Hey Everybody,

If this sounds like I'm repeating myself, I'm sending this letter to more than one group. Some of you have heard parts of it, some none of it, nobody all of it.

I'm about to start building my winter house' near Ava Missouri. I don't have the time or money to build the house on my web site ( http://ledgewood-consulting.com/cgi-bin/farmIntro.html ) This trailer isn't worth making winter-worthy. So that left me in need of shelter I can build quickly and cheaply.

After numerous (and sometimes humourous) ideas ranging from a conventional frame building I could later use as a barn or workshop to an underground house made a bit like an earthship, but with used plastic barrels instead of tires, I have finally settled on a plan.

My basic idea is an admixture of an Indian earthlodge, an Eskimo sod iglu (both brought to my attention by the book "Shelter" by Shelter Publications) and some "$50 & Up Underground House Book" by Mike Oehler (Mole Publishing) tossed in.

The building will be one room, underground, made from the cedar trees I want to clear out to make pasture. I'll have to cut one small grove of bigger cedars I would have otherwise left, but the trees in the old pasture aren't big enough for the frame posts.

The building will have a post-and-beam frame that will be 12' by 20'. The walls and ceiling will be cedar poles leaned against or laid into this frame. Then will come a layer of something to keep the poles from poking through the waterproofing--used carpet, cardboard or cheap 4x8 sheets of something. Next comes a layer of thick plastic and then as much ridged insulation as I can afford. Other that will be a second layer of waterproofing. I'd like to get industrial-roofing type rubber, but I don't know where to get it yet, or what it will cost. That's it. Just backfill and burry. I'll probably put a layer of sawdust on the roof before I put dirt, but the house should be livable as soon as the waterproofing is on. I'll leave the floor dirt for now. The south side of the house will have the door and two windows made from sliding glass doors that I salvaged. Tacking up plastic will do until I can get the window frames made.

My schedule looks like this:

Today (August 21, 2000) I cleared the rest of the building site. I want to recheck the orientation by the stars tonight and square the corner markers tomorrow. After I'm done writing this, I'll call back a couple of guys that gave me estimates on digging the hole.

This week: I hope to cut all of the poles, post and beams. Both guys I talked to about digging the hole said they should only need a few days notice, so the hole should be done by the end of this week.

Next week: The posts for the front of the house will need one or two sides cut square, so I'll either get an Alaska Mill-type gizmo for the chainsaw or haul them to the neighbor's sawmill. The rest of the wood will be left in the round. I'll also have to drag the trees to the building site--I'll probably hire a tractor for that.

I'm hoping that if I get enough help the framing can be done in one day. That's setting 8 poles in the ground and lifting beams up in top of them. Since the poles for the roof and walls just lean on or lay on the frame (I might nail at least some down, but it shouldn't be necessary) The insulation and waterproofing are just laid in place, so that should go quickly too.

So, where all of this is leading is: I'd like to have a house raising over one weekend in mid-September and could use any and all volunteers. I can't offer much in the line of accommodations (I don't have running water or power here, I'll build a composting toilet outhouse by then) but I can arrange for some type of meals and a place to pitch a tent. None of the work I need help with (except maybe some chainsawing) requires any skill. Some but not all of it requires some lifting and grunting. If many people are interested, I could use some help cooking and such too.

I know this is short notice and some reading this are going to wish they had more warning. There isn't much I can do about that though--thanks thinking about it.

I also know that "some weekend in mid-September" is a bit vague. If you would like to come and have a preference over the 16th & 17th or the 23rd and 24th please let me know ASAP and help me pick the dates. If you can't make it for the main weekend, don't worry there will be plenty of work to do both before and after that, so drop me a line and come on by anytime! ;-) [Note: the lack of indoor plumbing means if you come by unexpected you might find me bathing outside :-O Dropping me a note first might be a good idea.]

If you can't make it, but want to follow my progress, I'll try to keep my journal up to date. It can be reached from the address at the top of this letter. I'll try to add pictures at some point too.

Thank you for your time and I hope to see a few of you at least soon.

==>paul

-- paul (p@ledgewood-consulting.com), August 21, 2000

Answers

Paul -- I'd love to, but I don't think I could be further away from you and still be on the same continent! Good luck, though!!!

-- Tracy (trimmer@westzone.com), August 21, 2000.

I wish that I was close to your area, it sure sounds like it could be fun and a learning excpeience too. Quite a few folks think I'm a little Wierd also.

-- Mark (deadgoatman@webtv.net), August 21, 2000.

Paul, I was just howling with laughter when I saw the title to your post! My immediate reply was: "I already have!!!"

Good luck to you. I hope it works out wonderfully. And thanks for the chuckle!

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), August 22, 2000.

Paul, my answer is the same as Sheepish! I have been there & done that more than once!!!!!!!!!!! I'm tired! But I wish you the best!!! Do it while you are youngier as when you get oldier even the memories make me tired!!!!! Sonda in Ks.

-- Sonda (sgbruce@birch.net), August 22, 2000.

Paul, it sounds like a lot of fun, but I can't make it anytime in Sept. I went to your site, looks like a really nice piece of property!My brother and parents live very close to you. If you are still shy on help as you come close to the time you plan to do this email me and I will see if they want to come and help. They are generally very helpful people and it is always goood to make some friends in a new area. God bless!

-- Doreen (liberty546@hotmail.com), August 22, 2000.

Lotta weirdo's here! The land was paid for, the septic and water were in and we ran out of money-nearly-just after the foundation was finished. So what do you do with a 24w X 40L X 10h concrete hole? You put a roof on it, silly! The town wasn't pleased, and we spent ALOT of time at Grandma's, but a year and a half later, we had our house! Hang in there Paul. As hard as it seems now, in the term of making it on your own, this is as good as it gets! Honey and I have parted ways, but we still marvel at the accomplishments we made-with 3 little ones in tow, no less! Good luck-and remember to have fun!

-- Kathy (catfish@bestweb.net), August 22, 2000.

Thanks for the replies. I posted the same note to a couple of other groups I'm active on. There are a couple people close by that offered to come help, one lady might bring her family down from Minnesota, and my sister and her crew might come over from St Louis.

Sometimes though I think the moral support means as much as the physical help, so thanks again for the best wishes and encouragement.

About the title of the post: Hey, anybody that wants to live in a hole in the ground and some sticks can't be normal. The question is if normal' is good or not. ;-)

Kathy, some places living in a roofed over basement while saving money or waiting for spring is a fairly normal thing to do. Some places even give you a year to do so before they enforce certain codes needed for an occupancy permit.

For those who want to follow my progress, I'll try to keep my journal up to date. It's at http://ledgewood-consulting.com/cgi-bin/farmIntro.html

==>paul

-- paul (p@ledgewood-consulting.com), August 22, 2000.

Paul, I am too far away to come help with your house, which is too bad, because I read Mike Oehler's book a while back and was intrigued with his ideas, as far as temporary shelter goes, at least. So I will keep an eye on your website, with interest, as we may be doing something similar next year. Best wishes for your construction project!

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), August 23, 2000.