Friday, May 05, 2006
Have I got a chance?
It seems that I don't have to go insane just because I work at a place that isn't perfect, and my coworker are mostly harmless, but often are synced to a reality that doesn't fit with the facts. Not that they are majorly crazy---not most, anyway---nor is the environment distinctly difficult. It is just that I have this feeling that I have to push against the machine, or I will become an automoton. However, I can be happy, positive and realistic and still keep my sanity, if I choose.
Speaking of sanity, I've got this crazy idea that will never happen! So, I live in an apartment which is pretty fine, but I would rather live in a house I had built. The catch is that summer is coming, and I haven't really figured anything out, and it is too late, but here's the deal: Buy a couple acres, plant some stuff, maybe a couple chickens---enought to call it a farm, so that I can call my house a farmhouse, so that The Code will let me alone.
Make sure I buy where the soil has enough clay that I can use it as stucco, and do a rubble trench with a concrete footer on it, and stack straw bales on that. Put on a tin roof that overhangs enough to protect the walls from rain (porches) and make the south wall stick-built with windows and a passive overhang. Stucco the place, insulate the roof with a straw/clay mixture, floor it with vapor barrier, packed dirt, topped with tar/clay/paper mixture and move in! Attach a composting toilet, add a garage (separate by a wall for sound/fire).
Water is one thing I need to figure out. Shallow well wouldn't be hard, but that would need processing for drinking. Solar still? Probably hook to the grid because wind power is still pretty expensive. By then it will be fall, and I will wish that my wind break grew faster, but at least my house is snug, and warmed by the sun---probably I would need a woodstove that "sets outside the home" to supliment it. Doesn't seem to be any waste biomass around here, so maybe I would burn old tires.
Well, that's the idea, and I am sure somebody has some better ones, and I am all ears.
Speaking of sanity, I've got this crazy idea that will never happen! So, I live in an apartment which is pretty fine, but I would rather live in a house I had built. The catch is that summer is coming, and I haven't really figured anything out, and it is too late, but here's the deal: Buy a couple acres, plant some stuff, maybe a couple chickens---enought to call it a farm, so that I can call my house a farmhouse, so that The Code will let me alone.
Make sure I buy where the soil has enough clay that I can use it as stucco, and do a rubble trench with a concrete footer on it, and stack straw bales on that. Put on a tin roof that overhangs enough to protect the walls from rain (porches) and make the south wall stick-built with windows and a passive overhang. Stucco the place, insulate the roof with a straw/clay mixture, floor it with vapor barrier, packed dirt, topped with tar/clay/paper mixture and move in! Attach a composting toilet, add a garage (separate by a wall for sound/fire).
Water is one thing I need to figure out. Shallow well wouldn't be hard, but that would need processing for drinking. Solar still? Probably hook to the grid because wind power is still pretty expensive. By then it will be fall, and I will wish that my wind break grew faster, but at least my house is snug, and warmed by the sun---probably I would need a woodstove that "sets outside the home" to supliment it. Doesn't seem to be any waste biomass around here, so maybe I would burn old tires.
Well, that's the idea, and I am sure somebody has some better ones, and I am all ears.
Comments:
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wind power is not too expensive if you build it yourself. you'll love these guys at otherpower.com, they do nothing but spend their winters making windchargers.
example
example
Well keep us posted how it all works out. You may as well start sometime, If nothing else you could get the land first. Then get power and water. Old semi-trailers make decent houses for a spell. If you get one with a working Reefer it will heat and AC the inside (or so I have heard). You may not even need a building permit for the trailer. My vote would be to build a nice shop first, since you will probably spend more time there anyhow.
go tob go..thats a lot of work tho.. as if you dont KNOW.. duh..can i come and stomp mud and straw to mix bricks?.. i'm a true israelite..learned how to do that in egypt.. have you looked at any property yet? if you do that in kansas how will we ever get you transplanted?
# posted by 
: 9:14 PM, May 09, 2006
: 9:14 PM, May 09, 2006
For bathing water, all you need is biodegradable soap and a stream. You certainly don't need to bathe in anything drinkable.
For drinkable water, at least in the short term, there are a couple of solutions backpackers use:
If your water is virus-free (not near livestock, or farm runoff,) a water /filter/ like MSR's MiniWorks EX will work. This is what I carry in the backcountry. If there are virus concerns (along the Rio Grande, for example), I chlorinate my water with AquaMira.
If your water is likely to have viruses, you'll need a water /purifier./ MSR's MIOX filter uses electrolysis to make a batch of mixed oxidants, which when added to water kill off bacteria and viruses. The First Need Deluxe Direct Connect filter filters out bacteria and viruses, but you can expect the filter to clog in a hurry cause it's so small. The Direct Connect also filters out pesticides, if you're worried about that. Finally, Hydro-Photon's Steripen uses UV light to purify a container of water.
They sell all of this stuff at campmor.com.
Finally, I should note that what poor statistics exist on water purification in the backcountry indicate that folks who treat their water and folks who don't get sick at exactly the same rate. So it might not matter at all :P.
For drinkable water, at least in the short term, there are a couple of solutions backpackers use:
If your water is virus-free (not near livestock, or farm runoff,) a water /filter/ like MSR's MiniWorks EX will work. This is what I carry in the backcountry. If there are virus concerns (along the Rio Grande, for example), I chlorinate my water with AquaMira.
If your water is likely to have viruses, you'll need a water /purifier./ MSR's MIOX filter uses electrolysis to make a batch of mixed oxidants, which when added to water kill off bacteria and viruses. The First Need Deluxe Direct Connect filter filters out bacteria and viruses, but you can expect the filter to clog in a hurry cause it's so small. The Direct Connect also filters out pesticides, if you're worried about that. Finally, Hydro-Photon's Steripen uses UV light to purify a container of water.
They sell all of this stuff at campmor.com.
Finally, I should note that what poor statistics exist on water purification in the backcountry indicate that folks who treat their water and folks who don't get sick at exactly the same rate. So it might not matter at all :P.
# posted by : 3:08 PM, May 12, 2006
: 3:08 PM, May 12, 2006
Yes, if stream water works for bathing, I am sure shallow well water that has leached from the river would work too. Unfortunatly, we are somewhat lacking on the streams here in the grate planes. And I am sure that for a permanent installation I can find cheap versions of the systems you mentioned.
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