Ben Ereddia

Ok J. I've read your post on raised earth foundations about 5 times now and I think I finally get the basic ideas. Please correct me if I am wrong.
1. I could do wooden platform of some kind.
2. A better foundation for our project, if we decide to go with an earthen floor, would be gravel of some kind.

Questions surrounding number 2.
1. What type of gravel would be best?
2. How much?
3. I have read about building up flat spots with packed earth as a foundation. Do you see this as a viable option.
4. What about a combination? Gravel then rammed earth?
5. It looked like the Wariguri Chi-gyo could be constructed without anything holding it in on the sides. Correct?
6. Probably most important question, would there be a better alternative to a cob floor? Looks like tataki would do better with moisture? Limecrete? Hempcrete?


Our immediate goal is to do something that will raise the level of the barn a few inches and be clean and easy to walk on.

I am beginning to gather the importance of keeping cob dry. Our test patch has not indicated any problems yet and it gets wet regularly, but I have heard it enough to believe it.

The project is in North Georgia, There is plenty of rainfall and the surrounding ground certainly gets wet. However, under the barn, it stays quite dry. The exception is when there is a major rain event and water starts to move through the field. We have plans to set up a swale to catch that rainfall and direct it elsewhere.
Here's the barn...

And here's what happens when we camp there...

As you can see, there is no foundation at the moment, just dirt.

Hello,
I am leading a project that involves creating a useable floor in a barn. Currently the floor is uneven, dusty and dirty and occasionally gets wet during a major rain event. So we have a plan. Please stop me if I'm doing something stupid.
Our plan is to lay down some straw put two loads of fill dirt, some more straw, a load of sand, some more straw, water and then till down through the sand, into the dirt to get a rough mixture that resembles cob. Then use a compactor to pack it in and get it semi level.
This is our stage one. Eventually, we want to put down radiant heating and a proper earthen floor. But in the meantime, we are thinking that this will keep us dry and be much cleaner and be a solid foundation for the earthen floor yet to come.
So, please. Tell me if this will work or if I'm making a big mistake. Thanks.