Semi underground house build

Adam, cob bricks were used long before the communists were around. I expect the local communiyt had been using them long before the communists arrived.
cob is a very practical material.

Mart Hale wrote:Growing up we lived in a basement that was 1/2 way out of the ground.

The biggest thing I would suggest is MAKE SURE that you have good drainage...      we put in drainage pipe and it clogged,  each spring when the snow melted we would wake with 1/2 inch of ice cold water on the floor......

That said the basement was awesome to goto when you wanted to be cool in the summer, there are real advantages of being partly underground.

Thanks for sharing your journey.

Thanks.
I'm going to dig two drains, one either side which I'm thinking of linking to a pond I want to dig down the field.
My only worry is mosquitoes as we've had an infestation this year here in our village despite it being a really dry year. Tiger mosquitoes are moving in apparently

John C Daley wrote:Adam, cob bricks were used long before the communists were around. I expect the local communiyt had been using them long before the communists arrived.
cob is a very practical material.

Hi John
I know about cob.
Most of the villages here were built in the nineteen fifties from cob brick mixed or lined with fired brick on a foundation made from stone blocks.
Our village stone came from a Roman village 3km east and a late antiquity fortress 4km west.
Before that the few mud huts with thatch roofs weren't very stable and none are here now.
The only pre communist houses are the local smiths or landowners houses built with stone...also Roman scavenged
Were half a day's march to the Roman limes at Nova ( Svishtov)

You live in an interesting area, I looked it up.
The history of building where you are is interesting, I wonder why the push in the 1950's came, was it the devistation caused by WW2?

I've removed the bark. I found it easiest to use my chainsaw after I'd tried scraper and other methods. I just skimmed them with the chainsaw then used a wood disc on my grinder,

Glenn Herbert wrote:Good on sourcing more locust beams I would strip the bark off any that are going to be exposed or you will have crumbs falling on you forever. The heartwood of locust will not rot, but the sapwood if kept moist by bark will start to rot in a few years. Bark also gives a good place for insects to live.

Thanks.
I've tried stripping bark with hand tools but resorted to using my chainsaw. That was so much easier. The finishing touches were done with a wood disc on my grinder.

Glenn Herbert wrote:Good on sourcing more locust beams I would strip the bark off any that are going to be exposed or you will have crumbs falling on you forever. The heartwood of locust will not rot, but the sapwood if kept moist by bark will start to rot in a few years. Bark also gives a good place for insects to live.

Probably too late BUt

You COULD do a sort of Shou Sugi Ban technique for preservation : char the outside then oil

Holy Toledo! What a project! What a labor of imagination, blood & sweat & tears & love!
This is just SO impressive…taking such an old broken down house & using what you can to rebuild it…rather than just tearing it down & starting over. Respect for the old bones of the house.
Thank you so much for sharing your progress! Please continue to share photos!