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a 3 minute tour of a house made of mud near missoula, montana

 
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Well, mud and logs.  And a bit of straw bale.  Most of the materials came off the land where it is built.



A house the sequesters tons of carbon.   Zero paint, glue or cement. The heat from the summer heats the house through the winter.
 
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Your video doesn't say how you store the summer heat for use in winter.
 
paul wheaton
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Campbell Ritchie wrote:Your video doesn't say how you store the summer heat for use in winter.



I go into a lot of detail in my new book.    But the general idea is that there is a membrane extending 20 feet from the house in all directions.  In a way, the house is under an umbrella along with hundreds of tons of dirt.  This dirt acts as an insulative barrier AND holds heat on an annual scale.  The first real experiment begins next summer as we charge the mass.  This winter we hope to do indicative tests.  



 
Campbell Ritchie
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So, the house, including its foundations, is its own heat sink. Do tell us how that works out when Summer comes. I hope youi don't have problems with the membrane trapping water and damp problems in the house.
 
paul wheaton
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Part of the wofati design is based on an oehler structure.  
oehler-structure.png
[Thumbnail for oehler-structure.png]
single membrane around an oehler structure
wofati-membrane.png
[Thumbnail for wofati-membrane.png]
additional umbrella membrane for a wofati
 
paul wheaton
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Here is a tour of the original oehler strucuture when it was 40 years old

 
paul wheaton
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Campbell Ritchie wrote:So, the house, including its foundations, is its own heat sink. Do tell us how that works out when Summer comes. I hope youi don't have problems with the membrane trapping water and damp problems in the house.



I worried about the exact thing you are suggesting.  When I was on my way to see the oehler house in person, I thought it would smell musty due to the damp.   But it was not musty.  

The two wofatis on my property have both been very comfortably cool in the worst heat of the summer and there has never been an issue with damp.


 
Campbell Ritchie
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That is good to hear
 
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