The True Foundation of Building
Building a house is an incredibly personal event. Everyone wants their own touches to make their house their home. Many, however, cannot even consider entering into this process and because of economic reasons are trapped into paying rent year after year. Mary and I have chosen a different way of building that can include many who do not qualify or do not want a mortgage. I think of all the people who put their savings and hard work into a house only to lose everything in foreclosure to the banks during an economic downturn. I am starting this story with pictures of our house in a more finished state to demonstrate what a vision can look like. The road to the finished form is full of bumps and potholes and does not look like the smooth roads of conventional house building which requires a promise to work in the future for the use of global resources today by acquiring a mortgage.
This promise to work in the future for resource use is a global issue as more people in developing nations apply for construction loans. As we deplete the earth's resources and increase land degradation and pollution (pollution includes greenhouse gases) at an increasing rate we may want to take an alternative path, a path that provides a slower, more conscious and deliberate way to build and to live.
The first layers of clay are added to the outside of our straw bale octagon (yurt).
The gardens were added at the same time as the building of the house. Tents were set up among the gardens where Mary and I, as well as our guests, stayed during beginning stages of this time period.
Mary putting on the finishing clay covering.
The yurt with the finished clay.
Throughout our building process the aspect of throughput was considered making our building experience quite different from a conventional building process. In conventional building practices efficiency is one of the most important considerations, whereas throughput (refer to throughput article) became the driving force in this method. Our culture holds efficiency in such high regard that at first it seems that if one questions efficiency it seems as if it is counter to sustainability. Let’s say there are two houses sitting next to each other, house A and house B. House A is 90% efficient in holding heat whereas house B is only 70% efficient; however house A is 3 times larger than house B. House B may in fact use less fuel to heat. House B may be built with local natural materials such as local wood, straw and clay , reducing transportation costs while at the same time eliminating the need to build factories to make the insulation, cement and other building materials. House B may have used a building method known as 'design build' in which one designs as the building process progresses instead of having the design in place before the actual building begins. This method allows for used materials to be incorporated such as windows, doors, and many other building needs that might come your way as the building progresses. When a set design is in place it tends to force you to buy new materials but using second hand materials keeps them out of the landfill which decreases the need to produce landfill liners and other resources used in landfill management.
When building over a longer period of time one needs less money initially. The more our culture depends on mortgages for people to build their homes, the more banks are required to be built, along with paper that is shuffled around or computers to keep track of the information, thus escalating throughput dramatically. Mary and I have taken the design build path along with considering throughput for these reasons.
I wanted to build a house that was not dependent on the ebb and flow of the economy. Could it be possible to build a house without a mortgage? I decided to give it a try and I asked around for land that I could rent which was close to where I worked. I was employed as a part time (three days a week) physical education teacher. Michael and Susan, longtime friends of mine, offered me a plot of land to start my vision and I am so grateful for their generosity. I told them I wanted to build a post and beam octagon (referred to as the yurt) with straw bale walls, a house that was movable. I also told them I thought I could build this structure in two months. Ideally the electricity I needed would be produced by the sun, yet I quickly realized that solar panels were a pipe dream and soon I had a long extension cord running from Micheal’s workshop to the yurt. The two month time line was so far off, and having no other plans for shelter , I crazily decided to pitch a small tent inside the yurt and live in that space throughout the long and cold Vermont winter. My suggestion to anyone thinking about building a movable structure on rented land is to go with a simple design! Do not build a structure with a million angles! As I began to find out, this one decision was costly in the amount of time it took to complete the project.
I had told Michael and Susan I would be on their land for only one year and quickly my time ran out. Fortunately, my lucky streak was extended and I disassembled and moved the yurt over to Andy and Marianne’s land which, conveniently, was closer to where I worked. I could ride my bicycle to work and four miles of my commute was through the woods on an old railroad bed! I was able to purchase used solar panels and set up the electricity to power the tools to finish (as you will see, finish is a relative term) the project. My new location felt ideal. I was in a pasture where sheep grazed peacefully around the yurt. Pebbles, the leader of the sheep, loved people and was a welcome distraction. One day I came home from school only to find the sheep eating holes in my straw bale walls! Quick action was needed so I grabbed anything I could find, such as boards, old doors, and pallets and leaned them up against the walls preventing the sheep from getting close enough to eat the straw.
When building over a longer period of time one needs less money initially. The more our culture depends on mortgages for people to build their homes, the more banks are required to be built, along with paper that is shuffled around or computers to keep track of the information, thus escalating throughput dramatically. Mary and I have taken the design build path along with considering throughput for these reasons.
I wanted to build a house that was not dependent on the ebb and flow of the economy. Could it be possible to build a house without a mortgage? I decided to give it a try and I asked around for land that I could rent which was close to where I worked. I was employed as a part time (three days a week) physical education teacher. Michael and Susan, longtime friends of mine, offered me a plot of land to start my vision and I am so grateful for their generosity. I told them I wanted to build a post and beam octagon (referred to as the yurt) with straw bale walls, a house that was movable. I also told them I thought I could build this structure in two months. Ideally the electricity I needed would be produced by the sun, yet I quickly realized that solar panels were a pipe dream and soon I had a long extension cord running from Micheal’s workshop to the yurt. The two month time line was so far off, and having no other plans for shelter , I crazily decided to pitch a small tent inside the yurt and live in that space throughout the long and cold Vermont winter. My suggestion to anyone thinking about building a movable structure on rented land is to go with a simple design! Do not build a structure with a million angles! As I began to find out, this one decision was costly in the amount of time it took to complete the project.
I had told Michael and Susan I would be on their land for only one year and quickly my time ran out. Fortunately, my lucky streak was extended and I disassembled and moved the yurt over to Andy and Marianne’s land which, conveniently, was closer to where I worked. I could ride my bicycle to work and four miles of my commute was through the woods on an old railroad bed! I was able to purchase used solar panels and set up the electricity to power the tools to finish (as you will see, finish is a relative term) the project. My new location felt ideal. I was in a pasture where sheep grazed peacefully around the yurt. Pebbles, the leader of the sheep, loved people and was a welcome distraction. One day I came home from school only to find the sheep eating holes in my straw bale walls! Quick action was needed so I grabbed anything I could find, such as boards, old doors, and pallets and leaned them up against the walls preventing the sheep from getting close enough to eat the straw.
Used solar panels with the sheep shed in the background.
The yurt was built in such a way that it was possible to rent land until the money was save to purchase land and avoid a large mortgage.
It is during this time I met my partner, Mary. She had an apartment in Montpelier and we spent time in town as well as in the yurt. The two years I spent at Andy and Marianne’s had many twists and turns but the increase in my standard of living was dramatic. We now had our solar electrical system and also a water collection system which filled a water tank, was heated by a wood stove, and flowed into a sink and a hot shower. After Mary and I found land to purchase we were faced with moving the yurt once again, only this time it was more complex with an added room devoted to the water tanks. With help from David and many friends, we once again dismantled the yurt into pieces and moved the structure to its permanent resting spot.
Tanks were filled with rain water collected from the roof and provided gravity fed water.
The rainwater was filtered to provide water for cooking and drinking.
In the 1970's the environmental movement made big steps in reducing concentrated air pollution. We added scrubbers to industrial smoke stacks (this actually increases carbon dioxide to the atmosphere) and made the stacks taller to dissipate the particulates ,only to send them further afield. We never really changed our ways of consumption, we just learned how to dissipate the harm and believed the the Earth could absorb our lack of consideration. Now the CO2 concentrations are increasing worldwide and creating a situation where pollution is accumulating everywhere. If we, as a global community, are going to overcome the exponential growth of throughput and pollution we, as a culture, need to slow down and build with more consciousness.
The real house building story begins when we made our permanent move as now we could finally complete the straw bale project as intended. Throughput was our primary focus at every step of the way and we began by clearing the land to create the house site and garden areas . As the trees were cut for firewood and lumber, the excess brush was piled with the branches all facing the same way which allowed us to easily move the brush and use it where we needed it. We used the brush for fill, hoogles, pathways, landscaping, etc (more on this later). After the land was cleared the foundation for the yurt was our next consideration. About 25 years ago I built a house with a foundation of stones, picked up from an organic farm, placed directly on the ground. This was frowned upon because the frost can heave the building . I was lucky enough to meet Drew, a homesteader, who became a great friend of mine. Drew built his house this way and his house had not moved. The house I built all those years ago using this foundation method is still standing and has not moved for twenty five years. It is true you must know the land and also build with the possibility of movement. The advantages to the foundation on top of the ground are many. There is no need for heavy machinery, very little soil disruption and borrowing money to pay for all the throughput are just a few.
A huge consideration for building foundations on top of the ground is the fact that worldwide we’ve lost much of our carbon in our soil. Carbon content of the soil is responsible for the ability of the soil to retain water. As the carbon content decreases, the chance for flooding increases. It is the aggregates in the soil that holds much of the water and drops of rainwater are strong enough to break them apart and release the carbon as carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. Every time we dig into the Earth the aggregates are broken apart and carbon is released (refer to Humanure and Movement Education articles for carbon content and aggregate formation details).
Another ingrained rule is one must have good drainage around the house. Again, can we take a closer look at this established rule? I found if I added organic matter around the house with a goal of holding the water that plants could be grown. These plants take up the excess water, can be cut and then used as mulch in the garden. During droughts we rarely had to water our gardens plants because the carbon content of the soil increased around our house. Foundations and drainage seem to work together to wash away organic matter leaving the soil around the house with low levels of carbon.
If the house does not have a water collection system as in the case of most houses (even with gutters the water runs out a pipe onto the ground, washing the organic matter away) the water drops off the roof and as stated breaks aggregates apart near the surface releasing the carbon into the atmosphere. Since there is low carbon content around the house the soil does not hold the water and starts to flow. This is where the good drainage comes in to get rid of all the excess water. The water reaches the drainage pipe and is directed away from the building. During a rain storm this flow increases and washes the carbon away from the soil downstream, so to speak, from the drainage pipe.
Let’s consider the flow of water in a stream. If a rock is situated in a middle of a stream, the velocity of the flow of water increases around the rock.
The real house building story begins when we made our permanent move as now we could finally complete the straw bale project as intended. Throughput was our primary focus at every step of the way and we began by clearing the land to create the house site and garden areas . As the trees were cut for firewood and lumber, the excess brush was piled with the branches all facing the same way which allowed us to easily move the brush and use it where we needed it. We used the brush for fill, hoogles, pathways, landscaping, etc (more on this later). After the land was cleared the foundation for the yurt was our next consideration. About 25 years ago I built a house with a foundation of stones, picked up from an organic farm, placed directly on the ground. This was frowned upon because the frost can heave the building . I was lucky enough to meet Drew, a homesteader, who became a great friend of mine. Drew built his house this way and his house had not moved. The house I built all those years ago using this foundation method is still standing and has not moved for twenty five years. It is true you must know the land and also build with the possibility of movement. The advantages to the foundation on top of the ground are many. There is no need for heavy machinery, very little soil disruption and borrowing money to pay for all the throughput are just a few.
A huge consideration for building foundations on top of the ground is the fact that worldwide we’ve lost much of our carbon in our soil. Carbon content of the soil is responsible for the ability of the soil to retain water. As the carbon content decreases, the chance for flooding increases. It is the aggregates in the soil that holds much of the water and drops of rainwater are strong enough to break them apart and release the carbon as carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. Every time we dig into the Earth the aggregates are broken apart and carbon is released (refer to Humanure and Movement Education articles for carbon content and aggregate formation details).
Another ingrained rule is one must have good drainage around the house. Again, can we take a closer look at this established rule? I found if I added organic matter around the house with a goal of holding the water that plants could be grown. These plants take up the excess water, can be cut and then used as mulch in the garden. During droughts we rarely had to water our gardens plants because the carbon content of the soil increased around our house. Foundations and drainage seem to work together to wash away organic matter leaving the soil around the house with low levels of carbon.
If the house does not have a water collection system as in the case of most houses (even with gutters the water runs out a pipe onto the ground, washing the organic matter away) the water drops off the roof and as stated breaks aggregates apart near the surface releasing the carbon into the atmosphere. Since there is low carbon content around the house the soil does not hold the water and starts to flow. This is where the good drainage comes in to get rid of all the excess water. The water reaches the drainage pipe and is directed away from the building. During a rain storm this flow increases and washes the carbon away from the soil downstream, so to speak, from the drainage pipe.
Let’s consider the flow of water in a stream. If a rock is situated in a middle of a stream, the velocity of the flow of water increases around the rock.
This occurs because the volume of water that hits the rock combines with the water going around the rock and increases the volume. Once the water moves around the rock, the velocity decreases.
In many cases there is a top layer of soil with clay underneath. Clay is used as a base in the bottom of ponds to prevent water from draining out. Since little water can go through a layer of clay, much of the water moves through the top layer of the soil. The water continues downward to the small streams which then flow into rivers.
In many cases there is a top layer of soil with clay underneath. Clay is used as a base in the bottom of ponds to prevent water from draining out. Since little water can go through a layer of clay, much of the water moves through the top layer of the soil. The water continues downward to the small streams which then flow into rivers.
If the soil cannot hold the water, the flow increases and washes organic matter into the stream which in turn increases the velocity of the water through the soil because there is less organic matter to hold the water. If we now take a top view of a foundation and imagine the land as being a wide stream and the foundation acting as a rock. This is where building strong imagination muscles is important. The velocity of water flow increases around the foundation adding to the whole carbon washing away process.
It is important to consider the throughput of a typical foundation. There is of course the obvious throughput due to the production and transportation of concrete and digging, however, not so obvious is the throughput due to the increase flow of water. The popular solution is to install larger drainage pipes. Machinery is involved in both digging for the foundation and installing more culverts to remove the water. When flooding occurs, buildings, roads, and bridges are destroyed and need to be rebuilt. Can we really stabilize atmospheric carbon dioxide level using the same cultural practices that increased the level in the first place? I know there are different soil situations, however, with all the technological advances that we have made it seems that we could figure out how to build without digging into our precious soils. This of course is just the foundation.
It is important to consider the throughput of a typical foundation. There is of course the obvious throughput due to the production and transportation of concrete and digging, however, not so obvious is the throughput due to the increase flow of water. The popular solution is to install larger drainage pipes. Machinery is involved in both digging for the foundation and installing more culverts to remove the water. When flooding occurs, buildings, roads, and bridges are destroyed and need to be rebuilt. Can we really stabilize atmospheric carbon dioxide level using the same cultural practices that increased the level in the first place? I know there are different soil situations, however, with all the technological advances that we have made it seems that we could figure out how to build without digging into our precious soils. This of course is just the foundation.
Foundation made of stone laid on top of the ground.
We purchased our land from Mark , now our our neighbor, who just so happens to own a saw mill. At the time we were trying to figure out what material to use for our foundation when I noticed he had a big pile of marble and granite pieces, rejects and cut offs from the marble and granite industry in a nearby town. I discovered I could get marble for just paying the transportation costs, which came to 45 dollars a load and I decided to get two loads. Our foundation was going to cost less than a hundred dollars. One of the throughput considerations in such an endeavor is the amount of money one needs to earn in a typical foundation. The throughput of transportation to work and back to earn the money for not only the foundation but the interest for the loan, and the taxes.
The two loads of marble costing 90 dollars.
The marble is laid on the ground in the shape of an octagon.
Wood is placed between the marble foundation and the actual building. This allows for the possibility to jack up the building to adjust the level in case there is movement due to frost heaving.
As soon as the foundation was built the yurt was transported in pieces to our building site. Mary and I had a work party to put the yurt back together and luckily we had some of the best builders in the area willing to lend a hand. After putting up the post and beam frame, the sixteen roof pieces were ready to be laid into place. At first the pieces fit together easily and soon most of the structure was standing. It was when we were installing the last few roof sections that things began to get very complicated. At one point Michael, standing on the roof, said that the octagon had to rotate to the right. Joe, standing on the ground and looking up, said, “No, it has to rotate to the left.” We all looked at the situation and came to the conclusion that it depended on which vantage point you were looking at the problem from. Well, everyone had a different opinion on what was going on and how to solve the problem! As I stated before if anyone wants to make a moveable structure, do not build an octagon! At the end of the day we still had four roof sections to go. The next day with the help from Michael, David, and Conrad we finally fit the last roof sections. For me the greatest part of the work party was the laughter, food, and working together on a common goal.
Different carpenters, different ideas, and different personalities all working together.
Piece by piece, the yurt takes form.
Mary and Kay take time out for a picture.
At the end of the day there was a few roof pieces that gave us a hard time.
Our next major obstacle to overcome was placing the sixteen floor pieces into place. It was unbelievable but it was a repeat of the roof episode! As Mary, Kay and I started laying the floor sections into position I remarked, “This is going so great, we should be done by 2:00 this afternoon.” At about 4:00 I realized I had to call on Drew, my old homesteader friend. He came the next day and as we surveyed the situation he, of course, had a different opinion than mine on what to do. We discussed our ideas, then we discussed them some more, until finally we just had to dive in and do something. It took us all day to finally get the remaining sections into place.
As great as things were going, it was at this point the real work began. We had chosen to use straw bales for the walls mainly because of the throughput issues. Besides being great insulation, straw bales can be grown locally and our straw was grown in Canada, just over the border from our Vermont homestead. My hope is that a more local market will develop and Vermont farmers can start providing the straw, a byproduct of growing grain. This of course sets up the whole throughput reduction sequence as locally grown straw and grain would cut out the resources needed for the long transportation involved in shipping building materials as well as our foods. Also, factories could be eliminated, including factories that make materials needed in the construction of more factories! In growing straw, carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is taken out of the atmosphere. Instead of increasing the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide in producing insulation for our buildings we can instead trap the carbon in our walls. If the structure has to be removed, instead of hauling the building materials to the landfill the house can be composted, adding carbon to the soils nearby the site. The clay that covers the straw could also be mined locally thus reducing throughput in many of the same ways.
Mary and I wanted a bedroom, a bathroom and utility room to be added on to the yurt while we were erecting the original structure. This addition needed to be lower than the yurt to keep the roof lines intact, and the area had to be dug out. Not wanting to hire an excavator, I undertook the digging by hand. After cutting a few more trees we moved this brush, along with lots of rotting material from the woods, into piles where we wanted garden beds. The soil, from the building site was transported to the piles in a wheel barrel, and dumped on top of the brush. These piles are known as hoogles or hugelkultur in German. As the wood breaks down it feeds the plants, slowly releasing nutrients and creating an environment for microbes, fungi and beneficial insects and vertebrates to thrive. As one looks into the forest we can observe no one fertilizing or weeding, yet the forest grows more plant life than our farms with all its technology which is fed by rotting wood and debris. Although the gardens were made at the same time this will be discussed in another article.
In the past years Mary and I had the opportunity to work with the Volunteers For Peace (VFP), an international organization where young adults from all over the world can sign up and volunteer their labor. Mary and I thought that in our previous experiences with the VFP, at a different site, that there was too much emphasis on the labor the volunteers provided and not enough on the education that the hosts can provide. We now had the chance to host the VFP with a different objective. There are so many global issues that are mounting every day and it is these young adults that are in the position to actually make the changes necessary to go forward into the future. We applied as a host site and were accepted. Our friend David said he would help us during their two week stay and we began to prepare for our guests by building campsites, stocking our solar freezer and cupboards, and enlisting our friends and neighbors for cultural activities. Finally they came; from Spain, Germany, South Korea, China, and the United States. The volunteers moved into tents which were set up among the gardens, a fire pit and cooking area was built, and they were shown how to use an outdoor composting toilet. David and I made a hot water shower system out of a scavenged propane tank and an old hot water heater. There were twelve of us needing bathing and this system provided us with unlimited hot water showers heated by hardwood that was scavenged out of a local dumpster. We all had daily chores to keep the community running smoothly and one of these chores was to start and keep the fire going for the showers. At night we cooked food outside on makeshift rocket type stoves made out of used bricks and metal cylinders which used small twigs to cook most of our food. After dinner there was a campfire where global issues where often discussed and these intrepid young adults had the opportunity to talk about ways they could make a difference in the world instead of waiting for politicians to act.
As great as things were going, it was at this point the real work began. We had chosen to use straw bales for the walls mainly because of the throughput issues. Besides being great insulation, straw bales can be grown locally and our straw was grown in Canada, just over the border from our Vermont homestead. My hope is that a more local market will develop and Vermont farmers can start providing the straw, a byproduct of growing grain. This of course sets up the whole throughput reduction sequence as locally grown straw and grain would cut out the resources needed for the long transportation involved in shipping building materials as well as our foods. Also, factories could be eliminated, including factories that make materials needed in the construction of more factories! In growing straw, carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is taken out of the atmosphere. Instead of increasing the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide in producing insulation for our buildings we can instead trap the carbon in our walls. If the structure has to be removed, instead of hauling the building materials to the landfill the house can be composted, adding carbon to the soils nearby the site. The clay that covers the straw could also be mined locally thus reducing throughput in many of the same ways.
Mary and I wanted a bedroom, a bathroom and utility room to be added on to the yurt while we were erecting the original structure. This addition needed to be lower than the yurt to keep the roof lines intact, and the area had to be dug out. Not wanting to hire an excavator, I undertook the digging by hand. After cutting a few more trees we moved this brush, along with lots of rotting material from the woods, into piles where we wanted garden beds. The soil, from the building site was transported to the piles in a wheel barrel, and dumped on top of the brush. These piles are known as hoogles or hugelkultur in German. As the wood breaks down it feeds the plants, slowly releasing nutrients and creating an environment for microbes, fungi and beneficial insects and vertebrates to thrive. As one looks into the forest we can observe no one fertilizing or weeding, yet the forest grows more plant life than our farms with all its technology which is fed by rotting wood and debris. Although the gardens were made at the same time this will be discussed in another article.
In the past years Mary and I had the opportunity to work with the Volunteers For Peace (VFP), an international organization where young adults from all over the world can sign up and volunteer their labor. Mary and I thought that in our previous experiences with the VFP, at a different site, that there was too much emphasis on the labor the volunteers provided and not enough on the education that the hosts can provide. We now had the chance to host the VFP with a different objective. There are so many global issues that are mounting every day and it is these young adults that are in the position to actually make the changes necessary to go forward into the future. We applied as a host site and were accepted. Our friend David said he would help us during their two week stay and we began to prepare for our guests by building campsites, stocking our solar freezer and cupboards, and enlisting our friends and neighbors for cultural activities. Finally they came; from Spain, Germany, South Korea, China, and the United States. The volunteers moved into tents which were set up among the gardens, a fire pit and cooking area was built, and they were shown how to use an outdoor composting toilet. David and I made a hot water shower system out of a scavenged propane tank and an old hot water heater. There were twelve of us needing bathing and this system provided us with unlimited hot water showers heated by hardwood that was scavenged out of a local dumpster. We all had daily chores to keep the community running smoothly and one of these chores was to start and keep the fire going for the showers. At night we cooked food outside on makeshift rocket type stoves made out of used bricks and metal cylinders which used small twigs to cook most of our food. After dinner there was a campfire where global issues where often discussed and these intrepid young adults had the opportunity to talk about ways they could make a difference in the world instead of waiting for politicians to act.
Young adults from different countries eating together.
We discussed global issues around a campfire and what can be done.
After Mary and I went to bed these young adults discussed the issues well into the night.
David wanted to build a masonry stove to replace our wood stove and like everything else we were under the illusion that this would not take up a great amount of time! So we decided to not only do the straw bale work, plaster the bales, build the marble steps, build a work shed out of small trees, but to add the masonry stove to the list. This stove would not only heat the house but cook our food and heat our water.
This is the finished masonry stove. This stove not only heats our house but also cooks our food and heats our water. The hot water tank is directly in back of the stove. There will be another article on the building and the advantages of this stove.
The VFP learned how to build with straw bales, plaster with clay, mix concrete for the masonry stove foundation, and build with trees, among many other things that came up day after day including sustainability and cultural issues. This environment seems to be scattered at first yet as one starts to live it one realizes that everything is connected. Our culture focuses on one issue at a time and we are taught this from an early age. Our education does not connect different subjects in its curriculum and science, history, math, music, phys. ed , etc. are all separated into their own subjects. As we look into nature more and more we can see that the Earth is all connected and I believe that this is the key to the global cultural change that needs to happen. We currently educated in this present culture so we learn to live this culture. What we need now is to educate in a new culture so we can live a new culture. In high schools and colleges ecological and sustainability courses are still separated out from the long list of other courses being taught, out of our existing culture. As long as this occurs we will not make the changes necessary. The VFP lived and learned in a different culture having fun during their stay.
Bihan (known as Daisy), from Bejing, working on placing the straw bales.
Sidney, from the United States is compressing the bales in the wall.
Adrian, from Germany plastering the straw bales with clay.
The VFP group at the top of Wheeler Mountain.
Before we move on to electricity and water I'd like to wrap up this section by finishing with insulation. The walls of our house are made of the straw bales which have a high insulation value (R-factor) and another insulation material we used was wool. Wool has insulation value similar to fiberglass and cellulose yet the advantage to using wool is that in many cases it is a byproduct of raising sheep. If it does not make the grade to produce yarn it is composted or just thrown out. We were lucky and found sources of this low grade of wool. The process to get this wool ready to use for insulation wool includes first washing and rinsing it outdoors several times in a 55 gallon barrel, then drying under the sun on old steel roofing. The wool was then treated with a mixture of boric acid, borax, tea tree oil, and baking soda. This mixture deters insects, mold and bacteria. Other advantages of wool use are discussed in the Movement article.
Wool being dried in the sun on steel roofing.
Since we used power tools to build the house, electricity was an important part in the building process. Solar panels were attached to a wooden frame with the electronic components under the frame covered with a tarp. I know it doesn't sound like a great idea to have the components out in the weather, however, it got us through two and half years before they could be moved inside the yurt. By having electricity we could use all types of power tools such as a circular saw and a table saw. We had lights at night, a small water pump and a 12 volt freezer with high insulation value. There are two ways to size your photovoltaic system, one being to calculate the amount of electricity needed to operate a typical house and then to install a system that will deliver this amount of electricity. The average kilowatt use per month in the United States is 920 kilowatts. The other path considers the fact that the solar panels and components use up valuable resources including rare earth elements in their manufacturing process. These resources are limited and should be used sparingly. Living off the grid eliminates the need and dependance on all of the wires, electric poles, transformers and generating plants making up the grid systems … the list goes on, not to mention all of the trucks and materials needed for the upkeep. If one believes climate change to be real, it stands to reason that we will experience stronger storms and the maintenance needed on the grid systems will increase, as our limited resources decrease, escalating the costs of electricity. Additionally, there are the costs of protecting the grid from terrorists or cyber attacks. Add to this the approximately 7% loss in electricity due to resistance through the electrical lines and the costs, financially and ecologically, continue to grow. I have lived off the grid for 25 years and have never lost my electricity. As I am writing this the whole Midwest is experiencing an extreme cold snap and many people are having power outages, people whose heating systems depend on the grid electricity to supply the power to keep homes warm and to make sure their water pipes do not freeze. At the same time California is experiencing an extended drought with no end in sight.
Our system is relatively small (30-40 kilowatts per month) and we have to rely on natural laws to make up the difference. The first thing to consider is during the summer months the days are long providing ample electricity while in the winter months when we use more lighting, the electrical power is limited. The excess electricity in the summer allows us to have a freezer. Our food from the garden can be stored quickly simply by freezing and we also can freeze jugs of water to keep other foods cool such as milk, cheese, etc. The freezer sits outside on the north side of the house where it remains cooler in the summer months and being outdoors in the winter it rarely comes on. This not only saves electricity, but also the components that make up the freezer eventually wear out and if it operates half the time the freezer will last longer. I probably should not say this, but the freezer is now about 20 years old and still going strong. Usually when I say such a statement the thing I just boasted about stops working in less than a week so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Our indoors refrigerator(insulated box) is vented to the outside where the air is cool allowing our food to be cooled without any technology that needs power.
We as a culture have ignored the largest energy resource on the planet, a source that is so pervasive that we fail to recognize its significance, simply , the force of gravity. To survive we need shelter, food , clothing and water. Let's consider the energy use in obtaining water. Water falls from the sky in the form of rain and continues its downward travels to a low point of groundwater which supplies our wells, springs and reservoirs. It is usually at this low point that our culture pumps the water upwards and into our dwellings. This action requires electricity to overcome the force of gravity. To understand this more deeply we can look at potential and kinetic energy. Potential energy is the energy trapped in an object at rest while energy is, so to speak, released in a falling object due to the force of gravity. If one considers there is a quality of potential energy in water being held in the clouds while kinetic energy is released when the water falls in the form of rain. This energy is lost if the water is allowed to fall all the way to the low point. When water is collected from a roof into a tank that stands just below the eaves, potential energy is stored waiting to be changed into kinetic energy when the faucet is turned on at the sink or tub. The water flows simply due to the force of gravity. What a miracle! In our case the tank is high enough to gravity feed our tub but not high enough to feed our kitchen sink. To deliver our water to the sink we have a small 12 volt pump that pressurizes the water and since the sink is at about the same height as the tank it takes very little electricity. The collected water stored in two 275 gallon tanks supplies our needs for showers, baths and dishes.
Our system is relatively small (30-40 kilowatts per month) and we have to rely on natural laws to make up the difference. The first thing to consider is during the summer months the days are long providing ample electricity while in the winter months when we use more lighting, the electrical power is limited. The excess electricity in the summer allows us to have a freezer. Our food from the garden can be stored quickly simply by freezing and we also can freeze jugs of water to keep other foods cool such as milk, cheese, etc. The freezer sits outside on the north side of the house where it remains cooler in the summer months and being outdoors in the winter it rarely comes on. This not only saves electricity, but also the components that make up the freezer eventually wear out and if it operates half the time the freezer will last longer. I probably should not say this, but the freezer is now about 20 years old and still going strong. Usually when I say such a statement the thing I just boasted about stops working in less than a week so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Our indoors refrigerator(insulated box) is vented to the outside where the air is cool allowing our food to be cooled without any technology that needs power.
We as a culture have ignored the largest energy resource on the planet, a source that is so pervasive that we fail to recognize its significance, simply , the force of gravity. To survive we need shelter, food , clothing and water. Let's consider the energy use in obtaining water. Water falls from the sky in the form of rain and continues its downward travels to a low point of groundwater which supplies our wells, springs and reservoirs. It is usually at this low point that our culture pumps the water upwards and into our dwellings. This action requires electricity to overcome the force of gravity. To understand this more deeply we can look at potential and kinetic energy. Potential energy is the energy trapped in an object at rest while energy is, so to speak, released in a falling object due to the force of gravity. If one considers there is a quality of potential energy in water being held in the clouds while kinetic energy is released when the water falls in the form of rain. This energy is lost if the water is allowed to fall all the way to the low point. When water is collected from a roof into a tank that stands just below the eaves, potential energy is stored waiting to be changed into kinetic energy when the faucet is turned on at the sink or tub. The water flows simply due to the force of gravity. What a miracle! In our case the tank is high enough to gravity feed our tub but not high enough to feed our kitchen sink. To deliver our water to the sink we have a small 12 volt pump that pressurizes the water and since the sink is at about the same height as the tank it takes very little electricity. The collected water stored in two 275 gallon tanks supplies our needs for showers, baths and dishes.
We've tried to use simple building materials that can be purchased at local hardware stores and design the systems using low technology solutions. The water collection started with 1 ½ inch black plastic well pipe. This can be purchased in 100 foot rolls. The pipe was cut to the length needed then cut lengthwise on one side only. The slit was spread to fit over the edge of the steel roof. The water drains down the roof and then enters the black plastic pipe. Since the slit is small debris does not enter the pipe.
The water enters the collection pipe and then drains into the tank located inside the utility room. Right before entering the house there is a valve that diverts the water to the outside when the tanks are full. It is now almost February in Vermont and our tanks are full. Yes, this works even in the winter.
We used food grade tanks acquired for free. There are two 275 gallon tanks containing non drinking water from the roof. There are two 55 gallon tanks containing drinking water. Which is high enough to gravity feed to the kitchen sink. The hot water tank is located between the two sets of tanks. All of these tanks sit directly behind the masonry stove reducing the need for long piping.
We have two other smaller 55 gallon tanks that are filled with water from our spring that we use for drinking and cooking. We did not want to disturb the soil by digging a water line from the spring to the house and burying the pipe to prevent freezing. Instead we placed a small AC (alternating current) sump pump inside the spring which pumps the water half way up the hill to the house. Next a 12 volt pump delivers the water the rest of the way to the two small tanks. When the tanks are full the pumps are turned off and the water in the pipe drains by gravity back into the spring eliminating the possibility of freezing. Starting up an electric motor takes more energy than just running the motor. In most houses a small pressurized tank supplies the water needs. This setup increases energy use in two ways; first the pump has to start up and turn off over and over and this start up and turning off uses an excess of electricity. When a large tank is filled the pump motor only has to start once for many gallons of water. The second way is that the pump is pumping into a pressurized tank which uses more energy in the form of electricity pumping against the pressure. Our hot water system also uses the force of gravity. The water is heated in the masonry stove and flows naturally to the hot water tank which is located above the heat source. As the water is heated it becomes less dense and rises while the more dense cooler water sinks due to the force of gravity. This sets up a flow from the heat source to the tank and there is no pump needed to circulate the water because the hot water tank is situated above the heat source.
In planning a water system, one should consider the amount of pollution generated and the resources used in the production of copper and plastic tubing. Both plastic and copper production are very high in throughput. In many copper mines only 1% of copper is in the ore and it requires a huge amount of land to store the toxic waste in the form of tailings. In fact copper produces more waste than any other metal production in the United States. The environmental effects of plastic and copper production can easily be found on the internet. In the yurt the water tanks, the kitchen, and bathroom are all located in close proximity to each other to reduce the amount of tubing necessary. It is a system that can easily be drained in case we need to leave the house during the winter months. If a house can be drained it does not need to be heated when no one is there and this eliminates the possibility of mechanical failure of a heating system during an absence causing freezing water pipes. Failure can also be the result of a simple power outage due to inclement weather.
As throughput rises in our present culture escalating resource use due to population growth, increase of standard of living, increase of resources to mine and process resources, the need to combat pollution including climate change, etc... (leaving out many global issues), the cost for the resources will rise due to the simple economic law of supply and demand. As demand increases while supply decreases the cost rises. No matter how much money is printed there is still the same amount of resources. Jobs need resources. It will become more difficult to increase jobs at the same time the costs of living in this culture rises. This will be a process over time and will be hard to recognize (see article on paradigm) .Our culture thinks of the modern world being one that is built on the latest technology. Yet maybe the new modern world is one in which we are challenged to power our homes with the miracles of nature. Maybe this new modern world includes planting our yards with edible landscaping (also increasing the carbon content of the soil for water retention). Maybe the modern world includes sharing ideas, food and resources instead of competing and fighting for the remaining resources which will lead to squandering our future.
In planning a water system, one should consider the amount of pollution generated and the resources used in the production of copper and plastic tubing. Both plastic and copper production are very high in throughput. In many copper mines only 1% of copper is in the ore and it requires a huge amount of land to store the toxic waste in the form of tailings. In fact copper produces more waste than any other metal production in the United States. The environmental effects of plastic and copper production can easily be found on the internet. In the yurt the water tanks, the kitchen, and bathroom are all located in close proximity to each other to reduce the amount of tubing necessary. It is a system that can easily be drained in case we need to leave the house during the winter months. If a house can be drained it does not need to be heated when no one is there and this eliminates the possibility of mechanical failure of a heating system during an absence causing freezing water pipes. Failure can also be the result of a simple power outage due to inclement weather.
As throughput rises in our present culture escalating resource use due to population growth, increase of standard of living, increase of resources to mine and process resources, the need to combat pollution including climate change, etc... (leaving out many global issues), the cost for the resources will rise due to the simple economic law of supply and demand. As demand increases while supply decreases the cost rises. No matter how much money is printed there is still the same amount of resources. Jobs need resources. It will become more difficult to increase jobs at the same time the costs of living in this culture rises. This will be a process over time and will be hard to recognize (see article on paradigm) .Our culture thinks of the modern world being one that is built on the latest technology. Yet maybe the new modern world is one in which we are challenged to power our homes with the miracles of nature. Maybe this new modern world includes planting our yards with edible landscaping (also increasing the carbon content of the soil for water retention). Maybe the modern world includes sharing ideas, food and resources instead of competing and fighting for the remaining resources which will lead to squandering our future.