It’s one thing to construct a building and it’s another thing to finish it! We’ve shared multiple posts with different aspects of building domes, so it’s high time to share how we finished them over the last year. Finish work often involves detail work such as trim, windows, and doors, and may include some details […]
Those who have experienced natural earthen walls and floors often fall in love with them! They create a certain set of feelings involving multiple senses. First is the way they look with an interesting and attractive artisan aspect – the inherent “flaws” of hand made vs machine made, the soft curves vs sharp corners, the
Natural Earthen Plaster & Flooring Read More »
We’re happy to have completed our second dome this summer! With this third and final report I hope to have provided a good overview of the process for anyone considering it. (See Part 1 and Part 2.) With a team of seven you can build one of these small domes in about a week, but
Finished Dome Build Report Read More »
With this dome build I’m trying to take pictures of all the key steps involved and include basic explanations in a series of articles. If you’re just interested in the process or are considering this option, these articles give a good overview of everything involved. But if you were going to build a Superadobe or
3-Week Dome Building Progress Read More »
Quick update on dome build status, but first check out the flowering prickly pear cactus near the dome that has yellow, orange, and pink blooms all on the same plant! When we built a dome last year I kind of waited until we were pretty much done and then did a reveal. This time I’m
Superadobe Is Like Working With Playdough Read More »
After acquiring eight acres in the middle of the San Pedro River Valley, we arrived to start building Sabbatical Ranch one year ago today. It has been an incredible adventure! A cynic could have told us, “You’re just a bunch of starry-eyed dreamers about to get slapped in the face with reality!” Someone did tell
Happy 1st Birthday, Sabbatical Ranch! Read More »
We have all kinds of learning opportunities to share with you! There are local and online classes (a free webinar next week on 7 Steps to a Healing Garden) and we have a variety of ranch projects that are a great opportunity if you’d like to volunteer to learn. I explain some of our progress
Volunteer to Learn Read More »
Meet Lee and her daughter, Grace. They were seriously injured by mold toxins and are still trying to heal. Lee bought a house in southeast Arizona about five years ago. When she first looked at the house she had noticed a small puddle of water on the kitchen floor, but like most people she didn’t
Do you ever wonder how pioneers 100 years and more ago survived? Talk about some rugged souls! As we experienced some of the extremes over the last week I thought about this. And then I walked by a photography studio yesterday and took a picture of the display (photo above) because I thought it quite
Tested by Extreme Weather Events Read More »
What are these things? Need a quick, easy, cheap, mold-free, and surprisingly durable shed or greenhouse? Then you’re going to like this post. In a number of different posts on building I’ve shared some of the problems with conventional buildings that make them prone to mold. For people who have experienced Mold Toxin Illness this
Hoop House? Caterpillar Tunnel? Read More »
We just got a small flock of adult chickens! We got three hens and six roosters from Echoing Hope, a local nonprofit ranch that is chemical-free and similar to Sabbatical Ranch in a variety of other ways. Even though the chickens are beyond their prime for meat or egg-laying, we plan to make good use
Mold-Free Chickens Read More »
Freezing nighttime temperatures have brought our Superadobe/Hyperadobe building to a pause for the winter, but I’d like to provide an update about what we learned and built this year. I want to keep sharing answers to questions I’ve found about how to build for healthy living without going into debt. I have to say that
We’ve discussed the pros and cons of various building styles in our search for the best option for Sabbatical Ranch. Building with earth comes out on top, mainly for health reasons but it also turns out to be quite economical. And there are options that make it very doable for just about any ability level.
Affordable, Natural Earthen Building Read More »
As we traveled the country on our year-long sabbatical one of the things we paid close attention to was building options. I also spent months researching to find the best options for Sabbatical Ranch. We loved experiencing the thermal mass properties of adobe-style structures which are popular in the arid southwest. Desert temperatures drop significantly
Healthy Building: Is It Possible? Read More »
How valuable would it be to know how to build your own shelter with the earth beneath your feet? Imagine:
* Relaxing, natural earth finish
* Passive solar heating/cooling
* Mold, sound, and pest resistant
* Non-toxic and EMF shield
* Fireproof
* Bulletproof
* Flood-proof
* Tornado-proof
* Earthquake-proof
Here’s your chance to experience how simple it is! We’re hosting a free volunteer/workshop during the month of October where you will be able to experience the …
Hands-on Learning: Superadobe/Hyperadobe October Volunteer/Workshop (Free) Read More »
It’s monsoon season in Arizona and this year has been quite the doozy. It’s winding down now but for two and a half months, starting the second week of June (which was early), it rained almost every day! Monsoon rains are not normal rains like we’ve experienced elsewhere. These rains usually come with thunderstorms that
Building in the Rain Read More »
