El Rowlatt

Great thread, Vera!

Great house!  Thanks for sharing your progress, and I can't wait to see what you do this year!

One question: whereabouts are you? I ask because I've been warned away from cob for southern Canada, but you seem to have worked through cob's heat-loss issues with the split wood. Is that so?

Chris, Mike, Richard -

The permafrost line is north of my area and moving pole-ward every year; I don't think that will be an issue. I will have to look into the nature of liquefying soils, though, as I can't say whether or not that's what is in my valley from looking at it.

Thank you guys very much. I'm going to return to this thread when I've digested your comments , and I appreciate the time you gave to sharing your knowledge.

El

Awesome suggestion for heating water! Thank you!

I'm thinking of building with wofati principles in southern Yukon, which turns out to be an area where earthquakes occur more often than in the middle of the continent.

Does anyone have any thoughts about what sort of safety features could be usefully incorporated into a wofati design in an earthquake zone?

It seems ridiculous to contemplate building underground in an area where the earth itself is unstable, but having great insulation is a major bonus for the sub-Arctic and I'm reluctant to give it up.

Thank you, and Happy New Year
El

Hi

You've likely already sourced this, but in case you haven't, you might want to take a look at Mike Oehler's Earth Sheltered Greenhouse Book (Mole Publishing, 2007).

Cheers

Hi

Here's a website for phenology in Canada:  https://www.naturewatch.ca/plantwatch/

They're not making the links to guide gardeners yet, but it's a start.

Cheers
El

Hi, Pat

Did you end up building a RMH in Whitehorse?  My daughter and her partner live there, and I'm seriously thinking of emigrating. If you did, may I ask - how did it go with insurance?  

Thanks

Ah, I am sorry to hear this. Mike Oehler and his design genius turned the idea of a Hobbit house into an achievable dream for me.

May he rest in peace.