We’re currently looking into the following building materials: cobb, straw bale, tyres, wooden palettes with natural insulation and paint/daub/lime render, rammed earth, clay. Do you know much about building with any of these? A potential site we have identified for the building on was discussed, however the grounds are very waterlogged and there is a 6ft drop to a small river near one end. The bit of land seems to consist of just different colours clay. We are currently building a water storage and pump tank for the allotment society there, and have used a crushed concrete base underneath concrete foundations. However with our eco-cabin we are trying to use more environmentally friendly materials, and would rather not use concrete if possible. Do you have any ideas? Hi Jenny, Sorry I’ve not got back to you earlier, it was a busy week when you emailed and it quickly worked its way down the inbox. I’ve not had any experience in using those materials unfortunately but that is because there’s limited codes for using these in design. In previous projects how have you justified that the structure is sufficiently safe, or has it been done through experience? You mention that you’d prefer not to use crushed concrete under the foundations of the eco-cabin. If the crushed concrete is waste then this would typically be seen as more sustainable by re-using it then bringing any other material in. It would not be seen as sustainable if you had to cast concrete in order to break it up though, in which case sourcing gravel/rock from elsewhere could do a similar job. Is there scope for this? Do you know if the crushed concrete was for strength over existing ground or for a drained layer?
Posted on: Mon, 12 May 2014 12:12:06 +0000
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