Masonry Heaters

There is a centuries old tradition in Europe that is only beginning to be known in North America: the use of masonry heaters. For some reason Americans are entirely familiar with wood stoves and fireplaces, but have only a hazy notion of what a masonry heater is. This is unfortunate because these devises represent the … Read more

Building Off-Grid Casting Notice

DIY NETWORK – BUILDING OFF THE GRID – CASTING NOTICE We’re looking throughout the United States for folks who will soon start to build an off grid home and plan to complete the build before April of 2019. We cannot consider builds that are already well underway. If you are selected for the show, you … Read more

Novel Wind Turbine Concept

The O-Wind is made with vents in the exterior so that it can catch city crosswinds and spin accordingly. This means that city dwellers might be able to generate their own electricity with the typical swirling winds found in cities. You can read more about this interesting design at www.goodnewsnetwork.org

Conserve Water

Many people feel that an adequate supply of clean water will be one of the most significant issues of the future, and I have no reason to doubt that. The United States has been blessed with an abundance of good water, and we have gotten used to having it at the twist of a faucet handle. It can be a shock when water supplies diminish and water has to be rationed, or if the supply gets contaminated and is no longer available for potable use.

Water agencies always advise conservation; they know how precious and limited the supply is. In fact, many plumbing codes now require that new installations of toilets be low consumption models and that showers be fitted with restriction diaphragms to limit the flow of water.

Other strategies for conserving domestic water tend to be rather controversial. The reuse of gray water, using rain water catchment systems and composting toilets all conserve water but may be frowned upon for various reasons, mostly to do with health concerns. In many places these practices are flat out illegal, even though they have been shown to be safe and effective when utilized carefully.

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Building Amazing Homes & Mobile Spaces Using Shipping Containers!

In this video we explore and learn how to use shipping containers as strong, durable and mobile building blocks to create amazing structures of all kinds, like a house, addition, office space, or cabin; and we feature a few stunning projects to get you inspired! Anthony Ruggiero from Storstac Inc. (http://www.storstac.com/) showed us around their … Read more

Housing Our Society

Think about the people that you know and ask yourself how many of them fit into the “single family” model of chosen lifestyle. Perhaps you know an elderly person who doesn’t want the responsibility of maintaining a big home and would rather live with other folks in a similar situation. Maybe you know someone who doesn’t want to be married, but does want to live “in a relationship” with other people. How about a young person just starting out on her own, who is ready for some independence, but is not ready to take on homemaking on her own? What about a several generational family that wants to be close to each other, but not necessarily live in the same house?

In general, the zoning for developing residences across much of the United States is classified as “single family”; only one family may reside on any given lot. So what is a single family in the United States at the beginning of the 21 st Century?” The definition of what constitutes a family has gotten rather vague.

I sense a yearning among many people to experience life at home in a more communal way; they want to be able to share their lives more intimately with friends or like-minded people. They want to be able to share some facilities, and not be responsible for every aspect of a house unto themselves. They want to be able to find and afford their own place, which may not necessarily be a large house.

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