Erik Pehoviack

You might try wrapping the burn tunnel in sheet steel. The steel will seal and provide structure. I've carried this thing all over and the bricks stay put. I too am having second thoughts on the riser as I'm having difficulty sourcing materials.

This is an old hinge in our porch that is used dozens of times per day. I gathered a long screw to hold the halves in place while lubing, a pair of pliers, some bacon fat, and a rag. I first pulled the pin from the hinge while the door was closed and temporarily inserted the screw to keep it from falling apart. I then dipped the pin in some softened bacon fat then reinserted it into the hinge. I then wiped it all down with the old rag.

Our household does not have a dishwasher. I use water off the wood stove to wash dishes and bathe in the winter. Here is our process of dishwashing every morning as well as the link to our detergent - https://www.bio-pac.com/oasis-biocompatible-cleaners/

Jonathan,
I like the idea of mixing building systems but my concern stems from moisture migration. In Illinois winter wall temp will be well below freezing, making a condensing surface somewhere in that wall. If that happens to be the interior side of the block, will it rapidly degrade with the freeze / thaw of condensed moisture? Maybe you could create a small test area of your current residence to test? Here in Nebraska we still have straw bale houses standing after a century. Don't be afraid to use straw, you will not regret!

We dug down 2 feet, filled with rock, then poured a footing. The pour is not required, you can simply build upon the rock surface.

This BB is a first part to my Straw Badge, it is 1/2 point from uncompleted Sand Badge bits.



This is the offending inoperable light switch after power has been disconnected and it has been pulled from the box. It is a light duty 15A 3 way unit that wasn't meant to last.



After removing the switch I clipped the old loops and made new as pictured below.



Stripping the wires.



Making the loops with a needle nose pliers.



Notice the loops go on the screws with their orientation to squeeze shut as the screw is tightened and are also coated with a bit of dielectric grease.



Finished light switch in operation. The fan is operated by pull switch.

The original post can be seen here.

Today I had the chance to work on a lighting / outlet circuit in our home. I’m going to use this to attempt the following 2 BB’s for 2.5 points for the Straw Badge:

Add an outlet circuit and circuit breaker – 1 point
– At least 4 outlets or one 20A dedicated outlet (fridge, disposal, etc)
– If GFCI or AFCI protected, add ½ point

Install 20 feet of wire in an unfinished space – 1 point

Here’s a shot after about 1/2 of the insulation is in this bedroom wall. You can see the two light sconce boxes above joined by a run of 12/2 and the closest one connected to the switch box, red arrow.



This circuit has 1 light switch, two lights, and four outlets, 2 on each side of the wall. Here is a shot of the boxes and how wiring is joining them.



I waited until drywall was up to begin installing outlets, this is one outlet on the bedroom side which supplies power from the circuit breaker to the light switch.



I used the wire strippers to strip the wire back 5/8″ or so to make my loops. All three ground wires were twisted together then wire nutted.



Even though my receptacles can take wire straight in I choose to loop and screw. Here I’m making the eyelet loops.



Neutral and ground wires all attached to my receptacle. Red is to the light switch and green comes from the breaker box. Note loops are all oriented to be pulled shut as the screws are tightened.



Outlet installed and ready for testing.



The yellow wire is a 22′ run from the breaker box (distance) running along the floor joists then up into the wall (behind). I will be installing protective boards above the wire so if anyone decides to hang stuff from the wires they won’t be damaged.



Wiring run under the floor joists are stapled at 4′ intervals and 8″ from boxes.



We have a box that uses QO breakers, I try to keep a unit or two on hand, just in case…



This is a very old (circa ’67) breaker box and will be updated to a 200 amp unit when our solar array is installed. The yellow arrow is our new ground, red arrow is new neutral, and red oval is the new 20 amp arc fault breaker.



Clearing out a knockout in the breaker panel for the new 20 Amp breaker.



Outlet and wall sconce circuit finished as noted by lit light and correct two lights on the circuit tester.

Here is my attempt at washing a vehicle exterior:

This is the before shot. I keep the vehicle pretty clean and the tan hides dirt very well. If you look behind the front tire you'll see all the sand and salt that came from rinsing underneath.



You can see the birds enjoy detailing.



Items I used in this car wash were a wash mitt, Simple Green cleaner, and a California Water Blade.



Applying soap to the wash mitt. I do not use a bucket, which holds the dirt. Instead I rinse the mitt and renew when it is dirty.



All spiffed up and ready for a drive.



To wax the windshield I used Meguiar's wax.



Rub it in and buff off when dry.



Final polished windshield should help keep bugs from sticking, when the weather warms of course!

Our shower head wasn’t that bad, but I thought I’d give this BB part a shot. The steps were simple.
First, a shot of our shower head before cleaning.



I soaked the shower head in white vinegar to dissolve buildup. It worked well inside the holes but not so much on the surface. This is the same bag of vinegar I used for my aerator.



Then I used a stainless steel scrub brush to remove the dissolved minerals. I didn't want to mar the plastic so easy does it.



Testing the shower head after cleaning rinsed away the debris. As you can see I could have left it soak a bit longer but it was getting late and we both needed a shower!

I chose this as my first attempt at the 6-part BB. Here it is.

Here's a before shot of the calcified aerator.



The first step in cleaning our aerator was to rinse off debris from the plumbing. This was caught in the strainer and dumped outside.



After rinsing the aerator and spray wand were soaked in white vinegar to dissolve the buildup. This bag sat in the sink and allowed me to zip up against the hose.



After a long soak the aerator was scrubbed with a stainless steel brush.



I also scrubbed the sprayer with the brush.



A nice clean aerator for the kitchen sink!



A nice clean sprayer as well!