Cristobal Cristo

Hary,

When we were erecting heavy timber roof structure for my house, we have been using WoodOwl Tri-Cut bits. They are triple fluted and drill aggressively. If used on thin lumber they would destroy the material, but on anything with at least 15x15 cm (6x6") they drilled swiftly and smoothly. I have used corded Metabo drill and Kanzawa drill guide.

I just calculated that 14 cubic yards would provide material for 4" thick 25x45' layer. So you are looking for 20-24" thick pad.
I have compacted myself similar 4" pad of baserock for my house. 16 cubic yards were delivered for $600. I have rented plate compactor for 3 days - $250. I have my own transit and other tools. It took me 15 hours to do it mostly by myself. It was major workout. I did it 8 years ago.
Some contractors may want to use shortcut and tell you that riding a skidsteer over spread material will compact it. Well, if that was a case why to sell compactors, rollers, etc? Foundation has to be done the best you can, so please pay attention to proper compaction.

If antimicrobial properties are required then one can use copper sheet for the countertop finish. It's used in some rustic furniture in Mexico. Alternatively and more cheaply - stainless steel sheet could be used.

There are quite a few options to consider:

1. Store bought countertops - expensive and cookie-cutter looking.
2. Slab purchased at a quarry - would need to be cut. Without large diamond saw may be difficult. The material would be cheap and looking differently than the market products.
3. You could cut your local stone into pieces, so one side will be smooth and lay them on concrete slab.
4. You can use tiles. If glazed, please go for transparent or white, as other colors may leach toxic oxides.
5. You could use rot resistant wood species: teak, redwood, robinia, etc. Eventually they will deteriorate.
6. You could cast concrete slab and vibrate it very well to develop smooth surface. You could use white cement and various kinds/colors of aggregate to meet your taste.

For heavier options you would need to build your cabinets from bricks (cocina en obra). This would give you solid support and also completely different look than boring cabinets.

Pearl,

I agree with your approach.
Office 97 still has 100 times more features than a normal person may ever need. It's all progress for the sake of progress and making things obsolete for profit. Very fast machines running extremely badly written software that is just nothing more than bloat.
I don't like google either, as I don't like any monopolies.
To do any banking online you willl need latest browsers that usually run only on newest machines and pathetic new operating systems.It's bevause only them can provide required security.
Video conferencing will also work only with the "latest' in most cases.

Shopping for laptop I would look for backlit keyboard. I'm off grid and without this feature I would have very hard time using the keyboard at night. Any laptop will accept external mouse and a keyboard.
Please pay attention to reviews - I had some laptops with screen separating from the main body after 6 months of gentle use. New laptos usually do not have CD/DVD readers built in.
If you install windows, make sure that you disable any automatic updates that will consume all your bandwidth in no time. Only update if it will ditectly improve your operations. I would recommend checking Linux.

You could use the brick dust and pieces mixed with lime to make opus signinum  - water resistant Roman concrete. You would have to experiment with the ratios. It could be used to build foundations, cisterns or just poured on the floor.

Thomas,

Have you considered to put some t-bars under it and lift it with some hydraulic lift?
Does the oven's slab have any rebar in it?

Randy Butler wrote:I have local access to Calcium Silicate Board 3”x24”x36”.
I don't have a price yet, but would that work for a top slab?
Or is there a strength issue to address?

They are quite soft and eventually will get destroyed by hitting with wood pieces and by heat. I don't think they can be used in the flame path.

You can buy fire brick tiles. They sell them in 18x18" size and various thicknesses (for example 2'). Then you can rip them into 4" width pieces to relieve the tension of the slab and build the ceiling.

Marek Mraz wrote:Putting drywall inside a cob house acts like insulation, helps molds to flourish.

I reccomded to remove drywall from the inside, not install it.

Ned Harr wrote:"what if I want to add an outlet there?" or "What if I need to reroute a plumbing line over here?"

I'm not seeing any problem in such a case and would not label it as a modularity issue. If you built from cob, masonry, you just chase the wall for additional electrical line. Extending plumbing would be more difficult, but at the same time it's not a common modification: to convert a room into a kitchen (a second one?) or a bathroom (another one?) in a well designed custom home. Building an extension would follow the same techniques as in the extended building.

Ned Harr wrote:many of you here have made natural buildings for yourselves; how have you addressed this issue?

First of all big boxes store usually have the lowest quality products. If you build a natural house you have to look somewhere else. These places usually want way too much money for some products that they sell, because of a market niche or catering to industrial customers, so I just made everything custom and it was still cheaper. Besides that I enjoy designing and fabricating things.

When you mentioned modularity I was thinking about prefab panels, made from cob or light clay (available in Europe).