30x40 Earth Berm Passive Solar in Maine

Started by Bishopknight, October 13, 2008, 09:33:23 AM

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Bishopknight

You totally had me up till the "specific gravities".  ???  ;D

EcoHeliGuy

Quote from: Bishopknight on August 31, 2009, 04:42:37 PM
And by the way, to any young couples out there looking for some land, I do have 4-5 back lot acres I could sell. It would only be to a couple or person in their mid to late 20s , early to mid 30s who wants to create a homestead, garden, ect. We'd be looking for about $8,000 but would work something out for a couple we liked.

$8000 [shocked] Just rub it in  c*  Thats my same plan if I get more land then needed, sell it to someone with the same morals in mind.


rick91351

Remember this and I am older and wiser.   ;)  Tig the red healer in my picture by my handle is just a pup I'm not.  If you split off any property and sell; most times it comes back and bites you in the ___ .  Nothing stops them from in a couple months to a couple years from hammering down a for sale sign because things just did not work out for them.  So the laid back - like minded couple you sold to is now replaced by Mr. And Mrs $##@@#$$!@! who will turn into your worst nightmare.  That said - add to your property not take away - a good buffer zone is worth its weight.  Beside it keeps us 40 - 50 - 60 year-olds away and at bay.  You know we are all evil and have taken the mark of the beast.   8)       
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.


Bishopknight

#479
Ya those are very good points. It would only be to someone where the risk/reward would be worth it.

Here are some pics from the weekend.

I primed the walls with CCW 702 Primer. I used about 4 out of the 5 gallons to coat my entire back wall. The primer is basically model airplane glue. If you've ever used that stuff, you know it is horrible stuff to smell and breath in and everything it gets on it including hands is hard to get off. After it was allowed to dry 1 hr, the CCW MiraDRI 860 binded to the wall beautifully, almost too well. My friend helped me attach the first sheet at the top of the wall and then he pulled off the wax paper as I stuck it to the wall, but after 2 sheets, it was easy enough to do myself and it was more productive with him measuring and cutting the sheets while I hung them. Laying and cutting it with a T-square is my recommendation for that crucial 90 degree cut which determines that the 2" overlap will not stray.

I also want to note that saturday night, it got down to 45 degrees outside, but stayed 65 degrees inside....very comfortable. And once the back wall is bermed, it should be even better.

Jeff: I fixed the block on the root cellar so a 2" piece will fit between it.  ;D


Working until when we got up until 3pm, we got almost the whole back wrapped except for the root cellar and one sliver on the west side.


My friend Joe had a party to test out his new cob firebrick oven. We made some delicious pizzas and enjoyed a few coronas. Almost all the ingredients were handmade and came from gardens or scratch ( including the mozzerella ). I will probably have to make one of these as well. The pizzas cooked incredibly fast in there.



ListerD

I just read an article on the cob ovens in MEN. Added it to my wish list as well!

Great job on the coverings. I'll be interested to see how it holds up. There's so many methods to waterproofing the walls, a lot of myth and fantasy in the advertising for them too.

MiraDri is the one I'd selected for ours so I'm watching your build closely. What'd it end up costing in your area?
"We shape our dwellings, and afterwards our dwellings shape us" -- Winston Churchill

EcoHeliGuy

Ha ha one of the few things the girlfriend twisted my arm on for our place was an out side brick oven. (by twisted I mean, it was already in the plans but I told her if thats what she wanted I would add if for her, have let her feel she has input)

We are going to build a three piece unit, In the middle will be a brick oven, and on either side will be a brick BBQ, and brick surround with a plate of iron on it for a cooking surface(aka a charcoal stove) this will be at our patio.

Just wondering If you only went with the block wall on the east and west sides half way, do to cost or some other reason? I have my block walls along the full west and east sides in my plans, and wanted to make sure I'm not missing anything?

Redoverfarm

Bishop I have never used CCW MiraDRI 860 is it something similar to ice guard ( Self adhesive rubber based waterproofing).  I was just wondering when I saw the installation procedures that you are using it in verticle strips rather than horizontal lap over style.  I have used a good bit of Ice & storn guard on roofs and it was always recommended to start at the bottom and climb to the top to guarantee it did not leak.  Don't mind me I just get this way sometimes. [waiting]

While I am onto questions  ;D. What are your plans for the root cellar roof.  I assume it will not be underground or are you going to pour a concrete cap over the top?

Bishopknight

Lister,

By luck, I got contractor pricing from my local commercial supply company. The MiraDRI was about $100 per roll, the primer about $115. I bought 3 rolls and 1 drum of primer for about $400.

Eco,

That sounds cool man. Cant wait to see you and lister get started on your projects. Yes, I went only half way to bring in more light around the house. I didn't want a tunnel feeling. Many of my early pics in pages 3-8 show the block wall going up in great detail. You'll see I used tapcon screws with PT lumber to connect to the block wall on the east and west sides.

John,

Yes, its exactly like Grace I&W shield. This was the recommended install procedure by Rob Roy in his book "Earth Sheltered Homes", he still stands by this install method and actually so does CCW as their white sheets back this method as well. The seam is very tight. The bitumene material is VERY sticky and bonds well to itself. I also have MiraDRAIN being installed over the insulation in the next phase. The MiraDRI is the last line of defense.

I'm going to put a foot or two of dirt over the root cellar actually. I'll probably construct a roof out of the left over 2x10 footer boards used for the concrete perimeter. I'll probably go 8" on center so its extra strong and I'll probably have a pitch to it along with several layers of 6 mil poly on top with some MiraDrain as well. There will also be a french drain around everything as well.

- BK  


ListerD

Ooh, nice price! I was quoted around $130/roll and about the same for the primer.

"We shape our dwellings, and afterwards our dwellings shape us" -- Winston Churchill

Bishopknight

#485
Its been a while since I last updated. i hurt my finger so im typing slow.

my panels were putting out 22 amps at one point.



heres my setup, i took mountain dons advice and hooked up 4 ought directly to the charge controller, on the other end i built a combiner box. At a later date i'll take a pic of it, because its kind of cool how I built it.


my new fridge. you can also see my horrible mix-match of cabinets. I also installed the over range micro.


after the french drain was installed/graded I put a fabric over it and then in the next pic you'll see i backfilled


prepping for the next area


I used sand instead of 1" rock gravel because one is $80 and the other is $250 and both will drain especially if you have a drainage sock on your 4" perf pipe like I do.


this light is run off my solar array at 120v, i want to convert it to 12v, its on the todo


my stove pipe after being installed, I still need to do the back wall plate but i have some stuff protecting the wall for now. the whole install came out pro, i did it myself.


my new home defense weapon of choice :)

drainl

So did the finger injury have anything to do with the large ax thing and the coors wrist band? 

Looking good.  I really love that red wood stove. 

Bishopknight

#487
ya thats basically what happens when you challenge "king richard" to a axe contest after drinking  d*

thanks deb




ListerD

"We shape our dwellings, and afterwards our dwellings shape us" -- Winston Churchill


glenn kangiser

The place is looking great, BK and - watch out about challenging medieval Kings while wearing beer goggles. :)
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

Glenn's Underground Cabin  http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=151.0

Please put your area in your sig line so we can assist with location specific answers.

SkagitDrifter

BK-
You Sir are a one man force of nature!
You have taken on a huge task and doing a great job.
Keep up the good work, take a second and look back on what you have accomplished-
You should be really proud.
Great job!
Tom
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.
Abraham Lincoln

speedfunk


Bishopknight

Thanks!  ;D

Since I'm laid off, I have more free time.... Here's more progress pics.

I found a way to get contractor pricing on a 1000 gal septic tank for $635 + delivery and tax so I dug the hole earlier and It will be installed in the morning. I dug the hole by their specifications. Roughly 9x5x6. I leveled it with sand.


Last week I cut & split about 4-6 cord of hardwood ( ash, birch & maple ). It had been cut last spring. I'm glad this task is over!


I built the 2 pitch roof frame for the root cellar out of the old slab pour footer boards. When I ran out I used some cedar logs  :)


I installed it and used "plytanium DRYPLY" as the roof sheathing. I will put a few layers of 6 mil poly over it and MIRAdrain around the root cellar into the surrounding french drain.


Got behind the house and started berming the west side


My new next door neighbor is building a house. 32x28, hes going to do all pine boards inside


HomeschoolMom

It is so exciting to see the berm hitting the house! :)
Michelle
Homeschooling Mom to Two Boys
Married to Jason, Self Employed

Wanting an earth bermed hybrid timberframe...just need some inheritance  ;)  Will never have another mortgage again!

Bishopknight

I thought as snow flakes are falling outside my office window today it would be a good time to give an update of my heating experiences so far. The vermont castings resolute acclaim wood stove is working great so far. I usually run it all the time, but not with the air damper full out. I still need to hook up the air intake from outside. At the moment its using internal air for combustion. The house isn't done being air-leak proofed by any means either but its something I will address this month. Without any heating, the house will stay about 10 degrees above what it is outside at night. During the day , if its sunny, about 20 degrees. The house holds heat very well also. The last log went into the wood stove at midnight last night with the interior temp at about 74 and I woke up with the fire completely out and the house at 69. Its 68 now but I started another fire since its 39 outside.

I'm looking into an empire propane heater for times when I wont be home. Just to keep the house above freezing. I found a 35000 btu wall heater for $180 on craigslist. I was hoping I could connect it to the B-vent of my bosch tankless water heater but I cant because if both are running the vent wont be able to exhaust both at the same time.

Thats all I can think of at the moment. Heres some pictures.



Porcelain tile for bathroom. 1.37 sq ft at home depot.


Guest Bedroom


Progress of the berm.




Septic tank in ground.


speedfunk

awesome... we were  looking forward to your next pic post.  It Keeps us motivated :) 

Those results sound pretty good!!!  I bet that the earth under your slab with get a bit warmer with time , improving your results even more.

It is impressive that the temp held throughout the night that well.  Sure beats freezing in the morning...stumbling around half awake to find wood.lol

Good job!

Dog

Congratulations! You've made great progress. Working through the winter ended up really paying off for you. At least this year you don't have to worry about being up on the roof with a blow torch!  ;D

The wilderness is a beautiful thing for the soul. Live free or die.

HomeschoolMom

Oh, Sean, you made my day today! ;D  As I sit here, struggling with my website (decided to try a template and post it myself), I am so happy to have a happy distraction while I wait for it to upload.   :D  Again, I love the blocks!
Michelle
Homeschooling Mom to Two Boys
Married to Jason, Self Employed

Wanting an earth bermed hybrid timberframe...just need some inheritance  ;)  Will never have another mortgage again!

Bishopknight

Thanks everyone!

The propane company was just out earlier. I have to run 3/4" black iron pipe for the bosch tankless water heater. Its going to be expensive but its necessary because those things need 100,000 btu bursts for short periods of time. I have the 1600H LP refurb unit for those interested.

Heres some less exciting pics.








ScottA