Cob Mahal Chapter 2: Good Boots 2: The Dry-Stacked Stone Stem Wall

This is the second in our series of instructional videos on natural building, focusing on the Cob Mahal, our round house in Texarkana, TX. This video shows the components of a dry-stacked stone stem wall and the techniques used to build it. Together with the rubble trench, the stone stem wall is part of the good pair of boots that our house's foundation will provide.
Special thanks to Miguelito Perez for his mentorship and teaching in stone work. Thank you, ‪@cobhillnaturalbuildingscho4737‬ for guiding us along the way!
#naturalbuilding , #construction , #diy , #stonemasonry , #stone , #masonry , #stonework , #cobhouse, #strawbale #permaculture
Music by ‪@michaeldroskemusic‬ , "Benny Hill Theme Style, Royalty - Free" by Orion C. Williams

[@mcfujiwara925]

Yes, my friend! Totally kickin' Pathagorass! Shim-mee & shakin'! Glad you're gettin' your rocks off (or in)! :) Bet having a roof overhead would be a game-changer, especially all the fun in the sun you've been having. Can't wait to see more of your fab progress!

[@naturallivingwithmikeandnalini]

Thanks so much man! Great to hear from you. Yes, we can't wait to be able to rock and roll in the shade!

[@charlotteeolsen8397]

Im so happy i found your channel! Great content ❤ can't wait to see the final build

[@naturallivingwithmikeandnalini]

Welcome aboard and thanks! It's coming along, and new content will be coming soon!

[@d1m4d]

Looks really beautiful! Thanks for the detailed instructions

[@naturallivingwithmikeandnalini]

Thanks for watching!

[@davejones4269]

Excellent presentation. Thanks and we’ll done. Ps That’s looks like it’s going to be one huge house

[@naturallivingwithmikeandnalini]

Thanks Dave! It's definitely gonna be huge!

[@quintondavid7023]

Wow you guys are crushing! Just curious what’s your intended budget for this overall build? We’re you guys subject to extensive permitting in your area?

[@naturallivingwithmikeandnalini]

Thank you sir! We're trying to keep the budget as low as possible. $25k was our original budget, but we've probably already surpassed that, or come close. The rocks were the biggest expense. No permits required, we're in unincorporated Bowie County.

[@quintondavid7023]

@@naturallivingwithmikeandnalini thanks I really appreciate getting bs k to me, and that’s awesome! I think it’s pretty common to have things go over but the end result looks like it will be really epic! Excited to see it progress

[@naturallivingwithmikeandnalini]

@@quintondavid7023 thank you! Excited to keep building it!

[@LawofMosesHere]

@@naturallivingwithmikeandnalinicurious if the rules of permits don’t apply to unincorporated areas in any state (such as mine of California)or just yours and some others (I know Colorado allows). I hope this isn’t a silly question. ❤

[@naturallivingwithmikeandnalini]

@@LawofMosesHere not sure, but I would definitely check with your county. Some jurisdictions might have permit requirements even though you're out of the city.

[@chelzcherry]

What's the function of the 4" perforated pipe? Beautiful video

[@naturallivingwithmikeandnalini]

The 4" perforated pipe is like a water super highway at the bottom of the trench. It carries all of the water collected by the rubble trench out from under the house and into our pond.

[@worganyos]

I'm not saying your wall sucks or that it won't last, but I'm just relaying some information that I've heard. Dry stack walls are NOT meant to be filled with gravel. They are meant to be filled with hearting. Hearting is smaller rocks, but not gravel. Whenever you fill between the rocks, you should be sticking the largest rock possible in the middle of the wall each time until the cavity is filled. Gravel fill makes for a weak wall. Also, the "taper" is called "batter". Another rule that you weren't able to follow due to the size of your rocks relative to your wall width: the face of the stone should always be the narrow side, the length of the rock should stick into the wall. I'm not an expert, in fact I've never built a dry-stack wall, but these are principles that I've heard repeatedly from professional dry stone wallers. I'm a part-time mason (part-time horticulturist, part-time carpenter) who's just learning about dry-stone walling.

[@naturallivingwithmikeandnalini]

Good comment. You are correct when you say you should be using the largest rock possible in the middle of the wall. We definitely attempted to do this, but I should have communicated that principle better. However, hearting can be gravel, and we used a variety of sizes of rock for our hearting. The smaller rocks are equally important to the larger ones in holding the wall together, as long as they are angular and not smooth, as their jagged edges create many points of connection that lock together. I wouldn't recommend building a wall without using hearting that's smaller than 3/4", as you need that small size to get into all the small voids in the wall. And yes, "batter " is the wall building jargon for "taper," I just couldn't recall that word at the time. 😁

[@FelixTheAnimator]

I'm down in Tyler. I'd love to help!

[@naturallivingwithmikeandnalini]

Sure, help is always welcome!

[@Omarbaba74]

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