Pete Albrecht

Hey Matt,

Where are you building? Different states and localities adopt different portions of building codes, and the codes prescribe different solutions for different regions.

How's the drainage on the site? Is it sloped at all? I think you are probably fine, but if you wanted to kick it up a notch, I'd ditch the stickers for some downed logs or sacrificial lumber under the plywood, then get the stickers down on top of the plywood, below your lumber. You can lash your lumber together to help it resist warping but really the best thing to protect your wood out on a remote site like that is to use it quickly, followed by reducing its contact points that can trap moisture.. There are plenty of lumber yards that store their lumber under a roof but largely exposed to the air. The pallets are also a great idea, but they can degrade over the course of a year, leaving nails and leaching chemicals into your soil.  

Hahahaha yesssss another architect joining the natural building path!
This is the way. Now we just need some engineers!

Hey Mike,

Greetings from NH! Garden is looking good. I am super curious about your tiny home conversions, so I'll check out your youtube channel!

Hey Matt,

I'm not an engineer, but I really recommend you speak to one before you install a RMH on that structure. That's a huge dead load to put on a small footprint.

Hi Carmen,
Thanks for reaching out. I'll follow up in a direct message.
You can also reach me at pete@drawnhome.studio

Hey I was surprised not to see a post here on this topic yet, so let me introduce:

REScheck

This is a tool produced and maintained by the US Department of Energy that allows you to take a building and calculate it's performance criteria to prove compliance.
We use it as an alternative path to meeting code when deviating from a standard building assembly.
You don't need to be an architect to use it, and it is totally free, but you do need to have some idea of the U/R values of the materials you are using, and the qualities of the windows and doors you're installing.
Thankfully, all this information has been largely studied, so whether you are building with strawbales, hempcrete, cob, or any of the other earth-based techniques, there are published tested values for all of these things.
(Volhard, Kirick, Minke, and Birkhäuser publishing for established values - Sunbeam books is a great source if you're in the USA)

https://www.energycodes.gov/rescheck

This is where you start.
There are published guides on how to use it.
If you get stuck, post questions below and I'll answer them if I can.

Joel this is an awesome project. I see a huge potential for this sort of software. This is the sort of thing I would like to use in the office to help us work-in permaculture design alongside the architectural process.

Can you speak to how you establish a site to work with? In many of the areas I work in, GIS is not updated to regularly reflect current plot ownership or geometry. Is this a beginner-friendly tool or does someone need to have some background in landscape/permaculture design?

Are you using a stem wall of some sort? For typical construction we specify an aluminum flashing installed on the concrete sill that protrudes to the exterior and keeps pests from climbing up into the house. However if you were set on using earth bricks from grade or below, I might suggest doing your chili powder mix in the first course or two, then installing the flashing above that, and proceeding with your normal mixture. That said, I haven't heard of this technique at all, and have no idea if it is effective. Keep us posted!

Thanks for sharing, John!

I am happy the NYT picked up a story on this, but frustrated by their skeptical language about the realities of natural building.
Strawbale construction is already in the building codes! *shakes head*
They need to stop treating it like it's experimental.