Skyview Project Photos; House Design & Construction

House Design & Construction
Last Updated: January 12, 2012
Most recent images first; plan drawings, text and additional references at bottom...

Images of the completed work before shutting down for the 2011 Winter.

Cured and unveiled!

Here we are doing one of the window 'eyebrows'.

Pouring (columns and beams) complete throughout.

Here the main columns throughout are finished and we've just finished the west beam, preparing to cover it for the cure.

This is the form-less method we used for the columns and beams. It is poured from the top, then the 'oooze' is screeded.

Here we've completed a 3' high section around the rear perimeter to keep out mud during the coming winter. Note the burlap covers for curing.

Working on the east retaining wall plaster. Note bottle fill started in the soil / edge beam.

The left (utility) entry completed, which served to test the methodology for the rest of the structure.

Here we are test plastering a region to see how effectively we can get the plaster through all of the layers. As it turned out, it is nearly impossible due to the quality of sand we were using and the mix. We ended up pulling off the final (stucco) mesh layer on one side and things went smoothly from that point on.

In our revised approach, only one side has expanded (stucco) mesh (the other side's is replaced, when needed, with a layer of 1x1 or a 2nd, offset of 2x2 mesh). For the formless pours (columns, beams), the expanded (stucco) mesh is retained and used to contain the pour.

Mesh in place for this year's pours and plastering.

Closeup of a fully-meshed column (stucco, 1x1, 2x2 layers over rebar).

Stucco (final) mesh layer in place, note integrated gutter over entrance.

Decorative glass inserted into the stucco mesh final layer.

Running the electrical conduit and boxes.

Column meshing detail (2x2 and 1x1 in place).

Solar oven is in and the kitchen column has the first layer of (2x2) mesh.

A bit of free-form buildup on the living area wall (tree branching to compliment the column).

2x2 meshing at column fill areas.

Beginning the column meshing. Here we use bottle fill to reduce concrete needs in non-structural areas.

Extending the retaining wall at the left (utility) entrance.

Summer, 2011; After adding the roof arch ties to the beams.

The completed peripheral structure as we prepare to shut down for the Fall (2010) rains. Over the Winter, we'll be finishing the steel frames for the doors (ferrocement/steel) and clerestory windows (3, at the arch peaks) and get them in place. I also need to mount the solar wall oven (already built). As the weather improves we'll be meshing and plastering the beams and columns (to give the core strength), then beginning the roof (barrel arches). Remember, that with the exception of the front and atrium faces, the structure will be buried. Incidentally, the total waste from construction to date (including the foundation) would probably fit in 5 or 6 five-gallon buckets!

Taking a break...

Beginning the roof edge beam / soil wall. The beam will be rubble filled (old cans and bottles) internally to reduce concrete usage (and sticking with the ferrocement construct). This technique will be used elsewhere in the structure where we want the bulk but don't need the mass or compressive strength...

The west end, with the door cutout and the entry porch / retaining wall framed.

Beginning the west entry and solar collector (hot water) faces.

The 'bird cage' (entry closet).

Here you see the 'eyebrows' over one of the windows (all windows will have them). The purpose is to allow direct winter sunlight but no direct summer sun. In window frames like these, I'll be inserting commercial aluminum-framed sliding windows.

Atrium framing completed (the loops hanging down are for a plant cross hanger).

Building the atrium window frame complex in place. The glass will be from recycled patio doors (double pane tempered).

Showing beam interconnectedness.

East retaining wall and column/wall inter-tie.

Extending side walls around.

The front entry porch framed up.

Fabricating the frames (windows, vents, doors, etc.).

Another view...

Rear wall between the primary beams with wind tower forming started. Also, the smaller 'hanging' beam that ties the two longitudal beams can be seen just before the upper curve of the wall.

Completed east longitudal beam and intersection with front wall.

Bending the arch bars.

Rear wall interconnection.

Another view... The longitudal beams will serve as the base for the barrel-vault roofs.

Completed west longitudal beam and diaphram walls. Note that the columns will be mesh covered and plastered, then poured with conventional concrete (to increase compressive strength of the columns). The beams will be also be meshed and plastered but their fill will be with lightweight concrete (perilite replacing aggregate). This is a takeoff on one of the historical applications of 'ferroconcrete' -- where a ferrocement exterior was used as the 'form' for pouring (no wood) when higher compression or mass was required.

Infilling the west beam.

The west longitudal beam started (the east beam & arch in the background).

Developing the rear and diaphram walls, including installing the first (internal) door frames.

We really got going in July (after the last of the rains and the gardens going). Here we are starting the east longitudal beam and arch.

Frame steel bent and ready for welding (doors, etc.)

The buttress column by the kitchen

We took a year off for various reasons. Here, in March (2010), we are raising the first columns between the rains.

Covered for the 2 week (minimum) cure.

The completed foundation!

...and finishing it.

The 'team' pumping/placing the concrete...

The 6x6x10 mesh overlay and screed boards in place.

Warm, dry weather returned in January (2009) and we got to work. Here, the radiant tubing is being placed (we used Pex-Al-Pex tubing).

We had hoped to have the foundation poured before Christmas '08, but an artic storm and 6" of snow put a crimp on that. Here we have only the radiant tubing and the 6x6 mesh left to do...!

The beams, columns and center steel is in. Working on the inter-ties.

The rebar bending table we designed/built got a lot of use.

The main entrance porch. Box in center is the form for the mud-grate. A drain is in the front (facing you) while on the right side is the air intake for the masonry heater.

The atrium formwork and reinforcing steel in place. It faces east and will have a gravel floor to support citrus and similar plants needing freeze protection.

The steelwork for the eastern retaining wall (canterlever-type).

View showing the lower level rebar for the western transverse beam and masonry heater.

The western or utility entrance porch and integrated retaining wall. The box on the right is the mudgrate which also contains an airfeed to the root cellar.

Lower level beam rebar work in place.

Working on the tie beam (lower level steel).

Walls marked and ready to lay in the steel!

The vapor barrier / insulation in place.

The completed foundation base, utilities and formwork!

Laying the top-level gravel base and final sand layer.

Before laying the gravel base for the upper (non-beam) areas, the electric conduit is placed.

Utilities and majority of formwork is in. Here the gravel base has been placed in the beams and we are bringing in the base for the upper layer.

Laying in the utilities (in this case, DWV and water).

Ah, now that is becoming recognizable!

Starting the formwork.

The beams have been defined and utility points marked.

The foundation work begins!

During the 2007/2008 winter, we worked on finalizing the house design and associated calculations and documentation. Preliminary drawings (a minimal set) were submitted to the building department in February but they sent us back for more details. We finished the final plans in mid-May and submitted them. We received approval in mid-June (2008).

Covering the temporary drain lines with gravel to over-winter the site. Not shown was the upper diversion as well as jute netting over the exposed hillside.

Routing the temporary site drainage following excavation to the approximate floor (rains were already starting).

The formal site excavation begins! (Fall 2007)

An early clay model of the house.

The old clawfoot tub, lovingly restored and refinished by yours truly (we couldn't resist giving the claw feet's nails a bit of gold trim while we were at it)!

We are constantly 'scrounging' discarded wood to recycle into our house. Here are plywood sheet and milled redwood that came from the Hopland area that was so badly hit by the January '06 floods. Of course there is a bit of time to pull the nails and trimming out bad parts but it does save money and reduce landfill!

Spreading / leveling the gravel for the road's terminal road at the housesite.

The 'terminal loop' (road) being graveled.

Early morning fog lapping at the excavated house site.

Grading the homesite with the house excavation in the foreground

Clearing the homesite

Clay and paper topographic model of the homesite. The red area is the excavation for the house, the greenhouse is the domed structure in the front, storage is behind that, while the blue is the photovoltaic mount and work structure with our camper parked beside it.

Conducting topographic studies for the homesite (water-filled homemade measuring tool)

The House Design & Construction

The house will be constructed out of ferrocement, which lends itself to free-form structures, and embedded in the end of an Oak lined knoll (i.e. partially underground with a 'living roof'). Underground siting of a house (or any building) brings with it noise and thermal insulation, and leaves the land above it available for use as gardens, recreation or to let nature reclaim it.

Ferrocement is a steel-reinforced concrete most often associated with ocean-going ships or with sculpture. It is unlike conventional reinforced concrete in that the amount of concrete used is much less and the steel much higher (but thinner). Concrete gives the compressional strength while steel gives the finished structure the tensile strength. World Emergency Management organizations lists ferrocement construction as one of the few building methods suitable for earthquake, wildfire, hurricane and tornado prone areas.

In our case, our interest is in building a free-form house, more like a sculpture, that will survive 200-500 years. It doesn't make sense to build with materials that won't last 20-50 years as that is not sustainable, even with the greenest materials and intent. More specifically, we look at the embedded energy per ton (or GH gasses per ton) divided by the expected lifetime. The resulting 'figure of merit' says a lot about the way we build today.

Given that wood quality has deteriorated so much due to the tree farm practices (experts now recommend only using it indoors), and the locality problems with materials such as strawbale, clay, etc., ferrocement makes sense. Further, steel is one of the most recycled materials today, with a relatively low embodied energy. Concrete, made predominately of clay and lime, and when used with the addition of up to 70% pozzolons (e.g. flyash), is a basic material also with a relatively low embodied energy. Ferrocement construction is material cheap (relatively) and labor intensive -- just right for an owner built home.

For illustrations of ferrocement construction (and other designs that have inspired us), see the SkyView Project House Ideas page.

The following documents detail more specific aspects of the house design from the perspective of the Building department (these documents, along with the plans and calculations that follow were part of the permit submission):
Adobe .pdf format
House design notes
Title 24 compliance (California energy issues)
Site, soils

The House Plans
Adobe .pdf format

Additional Reading for Those Interested:
('*' = highest recommendations)

A Pattern Language, Christopher Alexander, et al, Oxford Univ. Press, 1977
*Your Engineered House, Rex Roberts, M. Evans & Co., 1964
The Earth Sheltered Owner-Built Home, Kern, Mullein Publishing, 1982
Underground Houses; How to Build a Low-Cost Home, Roy, Sterling, 1979
The Earth-Sheltered House; An Architect's Sketchbook, Wells, Chelsea Green, 1998
*Earth Sheltered Housing Design; Guidelines, Examples and References, Van Norstrand Reinhold Company, 1978
The Complete Book of Underground Houses; How to Build a Low-Cost Home, Roy, Sterling, 1994
The Underground House Book, Campbell, Garden Way, 1980
How to Build your own Underground Home, Scott, Tab, 1979
Underground Designs, Wells, Brick House, 1977
*From the Earth Up, The Art and Vision of James Hubbel, Rigan, McGraw-Hill, 1979
Building with Vision, Optimizing and Finding Alternatives to Wood, Watershed Media, 2001
Handmade Homes, The Natural Way to Build Houses, Boericke and Shapiro, Delacorte Press, 1981
Zoomorphic, New Animal Architecture, Hugh Aldersey-Williams, Harper Design, 2003
The Ferro-Concrete Style, Francis Onderdonk, Hennessey & Ingalls, 1998 (1928)
*The Hand-Sculpted House, Evans Smith and Smiley, Chelsea Green, 2002
*Places of the Soul; Architecture and Environmental Design as a Healing Art, Christopher Day, Thorsons, 1990/1995
*Concrete Design, Gaventa / Beazley, Octopus Publishing, 2001
*A Shelter Sketchbook, Timeless Building Solutions, Taylor, Chelsea Green, 1983
*The Natural House Book, Pearson, Fireside, 1989
*Living Spaces; Ecological Building and Design, Konemann, 1998
*Home Work; Handbuilt Shelter, Kahn, Shelter Publications, 2004
*Earth to Spirit; In Search of Natural Architecture, Pearson, Chronicle Books, 1994
Ferrocement Model Code; Building Code Recommendations for Ferrocement, International Ferrocement Society, www.ferrocement.org, 2001
Ferrocement Housing Prelude, Hemant Vaidya, Om, 1994

Note, many of these books can be obtained from Charmagne Taylor at Dirt Cheap Builder (aka Taylor Publishing)