328 – Questions from Jet Packer Davin Hoyt Part 2

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Davin Hoyt Continues to ask Paul questions because he has listened to every single podcast.

Thermal inertia and moisture barrier. What is a wing wall?

A wall that retains the soil against the exterior wall from the corner of the wofati. This is a retaining wall based on elevation change. This transitions from the side elevation to the top. Looking from above, the wing wall can rotate due east or west. The more up and down it is the larger your mass is and the more earth integrated the WOFATI will be. Paul likes the aesthetic of this. It makes it look almost invisible. Paul likes this type of beauty. He feels your walls and roof are decorated with life.

How much light is there in a WOFATI? Paul removed some of the interior walls which allowed lots of light into the WOFATI. Jesse added some interior walls to cover to moisture barrier. On cloudy days there is still plenty of light. Paul explains that the walls have not been painted white yet. Paul feels that you could cover the wing walls in cob and use mica in the cob making the wing wall reflect more light still. In WOFATI 0.8 the walls are pretty straight but they are wide and announce the location of the WOFATI.

A discussion of WOFATI 0.7 versus 0.8 with regards to the wing walls. Paul things that the more open the wall the better the thermal inertia will be. It is important to keep the wood dry. Mike Oehler puts his posts in trash bags, but some water did get in and now it’s causing the wood to need more reinforcement. Where are moisture barriers placed? On the outside of the wooden box. Subsoil goes on top of the box after the plastic goes down. There are two moisture barriers. The thermal mass must stay dry. The core temperature twenty feet down is about 45 degrees. Oehler’s structure has lots of water passing by.

A discussion of Mike Reynolds’ earth ship was discussed. Earth integrated structures and how Paul and Mike Oehler talk often. Underground houses and Paul’s dislike for that word comes up. Outside each layer cob should be laid down. Smooth surfaces drain better. When you are done the cob will help close off the logs. Closing these areas helps keep the critters out too. The difference between green wood versus dry wood is discussed. Green wood is also a lot heavier. The current barrier is used billboards that were heading for the dump.
Paul thought that adding a second wall would improve things. But first they would disable the RMH. Bottom line is that the RMH has not worked well yet. Re-routing the RMH may improve it. Alena abbey was discussed. Paul talks about some of his ideas on the use of multiple walls versus a single proper wall. The idea was that two mediocre walls that are sealed will be better than one really good wall.

Next up, the group discusses labels and how Paul needs pod people to send him blue tape for labeling things. He knows it’s trivial but the tape costs money and he needs more. He’s embarrassed at how obsessed he is.

The group discusses the double wide “farmhouse”. Paul explains his theory on why he doesn’t like calling the property a farm because that would imply a monoculture. There are lots of things growing on the property now; squash, melons and lots more are starting to come up. The shop and auditorium are the same structure. There is also a wood shop which is a separate building. The rolling shelves that help divide the auditorium are discussed. The group discusses some of problems having so many people coming through the house. The height of the hugel mounds and the advantages of having them is reviewed. Why are the hugels so high? Paul explains that he made them tall on purpose and why they are made that way. The Hugels also give Paul lots of privacy. This should keep the department of making you sad away.

Credit:Kevin Murphy

Relevant Threads

Wofati 0.7: the second winter
heating with green wood
Hugelkultur berm at base camp

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