Hi Sara,
I am just building my house now and I know you wanted someone who built 2 years ago, but I see no one else is responding... so I will let you know our plans. What are yours?
I'll be following to see if experienced builders weigh in. I have
books and have researched for years, but there's nothing like first-hand experience, and I'd also love to hear how it went for folks (non-experts)!
We plan to use on-site earth with amendments needed based on our earth type. For us that likely means we will be bringing in more clay-like dirt to mix with our sandy soil. We will also be mixing in horse manure for the
straw, since it is way plentiful here. We are still testing to figure out our recipe. But it's kind of irrelevant because it will be something like "2 parts of our on-site dirt to 1 part of the dirt we brought in with more clay, plus 1/2 part horse manure" -- not replicable by anyone else. I think you can't get around testing your own materials and figuring out your recipes based on your materials & climate, etc.
Our earth plaster thickness will vary because our walls are extremely irregular (tire bales), but it will be a minimum of 1-1/2" thick.
For exterior we will amend with lime or portland cement...
The rest I can't answer based on planning since they are questions about results -- but I predict that it will take extremely long, and that it will be enjoyable (at least at times and in the overall sense of satisfaction) but also will be too much work! Just predictions based on other building work we've been doing. My wondering is whether we will really feel like we can complete that huge task ourselves, or will hire helpers. I think that once we have prepared materials and are ready for the application, a 3-person team sounds ideal (material mixer, applyer, and finisher). So that would hopefully mean me, my husband, and a third person / rotating helper friends &/or hired help. We plan to use a toolcrete sprayer, and we bought a used mixer from a neighbor.
Good luck with your
project!
