CEB Wall Construction
The time has come to stop making cement stabilized compressed earth blocks (CEB) and mortar them into a wall and a building. We needed...
Immunology as Foreign Policy
We all have a framework with which we interpret events in our lives and around the world. Any significant event must be given meaning,...
Maintenance
We had figured out the new soil and cement mixtures. We had poured the slab with a stem wall, and so it was back to making blocks. I...
Brick layout
CLICK THROUGH PHOTOS How a builder imagines the block wall will go together must be clear from the start. You can have blueprints but...
Stem Wall Basics
CLICK THROUGH IMAGES ABOVE I wanted to make sure that the stem wall (that hopefully all CEB block walls will be built on) was unified...
The Big Pour
CLICK THROUGH PHOTOS ABOVE Once the pour gets under way, you need three people to get it placed quickly since it will get hot in the...
CEB Foundations 101
CEB foundation and wall sketch The sketch above of the entry door for our energy building shows you the basic design of the foundation...
Big Moves
We were extremely happy to have cracked the code for mixing cement and silt for CEB block making. However, the line between too much...
A/C-D/C
My ancient Babylonian 36 volt direct solar to D/C water pump from Dankoff solar days finally died. I’ve used it for more than 15 years,...
The Heat is On!
In 24 years of living on this place, we have not experienced such intense heat as has oppressed us and our animals and birds this month....
