Pictures from Brazil

[JCL]

Hi,

Here are two pictures of the site.

http://www.countryplans.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1137066279


One is of N/NW with the view and the other shows the trees at S and the foundation/ wall rebar.

Hope that you like it.

Thanks,

J Carlos

[JCL]

The second image.

J Carlos

[ailsaek]

Wow.  I'll agree, that N/NW view is impressive.

[glenn-k]

Really nice, J Carlos.  Thanks for posting the pictures.  Do you have any special considerations for heating, cooling or solar in your area?  Is there electric power to the site or are you off grid?

Also I was wondering how you get your water there?  I guess you have plenty of rain from reading your first posting.  Is the rain spread out over the year or just one long rainy season?

I always enjoy seeing how things are done in other countries.  Thanks for sharing with us.  Please keep us updated on your methods and progress -feel free to post pictures as you progress if you have time.

[JCL]

Hi Alisa and Glenn,

Thank you!


The climate here is very nice, as we have just 1500 HDD and 2600 CDD.

With the information on the solar kit, that I highly recommend, Brazilian information on the subject and the observation of the successful local buildings (the city was funded in 1611 and have some very old houses), I have decided to use a lot of thermal mass and cross ventilation and a minimum of insulation, combined with solar exposure and overhangs, to maintain thermal comfort.

The great room will have about 9% of N window area, that I want  to be exposed to direct sun light only from April to August, and more than 15% of W window area, that will be shaded by vines in a pergola over the summer kitchen.

The main bedroom will not have glass windows, and the second bedroom will have circa of 11% of N window area.

Houses with high thermal mass are very comfortable here, providing also acoustic advantages, that will be useful in this site. Some houses here have 2 feet walls! I will be using 12 inches walls.

The areas that create vapor were also planned in a way that will get rid of it soon, with an opening skylight in the shower, a hood in the kitchen and a canal to hot humid air go away trough the roof.

The objective being to have a healthy house, without  black mold, that is very common in the region.

So we are counting on ventilation and shadow from trees and overhang to cool and a relatively small Russian fireplace with a white oven coupled with thermal mass to heat.

The walls and the slab will have a vapor barrier and EPS insulation under it.

I have not decided yet about the roof, having the following options:

1 High quality micro concrete tiles that are strong, do not absorb a lot of water, and have high thermal mass, with an intermediate cost

http://www.tegobras.com.br/

2 Reused traditional ceramic tiles that are also heavy and inexpensive, but tend to accumulate fungus and break easily

http://www.primeiramao.com.br/editorial/bancodeimoveis/images_editorial/facavocemesmo30m.gif

3 A roofing system that is made from recycled toothpaste tubes, that is almost unbreakable, have ¼ of the weight of the other options, an excellent thermal performance and is easy to install. It costs more than twice the price of the traditional tiles, but there are substantial savings on the required roof structure. I am not comfortable yet with the esthetic result of this roof system, but it outperforms the others in all requirements.

http://www.guiaguide.com.br/ingles/publicacoes/recima.asp


There is electric power there, 220 V. Photovoltaics here are not affordable yet.

I will be rain harvesting and will build an inexpensive underground cistern, based on a well tested Brazilian design (cisterna de placas) that you can see at the link below.

The government built more than 67000 of those cisterns in the last five years!

http://www.cliquesemiarido.org.br/eng/cisternas_como.htm

We normally use circa of 4.5 M3 of water per month, and in a normal year only the months of June, July and August would not supply it, requiring a small cistern of 4.1 M3, for a projected efficiency of 70% and a catching area of 104 M2.

A specially dry year, like 1963, would require a cistern of 15.2 M3 to supply our normal demand, and we will build one of those to begin, adding a second larger cistern later.

We will have a "Low-Cost Solar Heating System", projected by the state university, that I tried and works very well.

http://www.sociedadedosol.org.br/en/presentation.htm

A septic infiltrator, based on a permaculture design, with two high efficient container gardens of banana and papaya trees will take care of the sewage.

Please contribute with any pertinent ideas to the project, and feel free to ask more questions.

J Carlos

[glenn-k]

Thanks so much for taking the time to contribute that information, J. Carlos.  It looks like you have it very well thought out.  I don't have time to run through all your links now as I have to meet an inspector this morning but I'll go through them all soon.

[tjm73]

What a fantastic view.    I'm jealous

[harry51]

J. Carlos, if you have time at some point, it would be interesting to hear more about the septic system and how the gardens/fruit trees integrate into it.

Thanks,
Harry51

[benevolance]

well it makes sense...bananas are mostly potassium...Scary thuoght that...

Enjoy the next flavourful banana you eat guys

We had a radar base near my house growing up.. built in the 40's self contained septic for upto 10,000 people....It had 4 levels of containers each type of organic graden removing something from the waste it was potable water after it went through the 4 gardens and tanks.

the base is no more but the septic system is still there and we used to go up to the roof of the radar tower to drink beer and look out for miles and miles.

-Peter

[Amanda_931]

Gorgeous country.  

Half-buried cisterns sound like a good idea.  Might not work quite as where it freezes hard frequently, especially when winter is the dry season--mostly, however, summer is drought-prone here.

[JCL]

Harry,

The septic infiltrator with banana/papaya trees is a contained high intensity version of a drain field, in witch  fruit trees that present a high transpiration rate and require a lot of organic material process the sewage.

As far as I know, none have failed up to this date in Brazil, as it seems that the organic solids are naturally digested by microorganisms and the liquids evaporated thought the trees.

It should not receive nothing strange (citric fruits, grease, bones, non biodegradable material), but is a viable alternative if a composting toilet is not acceptable by your family.



You can see some pictures here:

http://ambar.agrorede.org.br:8080/ambar/Publico/ipab/indexObjeto.jsp?modulo=AlbumFotos&acao=visualizarObjeto&codObjeto=250

J Carlos

[Amanda_931]

If you go up on that cistern page, there's one of those click and other donors will send money--no advertisers here.

I've seen them for breast cancer, save the animals and the rainforest, food for the needy--but those all have advertisments.

http://www.cliquesemiarido.org.br/eng/inicial.asp

[harry51]

JCL and Benevolence, thanks for the explanation. Great food for thought!

[glenn kangiser]

Speaking of food for thought -- what is the prognosis for the bananas--- will they go in the fruit salad or be fried for dinner - I was just wondering if they are edible after they process sewage? :-/

[jonsey/downunder]

Don't see why not Glenn, after all you are growing your spuds in horse crap.  Same sort of stuff, just smaller lumps.

[glenn kangiser]

I'm more worried about Monsanto making somekind of frankenfood and killing us than I am about dying from a sewage processing banana, but I guess it would be good to know.

I had some of their Genetically Engineered corn that accidently go into corn chips and was recalled - undigestable by humans and troglodytes- it sat in my stomach for about 3 days.  Found out later it was in recalled tortilla chips.  I'd rather eat a banana grown in effluent.

Sewer plants for large cities here generally grow non food crops.

One study here but seems inconclusive except that non-spray or non-sprinkler methods are better than spray or sprinkler.

http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-42842-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

[jonsey/downunder]

There are a few systems like that over here, and this guy is composting his  
http://www.omick.net/index.htm

[glenn kangiser]

Here is a little more like what I wanted to find.

Vegetable Gardens and Drainage Fields
Sometimes the ideal place to put a vegetable garden seems to be over the leach field, raising the question of bacterial and viral contamination from the effluent. Soils vary a great deal in their ability to filter viruses and bacteria. Clay soils work best, eliminating bacteria within a few inches of the drain trenches, but sandy soils may allow bacterial movement for several feet. A properly operating system will not contaminate the soil with disease-causing organisms, but it is very difficult to determine if a field is operating just as it should. If at all possible, use your septic drain field for ornamentals and plant your vegetables elsewhere. If you must plant vegetables, take the following precautions. Do not plant root crops over drain lines. Leafy vegetables could be contaminated by rain splashing soil onto the plant, so either mulch them to eliminate splashing or don't grow them. Fruiting crops are probably safe--train any vining ones such as cucumbers or tomatoes onto a support so that the fruit is off the ground, and mulch to prevent splashing. Thoroughly wash any produce from the garden before eating it. Do not construct raised beds over the field--they might inhibit evaporation of moisture.

Adapted from Virginia Cooperative Extension Publication Number 426-617, December 2000. Authors: Susan D. Day, Virginia Cooperative Extension Associate, and Ellen Silva, former Extension Technician, Consumer Horticulture, Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

Septic System: Planting on Your Leach Field 2 page PDF

The new and thoughtful way to eat your banana.  Betcha' haven't done it like this before.

[Amanda_931]

We should try that once.

but isn't using utensils a way of getting farther from your food?

[JCL]

Hi group,

Amanda, thank you for the link, I had missed it. It is a good project, and I think that they could use every help they can get.

Glenn, thank you for the info.
I believe that Jonsey is right, the fruit should be safe to eat.
That's also my wife's opinion and she is a physician.

Actually the fruit should be safer than vegetables over a leach field, as there is less chance of contamination by semi-digested material, leached before a complete anaerobic process.

Thanks


J Carlos