
maybe offer power and/or water
has a bench built in to the back side so people can sit under the roof



and wood badge so far:

home made cement
straw bale wall in a wofati
at least 10 feet long
at least 8 feet tall
plaster both sides
hang a door
wood hinges

freezer wofati

cob floor
at least 100 square feet

home made wood ash cement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP0t2MmOMEA
build one of the following:
5 gallon plant pot
5 gallon water trough
combination bird bath and insect watering station
3 flow form water aerators

tree house

wattle and daub wall for a berm shed
at least 8 feet wide
at least 7 feet tall
can include a door and a window
Plaster and weatherproof




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I think there is about six hours of work to go here.

Here is the rough document so far

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zb4Vg4hdHaT7oo80uhubxUbM-Yh9-6FyKja86z8Uvng/edit?usp=sharing

if you give me your google accounts email address I will give you "suggest" access to the document - this will allow you to make line-by-line suggestions, among other things.