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You get most of those features, solid, rugged construction without all the skill level required. Bolts make it all work. Lots of bolts. Goes together quicker that the old type post and beam. Far more unitized type construction. Framing members are bigger, spans larger than normal stick construction.
If you want to do most of the work and you want the lowest possible cost, then some type of rammed earth house could very well suit.
Mother Earth News and a number of other building type magazines have had projects built using rammed earth. You probably get the least bill of materials for any practical interior volume shaped in normal configurations.
Lots of man hours but if your labor is free, can be the way to go. Also pretty good from energy viewpoint. Using some innovative other insulation techniques could be a winner. You basically got an above ground cave in many respects. The working ingredients are cement and dirt. Helps to have a power ram to pack the dirt.
I am from Russia. I won in Green Card Lottery Programm and I want build my own house in USA.
So I want to know the prices of some construction materials:
Concrete (for fudament and overlaps), for 1 cubic meter
Sand - 1 ton
Gravel - 1 ton (fraction 15-25 mm)
OSB 3, 1 sheet
Bricks for 1 pc.
Someone could call me the price of these materials?
My apologies if I'm wrong with the topic, as well as my English
Thanks for the suggestions I knew I could count on you guys! My calls this week included the Building Dept. in the County as they will have the final say, as was noted insurance and resale will be impossible without an Engineers Stamp. While I do desire something a bit unconventional it isn't the sole purpose. Strong and Cost effective (can I say cheap) top the list. That having been said my goal is to stick within the boundaries set by the State and County. I've actually been researching Pole Barns and came across an outfit in NM that has poles and the accompanying hardware connectors. My thought was to draw up a hybrid of sorts using that Lean To configuration. The "Lean To" wall being either a Rammed Earth or Stone Wall. I checked the Composite Building system mentioned and it's very similar to one out of Japan. I'll be contacting them to see if they have Engineers Stamps in NM. They do offer challenges in running chases and cabinets, on the other hand give you a quick build living space from which to expand. I'd be thinking of covering the shell (load limit permitting) with some sort of spray on concrete or pumicecrete or earth mix. They look pretty awful if left as is. I'm appreciative of all the well thought out feedback. Keep it comin'!
Joey, one last thing you might want to consider is a concrete dome construction utilizing an inflatable form.
This is a fairly simple method of construction in order to create the envelope of the building and interior finishes can be started immediately upon curing of the concrete. I am an Architect, and have not worked on a construction type of this kind before, but after reading up on some information and familarizing myself with the process, I think it sounds like a pretty solid type of construction and right down the path you want to travel.
Depending on what you use as the binder could be interesting. Might be able to get some fly ash. One thing supposed to do very well is the slag out of steel mills. If powdered supposed to be first rate in both rammed earth and maybe this stuff.
The fact it can have an inherent insulation value is nice. Apparently lots of formulas can be used. Most of this stuff you probably do not want to try in a very high regulated area. Need pretty close to zero type building regulations, there are still those type places in the country.
Lots of this stuff can also be used to make building blocks using the old CINVA-RAM idea. Don't know if it is still available for sale. Mother Earth News had plans for building one. Probably could modify it to make it hydraulic powered maybe using a wood splitter machine. Lots of ideas but you need to know what sort of regulation mess you will have first.
I looked at papercrete and pumicecrete and on your suggestion will revisit it. Also I'm not familiar with CINVA-RAM Blocks so I'll follow up on that. I think I see what you mean regarding a log splitter and if I'm reading it correctly it's an ingenious method. Great stuff Cosmic and all brainstormers!
Here is a site with CINVA-RAMs. Manual, air and hydraulic versions. Good reference, lots of pixs. They give the prices for each method. Provide a source of supply in the USA.
Looking at this in third World countries, especially South America there is now a business in this where the locals get ready, prep the soil, then a machine like one of these comes around and actually does the work. Sort of like the old farming days and the threshing machines that roved the country side for hire, usually on a part share basis. There are portable sawmills that still operate this way in my area.
So if you wanted could maybe be some business opportunity.
If you know how to weld, can get your hands on some proper metal, not difficult to build. Harbor Freight has some long stroke hydraulic rams. Lots of ways to rig up the power part.
The methods using sawdust are interesting. I got lots of sawmills around my way. Can get all the sawdust a fellow might want for the cost of hauling it away. Maybe try a mix that includes waterproofing tar. I saw that a long time back, was even used in standard rammed earth block. No shortage of ideas. Some of them probably can build superior homes.
Maybe something I will experiment with for chuckles. Our soils tend to be very heavy clays. The manual version is very easy to redesign as a standard hydraulic press with just a brick mold and built in travel stops. Open frame mold that clips in place, might even be able to be hinged, like a foundry mold. You can buy the standard hydraulic press set up for a few hundred dollars. 30 ton presses are common. Easy to build your own if you know how to weld.
Way back when I helped build a ferrocement sailboat. Was an interesting experience. Again can be very labor intentive but if you had something like gunite type equipment would really be the cat's meow. There are some books on the subject. Can't think of the title of the one used on that project but it was extremely complete. Gave all the correct mix formulas, sand grain mix is critical.
More like stucco type work but you would have a huge variety of design possiblities. This method could be used more like siding to other methods.
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Rammed Earth.................
