Zyk Hallaway

I think I have the floor supports covered, I think I'm going to build 3-4 more piers under the house and cross brace the area.


However What I am looking at is the heat near the floor and wall.


I'm thinking of doing a combination of things I've seen done. from the Sub floor up.

Radiant barrier (foil or other) facing up.
1-2 inch risers to support
cement Board (hard backer board doesn't burn)
Ceramic tile board. (also doesn't Burn)
Build a 2 inch Lip around Ceramic board
Fill it with perilite or some other insulation if there is better.
Build the J tube on this

build a form around the J tube and also Fill it with Perilite.
Against the wall right next to the J tube I'd replace the Drywall with Cement Board or Ceramic Tile Board. There is no Insulation in this wall Just 2x4 and drywall.
Behind where the Barrel would Sit I'd like to do a wall of red bricks to bounce the heat and give a nice look, do I need to put anything between the Bricks and the wall?


How hot does the bell area for the ash pit get on an 8 Inch system?


I plan on an L shaped thermal mass, from the start of my feed tube to the wall is 11 feet then from that corner out is 6 feet.

Aside from the part of the wall that is next to the Jtube I was thinking about along the 11 foot side removing the Drywall to a couple inches below the top of the thermal mass. There is a room on the other side of that wall that doesn't heat hardly at all with my current wood stove, even when I make the rest of the house uncomfortably hot that room is cold. So my thinking is that the heat can escape into the wall cavity and warm the rooms drywall on that wall which would in turn warm that room some. I already have this effect to a small portion as my Wood Stove sit on the other side of this wall and when its been running a long while very hot we can feel slight warmth on the drywall directly behind the stove pipe.


Now the Pipe, I have approx 35 feet + drag of 6 elbows giving me about 65 feet drag, the exit pipe will be in a low pressure zone when the wind is blowing so shouldn't have wind issues.

Do I need to make the heat riser taller then normal to overcome this much drag?

I hear that 50ish feet should be max for a 8 inch standard system.


Thanks so much

I just took the dive and bought a house and property in North Eastern Arizona.

I'm looking to build a lean-to green house onto the south wall of my house. The wall is not directly south about 8-12 degrees off. I'm trying to figure out what and or lack of angle I should have my south facing glass at. In the summer the sunlight is very plentiful and the temps can get into the mid 90's so i was thinking of vertical glass to block most if not all of the direct sunlight during the summer.

The house is raised So against the house I was going to build a thermal wall to absorb the sunlight during the day. The south glass wall I was going to build on a thermal wall starting at about 3 feet. So the glass will start 3 feet from the ground. The glass I have is 86 inches tall and tempered safety glass. The length of the green house will face south at about 23 feet, and about 12 feet deep. Which side east or west should I put the door into (either will work very well) Also should I thermal mass the east or west wall either or none? I was planning on making a single slope 1/12 roof insulated instead of glass, as it holds in heat much better and I think the glass is not needed where I am.


Thanks

I'm still a ways off from that mostly in the planning phase.

The tanks are actually part of an aquaponics system that I'm upgrading.

I'm pretty set into doing an earthship, I've gone away from cordwall since we did a shack like that and while we didn't build it to the highest standards its a tad drafty, and we used wood that had been seasoned for 3 years almost.

Looking at places up in the high desert in Arizona and I think an earthship will be perfect up there.

I've done plenty of digging in my day. I'e already helped work on an earthship so i know the work involved.

I just hand dug out  holes to sink in 2 2500 gallon tanks.

More then likely I will have an excavator come out to do the dig out and tires will be filled by hand.

I plan on doing the newer global design, had actually planned doing something very similar to it before it even came out. The U's were a little much for me i like an open floor plan.

Is it plausible to make a earthship have a basement.


If so would we just dig it all out and start tires from the bottom to top?

I'd also like to maintain a masonry type floor for the top floor. So i guess a load bearing post or wall or two would have to be put in the basement.


I don't like the split level ones, and I figure basement is better then 2 stories.


I've heard of some earthships having similar things but not a full basement, but they don't really say how it was done.

Would it work to have a traditional basement poured in and have the top where the tires would sit poured thicker to the width of the tires?


Thanks

wow thanks a lot Lee

Starting is the hard part, defiantly have been working on setting up the zones.

fruit trees on the north side, that's a good one thanks for that tip.

My current lawn is ... well not really a lawn.

Its mostly dirt with some grass and more weeds. (not that i care about the weeds)

I was thinking of doing a clover yard, then i got to thinking about it why not just make it some mix of stuff.

different types of clovers, but what else would go?

I read somewhere that alfalfa can grow with clover. I think a good mix of covers would be better then just one. Also if its edible the better, I have pigs also (though not in the part of the yard)

Should I till my yard up I think the soil is pretty compacted, or should i just seed inoculate it and cover it with straw?

yeah I couldn't believe it myself at first when i sw it. Which was in September (after all the rain) its HUGE. actually after the rains it is alot bigger then he dug it he says. he has a natural dip there. now its still mostly full as we are getting into the dry season (the melt filled it overful again). He says it will get smaller and smaller until its about  2/3 the size area wise. he says during the dry season there are enough sporadic rainfalls to keep it from going dry even in the drought years.

I think that is really really cool and would love to build something that size eventually. however I think were going to start with swales and such

well i know ponds can exist here with out extra input of water from a well or what not, the levels fluctuate though.

My mothers neighbor has a 75 foot [s]diameter[/s] radius pond that is 20 feet deep in the middle and he has had it for 15+ years now and he says the only time its ever been dry were the first 2 years he had it, sure the water level fluctuates but it doesn't go dry. He said he has not added water to it in over 10 years. since his house caught fire and he used it to put out the fires.

Assuming his "pond" was 20 feet deep all the way around that's 2.6 million gallons of water.

now assume that it averages 10 feet deep, thats still 1.3 million gallons of water. that is a ton of water to evap and seep into the ground.

So I'd say its possible, it  just has to be on a large scale.

Checking out the resources you linked now, thank you so much.

I've been lurking here for quite sometime since i first stumbled upon a rocket stove link from reddit.com

anyways

My parents have moved to Snow flake Arizona. few things about the area.

20 acres front 10 has a slightly southern slope, rear 10 has a much larger northern slope.
elevation is about 5600 feet.
summer highs in the mid 90's
and in the winters it can get into the lower teens and very rarely around or below 0
It is VERY VERY windy here
4 seasons
about 10-12 inches of precipitation per year.
the natural landscape is juniper and alligator juniper trees with a fair bit of tumble weed and little grasses.

The ground is maybe 15% covered in trees/random grass/weed.

The soil make up is largely sandy/rocky/clay

Save in a few spots there is next to no topsoil at all.

when it rains the water jets over the top of the soil and runs off.

I understand the basics of what needs to be done.

Swales, and ponds need to made.

However am I going to need a major input of one source or another to get this system started?

Am i going to need to input tons and tons of hay and or mulches or topsoil?

Is there someone who has already done this in an area nearby?

Is anyone in the process of doing this now?

Has anyone had experience with starting in this kind of soil?

I have read the renewing the deserts and such, but they are very vague on the starting point, yes nitrogen fixers etc. I'm looking for a more technical and more regional specific source for information.