The planning of this house has taken years.  We have been researching and learning since well before we moved onto our land.  We knew we would be doing someting different, and that we didn’t know how to do it, so learning as much as possible was necessary.

We had to learn as much as possible about all of the different kinds of natural houses so that we could choose which was the best option for our area and then for our specific lot.  We had to learn all about the different techniques used in cordwood building so that we could choose the best one again, to suit our needs.  The planning went on and on, but we still don’t have a solid plan.

Sounds a little crazy, but we have focused more on the skills and techniques than the actual plan of the house.  This is because our building plans are going to change, no matter how much planning we do.  We don’t know what we’ll find when we start digging, we don’t know how the weather will be.  We have no clue how much help we may or may not have.  All of these things, and plenty of other things, will change plans as we build.

There are too many variables to know for sure that the plans will even be possible.  We are not professionals, nor are we working with standard cut lumber.  This also means, however, that there are too many solutions available to worry about what could change. Natural building allows for you to build with almost any design, shape, or size.  For example, we could use a whole tree as a center post for a room or if we dug into a huge boulder where our house was going to be, we can just build the rock into the house.

There is a basic plan, but I also have in mind a few ways of altering the floor plan if something comes up that blocks our initial plan.  The alterations are almost built right into the design so that we have a starting point, but expect the plans to change.  This is another reason why we spent so much time learning, now we know plenty of alternative tecniques and ideas, just in case.

So now that I have shared all my “plans” for the houe with you, just know that they will change.  The house will not even be what we envisioned once it is done.  It’s going a big suprise for us all!

The next time you hear about the house, we will be onsite, clearing for the build! Woo Hoo!

Things have already changed since I first typed up this post.  We planned on being able to dig next week, but we haven’t even cleared the spot yet.  There is still snow on the ground and too muddy to get equipment in yet.  We have a few side projects in the works though….