Diane Maldonado wrote:Could you talk a little about building to code or do you recommend building somewhere where laws are less strict? Do you cover this information in your book?
The book does have a chapter about dealing with building codes. The gist of it is that earthbag building has not generally been addressed in most building codes. This does not mean that you can't do it; it just means that you might have to jump through more hoops to be able to do it legally. Many jurisdictions will require a state-licensed architect or engineer to stamp the plans as being safe and meeting the intent of the code requirements. This can add considerably to the time and expense of a project. It is definitely easier to build where there are no codes, or they are much less stringent; this is what I did when I built my earthbag house in Colorado.
