05-01-2008, 03:15 PM
Hi Michael, nice to meet you, thanks for the nice comments.
To answer your questions:
The catchment tanks is built on site, of hardwire cloth and a 4 to 1 mortar mix, so it can be plastered into or around most any structure. I can't figure out why more people don't do this sort of thing. It's labor intensive, but you can build a tank for about .50 cents a gallon, which is pretty dang cheap.
The windows are all custom built by me, lexan glazing, for security and potential hurricane or earthquake problems.
The key to building inexpensively is to design the floor plan, walls, roof pitch, etc, so you use standard sized lumber and plywood with no waste whatsoever. It's not hard to do if you think about it. If you don't want to bulldoze the lot, the laminate timber frame truss style is smart, as all the beams are small pieces of lumber that fit in a normal sized truck and can be carried by hand. If you need a boom truck, you're faced with destroying your lot.
Simple stuff like that goes a very long way to saving money. I think it looks nice too.
Natural light is key as well, but rarely is the spec-building contractor going to think much about how to orient the house, or consider ideal exposure. In many area the simple layout of the road front can prohibit sensible building.
I've done a fair bit of off-grid sorts of stuff, as well as boatbuilding, which certainly makes you picky about use of space and conservative in use of materials. Of course you can spend as little or as much as you want on details, but a very clean livable structure can be built for 50 to 80 dollars a square foot, even at today's prices.
Core to my philosophy of "green building" is economy. It's hardly sensible to suggest you're doing something to "save the environment" or whatever if your "green structure" costs more and uses more materials than a conventional one. Sadly, that's often the case, and there's a big industry in selling "feel good environmentalism," which is tragic and exploitive.
The ponds are easy, but details can be difficult to make look natural and not get full of bugs, while supporting healthy fish. I've done it with the ferrocement as well as with a simple tarp. Both work, but the ferro is decidely nicer once you get it cured and acid washed.
Of course you'd be more than welcome to take a look.
Jay
To answer your questions:
The catchment tanks is built on site, of hardwire cloth and a 4 to 1 mortar mix, so it can be plastered into or around most any structure. I can't figure out why more people don't do this sort of thing. It's labor intensive, but you can build a tank for about .50 cents a gallon, which is pretty dang cheap.
The windows are all custom built by me, lexan glazing, for security and potential hurricane or earthquake problems.
The key to building inexpensively is to design the floor plan, walls, roof pitch, etc, so you use standard sized lumber and plywood with no waste whatsoever. It's not hard to do if you think about it. If you don't want to bulldoze the lot, the laminate timber frame truss style is smart, as all the beams are small pieces of lumber that fit in a normal sized truck and can be carried by hand. If you need a boom truck, you're faced with destroying your lot.
Simple stuff like that goes a very long way to saving money. I think it looks nice too.
Natural light is key as well, but rarely is the spec-building contractor going to think much about how to orient the house, or consider ideal exposure. In many area the simple layout of the road front can prohibit sensible building.
I've done a fair bit of off-grid sorts of stuff, as well as boatbuilding, which certainly makes you picky about use of space and conservative in use of materials. Of course you can spend as little or as much as you want on details, but a very clean livable structure can be built for 50 to 80 dollars a square foot, even at today's prices.
Core to my philosophy of "green building" is economy. It's hardly sensible to suggest you're doing something to "save the environment" or whatever if your "green structure" costs more and uses more materials than a conventional one. Sadly, that's often the case, and there's a big industry in selling "feel good environmentalism," which is tragic and exploitive.
The ponds are easy, but details can be difficult to make look natural and not get full of bugs, while supporting healthy fish. I've done it with the ferrocement as well as with a simple tarp. Both work, but the ferro is decidely nicer once you get it cured and acid washed.
Of course you'd be more than welcome to take a look.
Jay