The first week of October was my last scheduled work weekend for the season. Luckily, some friends helped me throughout the summer and I was (mainly) able to finish on schedule. I debated on whether to stucco/concrete over the walls this season or next spring, but I finally decided to cover the walls in May/June 2011. This will allow the concrete mixture in the bags to further harden with the upcoming rain and snow season. Plus, the landscaping cloth can be exposed to the sun and weather for ten years. This isn't a luxury I'll have with burlap or polypropylene bags.
There are verticle and horizontal supports (rebar) throughout the walls, and in some cases the rebar was angled inward. All of this should provide the needed support in all directions. Next spring, I plan to pour concrete/stucco over the closest row of railroad ties, or figure out how to protect people from any potential creosote leakage. Eventually, I will mortar around some of the placed rocks where noticeable erosion is occurring.
NEXT YEAR - Outdoor Kitchen and Shed
Next year's plans include: Stucco/concrete over the earthen firepit walls and have friends put their finishing touches on the walls by decorating different quadrants with mosaic patterns; Placing the cinder blocks in the kitchen/shed trenches and pouring concrete over them for a foundation perimeter. Additionally, I'll secure the walls more by pounding rebar into the holes of the blocks before pouring the concrete. From there, it's a matter of building the rammed earth and earthbag walls up simultaneously. I might not spend as much time up there this coming summer since I hardly did my fun things. We'll see how the summer goes!
THIS WINTER -
I hope to be building forms for the rammed earth walls (shed); purchasing boat-loads of earth bags/rolls; and working on a website or sign up process that will track those folks interested in learning about earthen building. I'm hoping to set up workshops over a number of weekends throughout the summer. Folks will be able to choose the weekend they want to get their hands dirty and hopefully have a fun experience. For now, send me an email if you'd like to attend one of the weekend workshops. Lastly, I'm going to research whether a bee farm is possible up there. If so, I'll build or buy some boxes and a bee suit :)
Have a great winter and I'll report back after mud season. Namaste
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