Magcrete Tiny House
This project, demonstrating our newest and favorite combination of materials to work with is close to being dried in (doors and windows installed)! Magnesium oxide and hemp have proven to possess several advantages over building with hempcrete (lime and hemp) including: - cures in a fraction of the time, - truly impervious to mold and pests, - completely natural and non-toxic, - easy to build with, and forgiving in it’s flexibility!
The Hempcrete Hemple
Hempcrete, a mixture of lime and hemp, has just recently been added to the International Building Codes! We enjoyed partnering with Haven Earth on this small 6 sided building that has become the bedroom to the original Aircrete Dome! This approach must cure for 4 to 6 weeks after being completed which means daily watering and tarping to protect it from inclement weather. The challenges with this build were that it never cured into a hard wall and remained flakey. Once we finished stuccoing the exterior we discovered some mold issues from the inside. We did some tear out and corrected the walls with our MgO and Hemp recipe and had no further problems! Final pictures will be posted soon!
Aircrete Dome finished with MgO
Our 2nd dome was built with Aircrete block, like the first, but was finished with MgO (magnesium oxide). All exterior and interior walls are MgO stucco, the sub floor and finish floor are MgO based recipes and the feel of this material is decidedly more organic felling than the 1st dome which is set on a concrete slab. It is near finished and will serve as the massage/healing space studio here at Saoirse. We are looking at a set of Tibetan bowls to utilize the amazing acoustics in this building!
Aircrete Dome
Our first project, built with aircrete blocks (Portland cement/air infused blocks) was great fun! We partnered with Domegaia on both domes and learned so much! These folks make building an adventure and were fantastic about coaching us through the finishing of the domes! The challenges were countless as the finishes all had to be custom and hand-made. It took a full year to complete the first dome but it was well worth the effort! $45,000 was the final investment and getting the dome water tight was the biggest challenge! We finally compromised on a silicone paint product :( (petroleum based product) but she leaks no longer!!
