I was looking through the archives and ended up at Kirk's site. Was wondering when the site was last updated and if you've gotten more done. The cabin is beautiful! How will you add on without taking out a wall? HOw many of you are living there since it looks rather small for several people. What's the size of the cabin? Are you building all by yourself or do you have any help? Thanks for any answers.

-- Amber in WA (mikeandamberq@hotmail.com), November 25, 2000

Answers

I don't remember seeing this. Can you give me the URL for the thread, or the URL for Kirk's site? Or will you, Kirk, when you check in? Thanks!

-- Joy Froelich (dragnfly@chorus.net), November 25, 2000.

Amber: Thanks for your kind words! It hasn't been updated in about a year. The cabin is 225 sq feet downstairs and 175 upstairs (bedroom). The outside wall will become inside when its finished. I'm building on my own and I keep it to 300 bucks a month so its going up steady but slow! I have just started with a bathroom, kitchen, 15 x 20 feet addition and have the foundation and slab floor about done. I'm taking meticulous notes and pictures for an attempt at a slip forming article in Countryside. Gulp!! I can add pictures to that website as I go along if theres interest...Thank you.....Kirk

-- Kirk Davis (kirkay@yahoo.com), November 25, 2000.

Joy, Kirk left an answer under "good books on alternative building". His site is--http://www.geocities.com/PicketFence/Garden/8784/Rock3.html

I copied and pasted the address and went right to his site.

-- Amber in WA (mikeandamberq@hotmail.com), November 25, 2000.

Kirk, I have to say again I think your cabin is beautiful. Did you get the rocks from your own land?

My family lived in a 12X12 cabin for about 6 months. Had a loft for the 4 boys to sleep in, but was very small for 6 people. Wood cook stoves can take up a lot of room when you don't have much to start with. I wasn't trying to be nosy, just very curious about how others are doing, what they're trying, and how far they're willing to go and give up. We went to that cabin from a 2300 sq ft house. Had cold running water and an outhouse. Also a propane stove from a motorhome to cook on in the summer. The kids liked it, although don't know how it would have been in the winter having to be cooped up all together. My husband couldn't handle living so far out with no phone, electricity, etc. Had to go to town almost every day.

I would like to build my own home, but am looking at other alternatives, although I'm not willing to discard anything yet. Anyway, I didn't want you to think I was just "nosy". Thanks for answering. I'd be very interested in some updated photos on your site.

-- Amber in WA (mikeandamberq@hotmail.com), November 25, 2000.

http://www.geocities.com/PicketFence/Garden/8784/Rock2.html.....Try this one. It my have a lot more to look at. This site is acting a bit strange right now.....Kirk

-- Kirk Davis (kirkay@yahoo.com), November 25, 2000.

Hi Amber! No your not nosy! 6 people in a 12 by 12!!! Wow. This is just me right now. I'm hoping my Barb can be talked into living out there with me when I get some more built. She is bothered by no potty, no elect, no telephone etc. Ha! I hope you can experience building your own home because it is a special feeling. .....Kirk

-- Kirk Davis (kirkay@yahoo.com), November 26, 2000.

Hi Kirk

You have a really great looking house and sauna/spa, it looks like you paid good attention to detail and it shows, good job! I was wondering though, how did you manage to turn corners and make the join look good when you were using a slip form technique? Also I was wondering how you managed to make the rocks in your walls stand out and not have the concrete slurry harden up flush with the outermost point of your rocks and it end up looking like a speckled concrete wall instead of a rock wall.

I've played around a little with slip forming concrete when I made my septic tank, the only way I could figure out how to turn a corner was to make a "L" shaped form and clamp the open side of the "L" to the adjoining verticle slab. Its a good thing that the septic tank was buried and out of sight because my results looked horrible and I was wondering how you managed to make your joins between slabs look so good.

Im planning on using slip forming concrete again for my barn/workshop and having a layer of papercrete (thanks JOJ!) bricks on the inside as insulation, if I can pick your brains and make the results looks good I wont have to put on a layer of stucco over the outside walls to make it look decent. If you dont mind could you give me a couple of tips?

Thanks

Dave

-- Dave (Ak) (daveh@ecosse.net), November 26, 2000.

Dave: Yea those corners were the hard part! I formed the L portion on the inside wall then did as you said by framing the outside L. But heres the thing. I worked my way around each wall first and formed the corners last. That way the corners went together much nicer and uniform. One problem in slipforming river rock is its done blind. You lay the rock inside the plywood form making sure your rock is against the form. As the rocks are formed you make sure the concrete is pushed between the rocks. I only did a height of two feet a day so I could easily get down into the two foot space. The next day I took down the form and scraped between the rocks to provide the relief. The trick is in not letting the concrete set up. One thing nice about rock is you can be off some and it won't be noticed! Its so massive! The bad thing is if it looks lousy it may be there for 1000 years! I was scared to death so I did the spa first just to make sure I wouldn't make an ass out of myself!! Anyway if I can be of any help just ask...Kirk

-- Kirk Davis (kirkay@yahoo.com), November 26, 2000.

Thanks Kirk I appreciate the response, your house sounds like its taken you an ungodly amount of work though. I think that doing a large barn/garage like that would be a little overambitious for me, I dont think I have enough energy left for that much work. I'll probably stick with the stucco plan..... which is kind of a shame since your results are beautiful.

Thanks

Dave

-- Dave (AK) (daveh@ecosse.net), November 29, 2000.

Wow kirk-just review your webpage,that effort really qualifies you as a member in good standing of the rock picking clan.Welcome to the family,long lost cousin! Looking good.

Rock on! Sorry,just couldn't help myself!

-- sharon wt (wildflower@ekyol.com), December 02, 2000.

Kirk- you have put a whole new light on slip form for me!!! How awesome and beautiful. We grow stones on our property, our best crop, and I have always wanted to do something with them. Slipform was something I had ruled out because it didn't look the way I wanted it to. Yours does. Please hurry with the article!!! diane

-- Diane Green (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), December 02, 2000.