You Can't Touch This: Break It Down!

Stop - Hammer Time

Wow that is a lot of commanding/directing. MC Hammer makes you work as hard as him! 
Today, aside from side shuffling and making my big pants wiggle, Raquel and I did some sweet plaster detail. Still using 20% Plastic cement with 80% sand, blessed Earth.  I had avoided the inner doorway an the entranceway corners and sides into the small dome, but Raquel CRUSHED that and I did a decent job on the bare areas around the main entranceway door. I also realized that not much mixing photos have been taken since the beginning, so a few shots of the wheel barrow are in there too. 

I'm pretty sure Raquel is talking to a Desert Locust. Now she informs me that she was talking to the bats. They were out in force last night and flying very low. I guess that's why she is crouching down. What a chicken.

Hand mixed - by HAND!

Every reptile, every row, was mixed in one of two blue wheel barrows. 

Just add water

Trowel, hand mixture. whatever. I'll blend it later.

Jackson Portland ;) 

I arted

You gotta bring it, before you fling it.

Raquel might land some kind of Earth Plaster job after this blog goes VIRAL.

Raquel is a plaster ARTIST

What a robust doorway. Its a door way cool!

Very nice work, indeed. 

Beehive? Smurfhouse? Tomb? 

95/72

95/72 is Outside temps / Inside dome temps. No A/C, hell, no electricity. Just the amazing principles of thermal mass, reptilling, and the genius of Nader Khalili's Cal-Earth Superadobe technology.

It was so pleasant in the dome today, even on the hottest days of the year, it is survivable and comfortable inside the dome. I am actually more impressed and surprised by the performance than I expected to be. I expected it to be way too stuffy, but with ceilings taller than the rooms are wide, the heat goes up! And with all the wildfires in the news, it is nice to know that a superadobe structure simply cannot burn. It's made of sand and cement. And if it ever did flood, there are no hollow wooden walls to grow mold in. Properly sealed, the walls and floors can clean up after submerged in a jiffy, I've seen it!

A good view from the top of the dome.

Friend

So smooth, level enough for gov't work.

Raquel is kicking plaster's ass! 

This is a place to put a lantern, beverage or book, and to stand on to close and open the hatch.

The foothold on the other side. 

Plaster under the porthole window. Goodbye blue tube!

Circular System

Badass Chica

The desert days fly by too fast.

The dome(s) look(s) cool from this side too. 

Joshua Tree, Creosote sunset.

"Negative Dome", future home of "Goat Mountain Alternative Brewing Company" a 100% Gluten-Free brewery (I have Celiac, dis it and you will too!) 

Another Sun bites the dust.

Plaster some more

We've moved from the big dome to the little dome, and we're plastering it up! After this, we will stucco the ceiling bags and the walls to make a nice white final coat. Did I mention I have no  idea what I'm doing. But with advice from www.calearth,org Alumni group, I am making all the best mistakes. I want to keep it simple and cheap and find out what works. I am not sacrificing strength or quality, EVER. Safety first, function second, form follows. When you do it like that, form is still AWESOME. Those who obsess over style, have none. Style is the outward appearance of truth. The evidence of living from the center. Superadobe looks so cool because it IS cool. It IS the angle of repose, sacred geometry, Earth under our feet. Lets go!

The entrance to the little dome dried nicely.

Get dirty!

But, sill.

A wall is born. 

I make it ugly, Raquel makes it pretty.

It is fun to see the plaster turn the bag rows into a real wall.

Mehico futbol

Who wants to buy a Dairy Queen franchise? 

107 degrees F. outside, 80's inside with a nice breeze blowing through, no A/C!

Welcome 

Cowgirl up

Is Pappa Smurf at home?

The Ancient Ones

Me: I own you, trees. Trees: Ha ha.

Pioneer Town

Plastic Cement

We continue to plaster the interior walls up to a very specific row with plastic cement/ Earth mix and above that we will be trying LaHabra stucco with cement and lime mixed together. Progress is evident and decisions are being made. It is still hard work, but I am so happy to say that even in 100 degree and above temperatures in the Mojave Desert, the dome is in the 80's! It's amazing to think that we have created a structure in the desert that you can literally survive in year round without power! We have water on site, without that we couldn't stay very long. Water is truly California's Gold.

Apse entranceway plaster starting 

Apse plaster

2nd coat 

Making a statement with the entrance: Possible mummies reside here. 

Tell me why I had to be a Powerslave.
I don't want to die, I'm a god, why can't I live on? 

Baller

Bee hive with side volcano.

The Dome is composed of 90% Quartz. 

Facing 29 Palms Marine Corps Base. KABOOM! 

The Mojave sunset is awesome. 

The cholla isn't even spoiling the sunset for me. Stay AWAY! 

At the base of Goat Mountain. 

Totally!!!!!!