Sod is the upper layer of soil held together by (usually grass) roots. It was used as a building material, in a similar way to soilbags.
You must log in or register to comment.
Cool, but how to keep the moisture and black mold from forming inside the dwelling?
Impermeable layer, usually skookum pond liner style, on top. Drainage. Ventilation and heating. Lime wash. Light helps if it can be managed in the design.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
I think cob is the way to go personally, but the general theme of using soil as a building material fascinates me.
deleted by creator
TBH, I think we need to bring this back for more remote/low density construction. It sounds awesome and I bet it would be a really good insulator
Not so much insulation, as thermal mass. It takes a lot of energy to change the temperature of that much earth.
They are excellent resilience, low-tech dwellings for places with temperature extremes, like prairies or high altitude.
The engineering needs to be sound.
However, they are dark inside and usually low-ceilinged, and can be damp if not well managed.
Or not well-designed. I’m sure someone like Mark Oehler could’ve figured something out. I don’t have much sod here in central Finland, unfortunately, to try something, neither did he I suppose. I still think of how to cover the roof in living grass though, this is perfect roofing material IMHO once we figure out how to fix leakage without resorting to plastic sheets that my grass seems to tear like they are not even there.
Stainless steel perhaps
Yes and no. There are grades, variations of acidity and oxidative state of medium through the year. It’s heavy. It warps differently from everything else with temperature variation. Most of all, it is expensive.
I was also considering glass or clay overlapping tiles. Would be cool to cast huge ceramic panel, but it will crack, unless soil matrix holds it together. Shingles under sod might get roots growing through.
Another possible approach would be to allow leaks deliberately, then leave porous medium below the locking level with airflow access - so that any leaked water would be carried away with warmer air rising from habitation levels or even rhtough ventilation system or stove exhaust.
So much to study.
