Awesome suggestion for heating water! Thank you!

I'm thinking of building with wofati principles in southern Yukon, which turns out to be an area where earthquakes occur more often than in the middle of the continent.

Does anyone have any thoughts about what sort of safety features could be usefully incorporated into a wofati design in an earthquake zone?

It seems ridiculous to contemplate building underground in an area where the earth itself is unstable, but having great insulation is a major bonus for the sub-Arctic and I'm reluctant to give it up.

Thank you, and Happy New Year
El

Hi

You've likely already sourced this, but in case you haven't, you might want to take a look at Mike Oehler's Earth Sheltered Greenhouse Book (Mole Publishing, 2007).

Cheers

Hi

Here's a website for phenology in Canada:  https://www.naturewatch.ca/plantwatch/

They're not making the links to guide gardeners yet, but it's a start.

Cheers
El

Hi, Pat

Did you end up building a RMH in Whitehorse?  My daughter and her partner live there, and I'm seriously thinking of emigrating. If you did, may I ask - how did it go with insurance?  

Thanks

Ah, I am sorry to hear this. Mike Oehler and his design genius turned the idea of a Hobbit house into an achievable dream for me.

May he rest in peace.

Hi
The only wild-forage carbohydrate with which I am familiar are bullrush roots (aka cattails). I'd love to launch into the Québec forest and survive on a wild foraging diet, but I hesitate due to a perceived lack of carbs. Might you have any suggestions or substitutions?
Thank you
Linnéa

Hi, Everyone

Definite newby here, and I'm happy to land among my fellow lovers of Bag End. I hope you don't mind me jumping in to this thread; I was doing some searches for 'underground cob' as I'm mulling over possible designs for combining the $ 500 house with cob, and this thread showed up in the top ten. The whole site looks totally brilliant!

In England, where I learned to build with cob, green roofs are frequently put on cob buildings. The walls will support any amount of weight, and the maritime climate is perfect for growth. They use a lot of thatch, too, but the trend is toward living roofs for cob.

I've been thinking about your other question, about using cob walls in an underground house, and it seems to me that it would be feasible following the same technique as with wood. That is, having a layer of plastic or rubber on the outside of the wall, between the wall and the earth. That should keep the moisture from the cob in the same way it's kept from the wood.

With regard to the breathability of the cob, assuming it was allowed to dry before the plastic layer on the outside and the earth backfilling, I can't see why that would be a problem. It won't rot, because moisture will be kept away thanks to the plastic or rubber membrane, and it will breath on the inside side of the wall. At least, that's what I'm thinking right now; if anyone knows better, don't feel shy to say so.

A question for Allen Lumley, above: you say that the ideal underground structure has 20 feet of dry earth outside the walls. How do you get that much of a belt around the entire building to stay covered and dry?

Cheers