Thursday, June 29, 2017

minor revelations

      Thursday, and even though the rows get slightly shorter as I approach the top of the dome, building everyday is physically tiring. I have been needing 3 or 4 protein smoothies a day in addition to two meals, one before building and one after. I need 10 hours of sleep and my arms and hands are sore, skin is sandpaper dry and full of calluses, cuts, punctures and blisters. I am not complaining, just trying to describe the experience. Even as I type this now, my hand are still so dry from the cement and sand. 
      I had a minor revelation today about how to achieve the leaning arch entrance. I did it on the last dome, of course, but this dome is only about as high as the doorway so having the height to create the leaning arch and when to stop the entrance rows was not clear. But I see that the next row and the following 2 or 3 rows will establish a 45 degree angle around the doorframe and the leaning arch may just meet at the top of the dome and form a spine from that point along the entrance way.



Up on the row.
If you knock on a row with your knuckle, it's hard as stone. 
That one imperfect row makes for an fantastic step! Happy Accident. 
Still 4 rows to the top of the door. Is it groundhog day?
From this angle you can see the left curve of the dome and the right side as it straightens to meet the entrance, and make room for the door in swing. 
From this angle it looks like only 2 rows to the top of the door. Lies!
The next row will only go to the barbed wire. The next row will be a foot shorter and the row after that also a foot shorter (approx) to form a 45 degree angle that starts outside the door frame.
Does this make it clearer or more confusing?

Thanks for reading this blog. Superadobe is a solution to many housing issues that face people all over the world. I hope this blog somehow encourages and informs those interested in the process. You can do it, it is not that difficult. The book, Sandbag Sheleter is meant to be ALL you need to actually build. It is a forgiving medium, very strong and using geometric principles utilized in architecture from antiquity to today.  
http://www.calearth.org/shop/  
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HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN