the Hobbit house.

[steelbuttplate]

So far , zero cost, 3 days labor. Tomorrow, I gotta buy chicken wire, several cans of Great stuff, and I'll have a geodesic dome structure with attached grotto and clay mine. Pure sticky ass red clay no rocks will be the final outside coating, mixed with shredded hay and a little Portland. Final cost under $200. Will follow up with progress pics. If you click on these sideways pics they straiten up.

[Junk Yard Dog]

What happened? Ol' lady tossed you out? Good thinking, better than a van down by the river or the no tell motel.

[steelbuttplate]

What happened? Ol' lady tossed you out? Good thinking, better than a van down by the river or the no tell motel.

Nah, just feeling primitive. The kids really like it. There is room in there for a grown man on an army cot though.

[tomaustin]

you counting on that making it through the winter..??

[steelbuttplate]

you counting on that making it through the winter..??

Several winters I'm hoping. It now has chicken wire and fabric, almost ready to cover with red clay adobe then cement stabilized clay for a outer coat. Eventually I hope fine grass and moss will cover it. I'm building an upside down terra cotta pot if you think about it. I'll bake it on a sunny day with a slow fire inside.

[steelbuttplate]

The walls begin to rise from the earth. I'm going that high 4" thick then 3" above there. I think I can wet the outside when I'm done, throw Portland cement all over it, and scratch it in a little. Then keep dampening it letting it leach in to the clay. That should seal it ok unless I think of something better. If I build it, he will come ?

[SA1911a1]

Was that a vertical grave for a short man in the back? It ain't right burying someone for an eternity standing up; why in a year or two their feet would be killing them. Do it in the traditional fashion so the poor victim can get some rest. If I built one like that it would be a Rattlesnake and Wasp hotel.

On my place, I have a ravine, with some 15' high vertical clay walls. Back when I had the energy, I thought about tunneling a hidey-hole, but the thought of the uninvited guests taking up residence let me keep my shovel at parade rest. By the way, that looks like the same red clay we have down here.

[steelbuttplate]

Was that a vertical grave for a short man in the back? It ain't right burying someone for an eternity standing up; why in a year or two their feet would be killing them. Do it in the traditional fashion so the poor victim can get some rest. If I built one like that it would be a Rattlesnake and Wasp hotel.

On my place, I have a ravine, with some 15' high vertical clay walls. Back when I had the energy, I thought about tunneling a hidey-hole, but the thought of the uninvited guests taking up residence let me keep my shovel at parade rest. By the way, that looks like the same red clay we have down here.

That hole in the back is the clay mine. Future root cellar. This clay, the 1800's pioneers used to build stone chimneys, many still standing, a few in use.They chinked between logs in their houses with it too. There are other types here, there is a pink clay that contains mica that won't even pack for a road base. The ridges here are full of old Kaolin mines that were like this one, hand dug round topped tunnels. Kaolin a white clay used to make China.

[tomaustin]

well, the kids have got to love a project like this.................

[steelbuttplate]

In Finnland, they make interior walls similar to this, make a grid work of sticks and then slap on the mud, keep wetting and smoothing, you get a nice plaster wall.

[steelbuttplate]

I had to give up the original plan, it would have taken 10 people putting on mud on all sides equally to make the dome, with just me it started leaning one day and that was it. I had to back up and punt, so I kept the walls of the original structure and then started what you see. I just need to finish the floor and run my electric line so I can sit a fan in the tunnel and have outdoor AC. The tunnel goes back 15 feet and up the ladder to a spider hole.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Tunnel and spider hole bring Cu-Chi more to mind than hobbits. You diving into that spider hole with 1911, and flashlight in hand?

[steelbuttplate]

Tunnel and spider hole bring Cu-Chi more to mind than hobbits. You diving into that spider hole with 1911, and flashlight in hand?

I have no 1911, use a Tokarev instead.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Tunnel and spider hole bring Cu-Chi more to mind than hobbits. You diving into that spider hole with 1911, and flashlight in hand?

I have no 1911, use a Tokarev instead.

In that case you would be emerging from the spider hole, not diving into it.

[steelbuttplate]

Tunnel and spider hole bring Cu-Chi more to mind than hobbits. You diving into that spider hole with 1911, and flashlight in hand?

I have no 1911, use a Tokarev instead.

In that case you would be emerging from the spider hole, not diving into it.

Charlie must have been digging their holes north of Saigon from 1946 until we got there. This clay is similar to what they burrowed in, The high iron content makes it harden when it gets exposed to air and dried out.