“Human subtlety…will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple or more direct than does nature, because in her inventions nothing is lacking, and nothing is superfluous.” Leonardo da Vinci
General
Rocket Stove Water Heater
We’ve talked about hot water coils (water jackets) for wood stoves in a previous blog post. This video by Geoff Lawton of Permaculture fame does a great job of showing his water heater design. See below for the link to his article with more details.
Best 2011 Instructables
My earthbag dome and earthbag roundhouse project have been selected for the Best of 2011 at Instructables.com. Also, Instructables.com has a new book coming out that will feature my earthbag dome building instructions.
Building Maintenance
More excellent advice from Ziggy over at Year of Mud blog who’s busy building his straw bale/post and beam home.
“If you want to build a natural home, or any home, really, expect that you will have to perform building maintenance. I think that generally speaking, it’s nice to consider how to limit the maintenance necessary over the lifespan of the home. As with anything in this world, however, consider the issue of balance. Can you afford time to devote to maintaining earthen plaster potentially every other year, or would you rather use a more durable lime plaster, which can take the weather, but has more embodied energy, and is more expensive? It probably depends.
Building Stuff, Eco-Style
“First, let me introduce myself, for those of you who may have just stumbled upon this blog somehow. My name is Erin Finsel. I’m 19 and am just beginning my summer break before my Sophomore year at Berea College. I don’t know for sure, but I think I will be an independent Sustainability and Environmental Studies (SENS- I don’t know where the N comes from) major. My ultimate goal (as of right now) is to have a house, a garden, maybe a few chickens and a really nice cat.
Update on Rex’s Pallet House in Texas
This is an update on the pallet house in Texas that we reported on earlier. The ultra-low cost is what really caught my attention and kept me following their progress. The latest cost estimate is around $4/sq. ft. Now that is dirt cheap!