How to Build a Hobbit Home
If you have fallen in love with the curved domed shaped houses like the Hobbits live in, you may have wished that you could have a house like that yourself. It's possible, and it can be done at a low cost. What you need to build is an "earthbag house," also known as a "superadobe." These structures are gradually being accepted in many locales, are incredibly sturdy and can be as comfortable on the inside as any traditional dwelling. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Concrete
- Papercrete
- Large fiber bags
- Bricks
- Sand or soil
- Shovel
- Barbed wire
Instructions
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How to Build a Hobbit Home
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1
Buy a set of approved superadobe house plans or commission an architect, who has experience in this style of construction, to produce a set.
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2
Lay out the outline of your house on the ground, using posts and string. You will be digging a circular trench to form the foundation. If you live where permafrost forms, you will need to pour a concrete foundation. If you live in a warmer climate, you can simply place a 6-inch layer of crushed rock at the bottom.
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3
Begin filling the bags with the soil. Place them in the trench, creating one layer. Then place a layer of 2 strips of barbed wire over this layer. Add more layers of bags and barbed wire, one atop the other, slopping inward as you go, to form a dome.
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4
Add pipes, as you layer the bags, to serve as place holders for plumbing and electrical lines, and frames and boxes to serve as place holders for doors and windows.
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5
Add a brick floor, layers of plaster on the inside and a layer of concrete mixed with paper pulp (known as papercrete) on the outside. When these have dried, add your plumbing, wiring, windows and doors as you would with any other structure.
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