Homestead in N.E. Georgia

I'm new to this forum but not new to the idea of building the way many of you folks are talking about. We have land in N.E. Cherokee County, Ga. and want to build what's called a "high thermal mass" home. We have studied some of the other techniques and are most pleased with HTM construction. Our ideal is to have most of the house underground on a concrete slab with stacked & poured concrete block walls, a "framed with timbers" sloped roof (at near ground level at it's lowest point) with a full southerly exposure with all glass walls/roof, and other climate controlling techniques, like a greenhouse might have.

The ideas are not ours but came from some folks who built their 1st HTM house at the 8500' level in the Colorado Rocky's. It's sturdy, solid, and has all kinds of options, just 1 of which is the slab with pipe inside to circulate H2O or cooled / warmed air. If you're interested in looking at this idea, search "Colorado High Thermal Mass Home" (sorry, I'm a fossil and not savvy enough to attach the link here) to check it out.

We intend to do most of the work ourselves and, of course, will have to deal with permits and convincing the County that this is a sound building idea and not some "fly-by-night" scheme. We will use an architect and work with the County to assure them we're not out to lunch. I think our biggest concern is the size. We're told (and it may be listed on our deed paperwork, not sure) that we must build a minimum 1,000 square-foot residence. We'll have to see if we can work around that as for just the two of us (kids are already gone and making grands) 6 months out of the year, we don't need that much house...not with 6 acres, huge trees, a full-time creek, and no level ground to enjoy and be innovative with!

Anyway, that's the plan. Lord willing, that will work. ; )

My name is James Hurst..We just ran into your posts about cob and earthen homes today. My wife and I just recently bought land in Thomson ga which is real close to you. We have tons of questions for you. For now I will ask just the basics if you would be so kind to answer for us? Could you tell us how to find the cob building codes for McDuffie county, and have you run into any problems with the local codes? We would also like to do some sort of labor exchange.
Just a brief history, we bought 10 acres like I said in Thomson. The property is owner financed so we ill still have to work part time somewhere. The property has a well on it and...nothing but pines..thats it..
We plan on moving in the next few weeks. We will also be living in a tent until our house is done. Any advice and or help in our endeavor would be most appreciated.

I originally posted this for Doug BUT...if anyone in the forum can help me please feel free to contact me.(killinpapa@aol.com) thank you all and good luck

LIVE LONG AND PROSPER
James & Heather

Well, I'm in southeast Georgia, and was hoping to find someone else from my neck of the woods on this thread but so far, everybody checking in is up in the north end. I've just recently started exploring the idea of building with cob. I really like the part about it being cheap and SO customizable. I don't have land to build on yet, but some day I will. I have some of the same concerns as most of you, namely getting an inspector to pass an unconventional house, and having to pay through the nose for an engineer or architect. Anyway, if anybody comes along from south Georgia or north Florida, (we're in Charlton County), who has built or is building with cob, I'd like to connect with you and learn about your experience, and maybe offer a helping hand.

James and Heather Hurst wrote:My name is James Hurst..We just ran into your posts about cob and earthen homes today. My wife and I just recently bought land in Thomson ga which is real close to you. We have tons of questions for you. For now I will ask just the basics if you would be so kind to answer for us? Could you tell us how to find the cob building codes for McDuffie county, and have you run into any problems with the local codes? We would also like to do some sort of labor exchange.
Just a brief history, we bought 10 acres like I said in Thomson. The property is owner financed so we ill still have to work part time somewhere. The property has a well on it and...nothing but pines..thats it..
We plan on moving in the next few weeks. We will also be living in a tent until our house is done. Any advice and or help in our endeavor would be most appreciated.

I originally posted this for Doug BUT...if anyone in the forum can help me please feel free to contact me.(killinpapa@aol.com) thank you all and good luck

LIVE LONG AND PROSPER
James & Heather

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Just a side note I wanted to update...I took my tent back and just picked up a 24 ft coachman rv..for the same price as the tent $400.00 what a deal. At least we don't have to dig a outhouse and build a shower right away.

Just found this thread, thanks to Rich....

anyone who wants to come by and help, look, or whatever....
I'm in NE Ga near Toccoa

There is a meetup group in UpState SC that's getting into Natural Building: http://www.meetup.com/naturalbuilders/
that has a Georgia addition

James and Heather I tried to email but go no answer. We are in middle GA getting ready to start cobbing we should chat and that goes for anyone else close by I live in Lyons GA we have built a cob bath and have started a cob oven my email is daisy_34236@yahoo.com

I am in Carrollton in west central Georgia. My husband and I have been dreaming of building a home here using natural building methods and have taken a couple cob workshops. However, we remain unsure about how cob or other natural materials will function in this climate. We'd love to go see some natural buildings in this region, hear about people's experiences with cob and earthbags, etc., and possibly participate in others' building projects. We're dying to know more about the cob house mentioned earlier in this thread. We visited the strawbale house that is east of Atlanta. It is beautiful. And huge! We are planning on building something much smaller and with passive solar design. Anyway, I just joined the permies forums and was excited to find this thread about natural building in Georgia.

Cheers,
Annie and Jeff

My hubby and I live in the burbs of Decatur and are seriously considering in the next couple of year, buying some land and building an earth home. We are still researching our options with different building techniques and would love any advice or words of wisdom from other georgians. Also is there anyone who had completed their home projects that would be willing to allow us to see their home. We have seen pictures online but would love to see some homes in person.
Thanks
Nafeesa

I dont think this thread is active anymore but what a shame... I am from Southeast Georgia thinking about how to build my dream natural home and I cannot decide between strawbale or earthbag. I like the low cost and diy factor of earthbag but i just love strawbale and i have been studying it for a while now. Actually i would go for strawbale without a qualm BUT where i live is extremely hot and humid and i have heard that the humidity will cause problems. I have been searching trying to find either strawbale or earthbag houses where i live, to see how they've held up, and nothing is showing up which makes me concerned that they just don't turn out well where i am. If anyone from a hot & humid climate has any natural building advice, i would gladly take it!!
Thanks y'all,
Stella🦋

Doug, I appreciate your early progress reports. If you're out there, I'd love to know if you every completed your water tower and, if so, how it's performing.

I'm considering a similar approach here in South Central Kansas.  

Hello all. newbie here hoping to give this thread a bump and some new life. I am in N GA and I may be building soon. Anybody in the area purusuig this currently?

I would like to start out that I was the most holy person to ever walk the earth. I have three people coming with me, I would like to say we are homeless community some housed some not. I am housed but am choosing a earth bag home for now for me and these people. Was thinking of two two bedrooms. Is this possible in very near future, we're ready anytime, coming from Lafayette Indiana. Have a blessed day