[Strawbale] concrete footings

[Predrag Cvetkovic]

I am really sorry for sending this email again to correct my previous
mistake, now is in plain text format.

=========================================================
Hello All,
Until now I was only a lurker, wanting to learn something about strawbale
houses and natural building, and preparing myself for putting some questions
to the group. First, I want to say thanks to all in this wonderful group for
useful discussions.

I live in Serbia, my name is Predrag Cvetkovic. I dream about moving near to
countryside and having natural house, which would be made by myself., of
course.

The foundations are my big worry, I must admit that. Stone foundations are
what I am thinking about, but I am without any experiance, maybe to make a
very small building first, to have more experiance.

I would like to ask the group: is it better for a building up to 100sqm to
have thin concrete foundation and then stone foundation over it? Or only
classical stone foundations?

I didn't know about differences in using two types of lime, presented by
Stephen. Thanks!
My area is famous in Serbia for lime producers then, that kind of lime is
not recommended for foundations?

Any comments or links are welcome.

best regards
Predrag





Stephen wrote:

> i can also vouch for paul sheraton's comments about lime concrete: while
the
> structural strength does not reach that of a cement concrete it is more
than
> sufficient for a house and certainly for something as small as you are
> planning. for foundations and slab it is important however to use
hydraulic
> lime (nhl 3,5 or 5) and not the more pure calcium lime (perfect for
> plasters). lime also takes much longer to dry completely than cement so
this
> would need to be taken into account in the timeline planning.
>
> a lime/hemp slab (very common in france) while being a wonderful
insulating
> base, needs however to be prepared with caution. a well ventilated thick
> rubble bed is absolutely necessary in order to avoid any problems of
> humidity. this may not be suitable for you since rubble sourcing appears a
> problem.