Green roofed shed - structure advice please

[pinenot]

Yes filled coke bottles are another way forward, how clever of you to suggest it, green roofed too.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=f...n-Construction-using-Waste-Plastic%2F;626;470

http://www.instructables.com/id/New-Innovation-in-Construction-using-Waste-Plastic/

Cheers...pinenot

 

[tony1851]

What about the carginogens in plastic bottles?

'Sustainable' construction and, indeed, 'sustainable lifestyles' can become expensive hobbies only affordable by the well-off.

 

[^woody^]

I would also suggest www.tinyurl.com

 

[pinenot]

[quote/] How thick would his walls have to be? And how would he fix shelving etc to the walls?[/quote]

Built in a rising form and properly compacted, rammed earth is as hard as concrete and can be drilled to take wall plugs in the usual manner. The enhanced weight on the roof over conventional methods assists rather than desists.
A shed wall thickness need be no more than 9" depending on overall shed dimentions

 

[JohnD]

rammed earth is as hard as concrete

'mmmmmmm.

 

[tony1851]

[quote/] How thick would his walls have to be? And how would he fix shelving etc to the walls?

A shed wall thickness need be no more than 9" depending on overall shed dimentions[/quote]

And how long would that take him to do? And what would he do with the hole left from excavating all that earth? He said he's on clay so presumably he'd end up with a garden pond - what if he has kids?
What would he use to build the 'rising formwork' - and how easy is that to do in practice?
Would a 9" thick earth wall really work? The cob cottages of the south-west have much thicker walls than that. What would he finish the walls with?
Methinks he would end up with a pile of dirt looking like someting out of the Flintstones, and a useless hole in his lawn.
What's wrong with some timber framing, cladding, and a mineral-finished felt roof - like everyone else has?

 

[^woody^]

Tony, I'm beginning to suspect that you are not committed to the cause

 

[tony1851]

Correct, Woody.
The sooner people wake up and stop going along with all this 'green' rubbish, the better.

 

[pinenot]

[/quote]The sooner people wake up and stop going along with all this 'green' rubbish, the better./quote/]

Your behind the times, the mainstay of industry has already gone down this path.

 

[xdave]

The sooner people wake up and stop going along with all this 'green' rubbish, the better.

What about the enjoyment of the limited amenity spaces many of us have left - is that not valuable enough to spend some effort in securing it? I get huge enjoyment from the green roofs on my property - they are magnets for birds and insects almost all year round and visually make a nice change from the mineral-finished felt roofs that surround me. Green spaces lift moods. If the OP is prepared to put the effort into securing his own small piece of enjoyment then why not? You get a lot of satisfaction out of building with your hands rather than your wallet.

 

[tony1851]

The sooner people wake up and stop going along with all this 'green' rubbish, the better./quote/]

Your behind the times, the mainstay of industry has already gone down this path.[/quote]

You maybe right. But 'green' costs, whether imposed by government or public opinion, represent a cost to industry. Manufacturers can then go abroad to countries where governments are not so precious about CO2.

To prevent future power brownouts through excessive dependence on either imported gas or inefficient windmills, we need more, not less, coal-fired power stations. Coal is our one big natural resource and we should use it to the full.

 

[pinenot]

*******s, green does not cost, what costs is profit, that's excess profit or to put it more succinctly greed. Sustainability with profit, that's what costs, that's why were in such a plight today worldwide.

Sustainability is nothing new or miraculous, it's real cost is zero, that's right ZERO simply defined, if you took nothing out, there would be everything left, but nature is arranged in such a way, that allows us to take out, no holds barred, but you take greedily at your peril ~ Some realize this...some don't.

We have the finest road map to give us a working model...Nature...alas if only everyone could see it.

We, mankind...Homo Sapiens...are wasteful, green/sustainable balances the equation and brings us back to the design parameters in which we evolved, get used to it...pinenot

 

[tony1851]

We have the finest road map to give us a working model...Nature...

OK, Pinenot;
If you or your kids get a serious, life-thretening infection, do you let Nature have it's way and lie down and die?
Or do you go to the hospital to get treatment with expensive equipment and drugs etc? And how do we get the equipment and drugs? - not by 'being-in-harmony-with-Nature' and all that c**p.

 

[pinenot]

What has to do with sustainability??

 

[KevGillan]

Thanks for the various suggestions. Wasn't expecting this to turn into the sustainability debate - maybe that happens everywhere

I did talk to some friends with experience of rammed earth and sunbaked earth bricks. You might be interested in what they're up to:
http://tinyurl.com/ckeq7g8

But, I've got more timber than time - quite a bit is reclaimed so pretty good on the sustainability front. That said, there's always compromises aren't there - after all, the most sustainable course would be not to build at all.

Back on topic, I'm most interested if the planned structure would fall over or not. Working on a slightly different plan on the basis of sticking on a low masonry course so will post again when I've got a pic or two.

Cheers!