Starting Roofing

Wouldn't you know it? No rain in the forecast, but it rained all night!!! And all morning!!! So I installed the roofing felt to protect the structure in the rain. Then, of course, it quit raining. So here is a picture of the house with the felt on and boards to keep it secure until the shingles go on.

Time to Roof

Glory halelujah! The framing, piers, siding and roof sheathing are done for the kitchen part of the house. Here are some pictures.



Here is the west side piered, framed and partially sided.



Here is the west side with the siding done, awaiting battens.



Here is the west side with the battens on.



Here is the north side showing the sheathing on. Next the roofing and then inside finishing. The outside dimensions are 14 1/2 foot by 14 foot, giving a square footage of 201.6 sq. ft. Plenty of living space.

Kitchen work

A lot of progress has been made on the renewable energy house. The rough framing is almost done and some of the siding has been re-installed. Here are some pictures.


This view is from the north side facing the front of the house. The front wall and rafters are finished.


This view is from the north west showing the west wall framing.


This view is into the west doorway. It shows the kitchen area. The kitchen was only five and a half feet wide, which was far too confining. I removed the kitchen structure from the main part of the house and moved it out to seven feet wide. It will be much more usable now. Not bad so far for an ex-chicken house.
Winter Lake Research Center

New Hand Drilled Well

One of the primary needs in a house, of course, is water. The renewable energy house must have its own water supply. This has been provided in the form of a hand drilled well. The well was drilled with a post hole digger. Here is the link to the page that details the process. These are instructions to drill your own well. Here is a link with more pictures of the demolition phase of the house. The demolition is finished and the rebuild has started.

Biomass stove, solar lights

Here is a picture of the new biomass burner. You can read the instructions about how to make this style here. This type of burner is what will be used for cooking and water heating in the renewable energy house.







Lighting will be provided by several systems. For most lighting, solar power garden and flood lights will be used. These lights are surprisingly effective and they don't cost a foutune. Here is a picture of a couple styles. They come in a dizzying array of shapes.



Installation for these lights is simplicity itself. Just shove the stake in the ground in a place that gets full sun. Turn the switch on and put the unit in the stake. It charges all day. Take it iff the stake in the evening, turn it off and bring it inside. When you need light, turn it on. Very handy.
My web site is here.

Cooking facilities, lighting

I have finished the biomass cooking stand. There will be two MIDGE stove units in it with exchangeable burners. To find out more about these stoves, google +"midge stove" and you will have a wealth of information. When I find my camera, (Arghhhh!) I will publish a series of pictures of how I make them. I have modified the standard design somewhat to be cleaner burning. I finished the experiment mentioned in the last post with the solar powered flood light. I am satisfied with the quality of light and length of time it runs, so I will definitely be incorporating some into the renewable energy house. It has been raining steadily here for over a week so there is not much I can do with getting the outside framing done.
http://www.winterlakeresearchcenter.org

Emergency lighting results

I let the new flood light I mentioned in the last post charge up all day. When it got dark, I checked out its lighting qualities. Admittedly, it is not a big sodium vapor flood light.
However, for such a small, inexpensive unit, it puts out an astounding amount of light. I brought it inside and used it as a house light. It was entirely adequate for all lighting needs. The conclusion is that these lights can indeed be used as a cheap source of emergency lighting.