The idea of building superinsulated structures is what first drew me to the concept of papercrete. The material just seems tailor made for that application. So, yes, I've been trying to educate myself about these details for a long time.
I'm glad you are looking at a smaller structure first. Good move. Don't be afraid to try an even smaller structure than a guest house. Most any property can use a good storage shed. That's an excellent place to start, however, a guest house can also be a good option. Do whatever makes sense for your situation.
Foundations:
It's rather impractical for me to attempt to give every detail about how to build a complete foundation in this forum. I strongly encourage you to seek out books and detailed online information.
You won't find many, if any, books about papercrete construction that give detailed engineering information about how to build the various foundation options. You'll need to educate yourself using books that are intended for someone building a foundation for more standard types of construction. Don't let that deter you. The first place to look is your local library. See what they have. See what they can get via library transfer.
Here is one complete online book you can read for free about Strawbale construction. Many of the concepts discussed in this book apply well to papercrete construction. This book also does a pretty good job of discussing several foundation options. Don't limit yourself to only reading the parts about foundations in this book. The entire book has a lot of great information in it. Many topics discussed that can save you time and effort in the long run when building any structure.
http://www.dcat.net/about_dcat/images/BIWB/BIWB%20v2%20ALL%20PAGES.pdf
Earthbag and Cob building books and websites cover rubble trench foundations pretty well. Those resources can be valuable in educating someone on that foundation type.
Now that I've sufficiently passed the buck, I'll mention a few thoughts of my own. I won't attempt to be nearly as comprehensive has the books will be, though.
1. You are very wise to be focusing on your foundation. If you don't get this correct, the rest of your efforts are likely to be wasted.
2. Build on high ground. Water is the enemy of every building. You need to build somewhere that water will naturally drain away from the building site. Putting your bulding on the correct site is probably the single most important decision made in construction. Most people think about how pretty the house will look from the street or road, or what the views will be out the windows, or how much sunlight will be collected by south facing windows. I'm not saying these factors are unimportant. They deserve consideration. My point is that those factors are all lower priority than building on high ground in the first place. I'd rather have a site that is high and dry even if it has less than perfect views or sun angles.
What's the point of the perfect view if you're house is flooded or the walls are leaning/cracking because the foundation has eroded and shifted?
Build High and Dry.
3. Always excavate away all organic soil and organic material from the building site. Never build on top of something that will rot away. No matter how deep you have to dig to get the organics out, keep digging until it's gone, and then backfill with gravel in 3-4 inch layers and tamp it solid, then repeat as necessary to get to your base level.
4. When excavating your foundation, watch for water then as well. In fact, a huge rainstorm just after you finish excavating your foundation is often the best blessing you can have. Get your rain gear and boots on during the downpour and go out to the building site. If it is 3am... so be it... GET YOUR BUTT OUT THERE WITH A GOOD FLASHLIGHT. Watch the water and how it flows around the site. See that all the trenches drain well. Make sure that water is not cascading down the side of a hill and flowing into your foundations. If you see that happening, you need to fix that before you proceed. Install swales, terraces, and other water handling earthworks before continuing. Make sure the water that does get into your trenches all exits easily. Anywhere a puddle remains inside your foundation is a place where problems will start later. Yes, a big rainstorm can often wash dirt back into your excavations requiring you to dig it back out again. Trust me, that's a small price to pay. It's worth it. Watching your excavations during a downpour is the most educational and productive activity anyone can possibly have in building a structure. Dance in it. Sing happy songs. Watch it flow. Kiss your significant other while you both are standing in the mud. Make it a celebration. Pop open a beverage of your choice and toast your good fortune. Consider a rainstorm during foundation excavation as Mother Nature blessing your efforts, because if you watch that water closely and fix any problems you see, that's exactly what it will be, a huge blessing. Any problems you detect during excavation are almost always extremely easy and cheap to fix at that time. Usually you only need a shovel to fix them. You will be able to proceed with construction with great confidence that your efforts will not get flooded away in the future. If you don't discover a drainage problem until after the building is up, a problem that could have been fixed with 30 minutes of shoveling during the excavation phase gets extremely difficult and expensive to fix after the structure is built. Possibly many thousands of dollars and months of headaches to fix something that should have taken 30 minutes and a shovel. Peace of mind is more valuable than gold. Watching a rainstorm over your excavation can provide that peace of mind for decades to come.
4. Since you are building in a cold climate, invest the time and money to insulate your foundation. It will pay off for years to come. If you have easy access to a source of inexpensive volcanic rock, such as scoria or pumice, that is a great way to go.
Extruded Polystyrene, or XPS is a commercial alternative for foundation insulation. EPS, Expanded Polystyrene, or Styrofoam, is not recommended for underground applications. Make sure you know the difference.
Sometimes if you pay close attention to the dumpsters around your area, and you know what you are looking for, you can find someone throwing away XPS chunks (rarely to almost never will you find the nice big sheets intact.) However, even chunks of XPS can still make excellent foundation insulation or under-floor insulation.
I do not recommend Papercrete as a foundation insulation in a wet climate. Papercrete is great stuff, but it is not the best answer to every situation.
5. Never put XPS underneath foundation footers. Footers belong on stable undisturbed subsoil, or relentlessly heavily compacted fill.
6. Consider installing radon venting if you live in an area where radon is common in the soil. This need not instill fear or panic. It's a simple and reasonably inexpensive thing to do if you understand it. Read more about how to do it here: http://www.epa.gov/radon/pdfs/buildradonout.pdf
7. Install a moisture/air barrier under the floor, but over any radon venting, especially if you are in an area with high risk of radon or you are planning on a full house air sealed "Passive House" type design. Leave the barrier long enough that it can be connected to the wall air/vapor barriers when they are installed. Take extra care to avoid punctures in the underground air barriers. Layers of sand above and below plastic sheeting is very useful for this purpose.
I could probably keep typing for a week, but I think I'll stop here. This post is getting long winded already. (Happens all too often with me.) I've tried to hit upon the areas that are often overlooked. My comments are not intended as a comprehensive guide or step by step instructions. There are many details I did not discuss.
I can't recommend enough the value of reading good books about foundations, even if those books are intended for building expensive types of foundations you don't intend to use. You can learn many principles that you can apply to less expensive foundation types. There are also many excellent online publications that can be very helpful.
I look forward to seeing what you come up with. Keep us all posted on your progress please.
--- In papercreters@yahoogroups.com, "overogypsy" <overogypsy@...> wrote:
>
>
> Thank you for all the information. Seems you have beem\n doing a lot of thinking as we have been doing.
> The information on the Heat Recovery Ventilator was wonderful and am checking into that for the house.
> You really made sense about a smaller project and we are going to work on a guest house first. That way we will not be out all the cost of the house if for some reason things do not work out as planned.
> I have a question on the foundation.
> If we are using the post and pole method for the frame do we just use a rubble foundation with a 4 foot sloping insulated barrier ?
> Want to do the foundation correct or all will be for not.
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Friday, July 5, 2013
[papercreters] Re: pole barn (house) construction with PC infill
