Jae Suzanne

I built a cob wall in Northern California (rainfall 75 inches annually at the time). This work is very labor intensive and I spent a lot of time with workshop labor and then paid labor to finish it. It was gorgeous. My partner at the time was lamenting about the regular linseed applications to protect it, so I hesitated on treating it one fall and after the first rain the whole thing fell in one fell "whoosh". It was about 20" long- and protected us from hwy noise. It reversed any dreams I had about building in this region with cob. I am working with burlap- crete now and built a 75 ft fence in 3 days 5 feet high by myself for 250$ and am going to start a small dugout project to test my burlap-crete construction in the wettest climate in California... Using 9000 psi rapid drying cement with water harvesting/drainage. Curious about the water holding nature of calcium aluminate cement... anyone have any experience?

Thanks so much Christine... I was confused... I thought you were in Joshua Tree- California. Thanks again.

Hi Christine, I am seriously considering buying a 5 acre parcel in Joshua Tree on Mile Square Rd. I would ideally like to live off grid, collecting water and creating a dome home with a courtyard and have a place I can visit for little vacations or somewhere I can come stay if need be for longer periods of time. I was taught ceramicrete by Michael Collins and I have worked extensively with cob. I also have done extensive native restoration and drought resistant gardening. Because I am now seeing that Joshua Tree seems to have strict building codes and enforcement- how difficult would it be for me to live in my 120 sq ft dome on a temporary or semi- temporary way? I make ceramicrete tiles and herbal products and the dome would technically be my workshop. I am going to be building a high fence private courtyard like the picture I included. The area seems sparsely populated. I would love to hear your thoughts and appreciate your time.