Decisions, Decisions...

So we have changed our mind once again as to what type of home to build, which is why I said in the last blog that we were "currently leaning toward building an earth-bermed Earthship home using earthbags."  We have been working on determining what type of home best suits our needs for over a year.  We have settled on a few, researched and bypassed a few, and changed our minds.  Currently, we are thinking of using shipping containers on the second floor, concrete columns for structural support on the first floor, hempcrete to fill in the walls, and ISP boards for the roof with a flat, living roof.

Over the past year, we've perused earth-sheltered, concrete dome, straw bale, geodesic dome, your typical Earthship with tires, cob, cordwood, rammed earth, yurts, and papercrete as possible building styles/materials.  They have all been ruled out for one reason or another.  No matter what we do, we plan to make use of passive solar as much as possible.  We are hoping to not have to heat this home.  We plan to put in an old-fashioned wood cookstove to supplement.

Otherwise, we have been working on getting the septic and well (that are already in place) approved.  It's been a tedious, frustrating process and I won't drag you through the bureaucratic details.  Hopefully the building won't go so badly, but I have my doubts.  We also are planning to move the two sheds that are currently on the property.  One is 14' x 24' and the other about half that size.  We'll document this and share it when we do.

Mathieu jacked up the large shed to check it integrity, and all looks good.

Luckily we have a neighbor with a back hoe whom we are hiring.  We were going to rent or buy (and then resell later) and do it ourselves, but we realized it was a better deal to just pay him to do it with his machine.  He's helped to expose the septic and clear some stumps from the growing area.  He'll be coming out soon to level the area for the sheds.

This was taken a few months ago when we first had the septic dug up for inspection.  Yes, that's how long the process is taking!  Septic is finally passed, now onto the well issues... (or should I say lost paperwork issues).