How To Build Rammed Earth Walls
I was contacted recently by Michael Thompson a fellow I follow on Twitter, and a self-taught rammed earth expert. He and I share a passion for low-cost building techniques. He asked me to do him a favor and whip up a 3D drawing of his rammed earth wall former hat will serve as course material for his rammed earth workshops. It only took about an hour to draw it up. It’s amazing how simple the former is and how with some sweat equity dirt from a building site can be transformed into walls.
For £99 you can attend one of his 2-day rammed earth building workshops in Norfolk. You’ll learn about soil suitability, footings, design, ramming techniques, bond beams, window openings, and more. By the end of the class you’ll know what you need to get started on your own rammed earth shed or tiny house. Continue reading to see more views of my drawing, the SketchUp file itself, and a video that shows how it’s used.
Shed of the Year 2009
It’s National Shed Week 2009 in the UK and the Shed of the Year was recently announced. It’s 5 meters square (about 16′ by 16′) and is built on a steep grade with a deck overlooking a valley. The designer and builder, Steven, has included a composting toilet, sink, bunk beds, and a wood stove. To read all about it visit Shedblog.co.uk.
Tiny Tubular Microlodge Hobbit House
Steve Millar sent me a link recently to this amazing little creation. It’s a tubular tiny house available in the UK. They are 14-feet long and 8-feet in diameter and is constructed from pressure treated 2×4’s and tongue & groove weatherboard coated with Sadolin varnish. The roof is covered in Rubberoid hexagonal shingles. The front doors are 5′ 10″ tall by 2′ 6″ wide. These are designed to be simple lodging units but would make a great backyard shed office or even a novel tiny house. For more information visit microlodge.co.uk. Also see a video on Tiny House TV.
Could This Be Shedworking HQ?
Alex at Shedworking recently left his garden shed office behind when he moved. After settling into his new place he then invited people to submit ideas and designs for his next shed. Of course this sounded like a lot of fun to me so I fired up Google Sketchup and my imagination and got to work. This is the design I landed on, simple and functional.
It measures 12′ by 12′ and has a 4′ by 8′ porch. Notice that the side walls are not the same height which gives the roof a little bit of a asymmetrical cottage look. The steep 12/12 pitch also provides a very high ceiling and to bring in more light into the interior I added a little shed dormer on one side. Continue Reading »
Tiny Free House featured in The Pavement
A little while back I was contacted by the folks at the Pavement, the free magazine for homeless people in London and Scotland. They wanted to do a story on the Tiny Free House I’m building out of pallets. While my progress has been slow it seems to be attracting some interest from a variety of places.
I think the folks at the Pavement were mostly interested in how an idea like this, turning discarded stuff into housing, might help inspire folks who need a home. You can read the complete article online at www.thepavement.org.uk.
