I am lowering the price to $1500. The rent is good through the end of the year. Even if you only came for a month, or for the rocket mass innovators event, this could be worth it!
This week we have a worktrader here, Jeremy, helping prepare for the workshop. Yesterday we collected about ten carts of straw from the field for the slip straw walls. Later this week we will put a demonstration slip straw wall together so that we can do some of the later stage work on it during the workshop.
Still have space for a few more participants in the workshop!
An Ant Village cabin/plot for sale! This could be a great cabin for somebody who wants to move into the village and not camp while they build a larger cabin on the same plot. I'd gladly spend a day or two showing you what I have learned about wofati's and roundwood building. The cabin is at the back of the acre plot and secluded from the road. The plot is mostly wooded.
Cost: I will consider any offer over $2,500. I dont really know what to price it at; hoping it is worth more.
NOTE: You would be only buying the improvements. You would either have to pay yearly rent of $1200, do worktrade every year for a few weeks, or pay for a deeproots. You have to work that out with Paul. I think there is a requirement for all long term residents to have listened to Paul's podcasts.
Whats included: -A 16x12 ish earth bermed cabin. The cabin has a wood stove surrounded by an earthen floor and dry stack stone heat wall. The rest of the cabin is wood floor. There is a kitchen table made from rough sawn boards and two benches. The table is lit by an iron chandelier. The kitchen area has an 8ftx2ft counter top with shelves underneath and an overhead light. Bookshelves on one wall. A 3 person couch sits underneath the lofted twin bed. The couch pulls out into a queen bed. Lots of east facing windows. A small cellar under the wood floor. The cabin has grass growing on the roof with tamarack shingle trim. A large uphill patio wraps around the front to divert water away from the structure.
-10x10 Woodshed. Just a timber framed roof to keep rain and snow off firewood. I only used about half of the wood this past winter so it will be stocked with another winters worth of wood.
-A garden of hugelkulture beds. About 1/6(?) of the acrea is covered in garden beds.
-I will have done enough worktrade this year to include my fysh worth a significant amount of next years rent.
Optional extras:
-Solar panel installation: For the right offer, I would leave my solar panels behind with the buyer.
-Tools: I have some gardening tools and well drilling equip
-Hand pump well: I have dug several wells on the property with hand pumps. I have not tried on my plot, but there is a decent chance water could be found.
Two good build sites exist on the plot with south facing mountainous views. During workshops and events, people are always renting bunks around Wheaton Labs. It may be possible to rent the cabin during PDC, ATC, and innovators event and make the yearly rent or more. Your neighbors to the south would be Kai and Evan.
I've lived in Ant Village since 2015 on this plot I rent from Paul. I am checking out my options for my next adventure and am hoping I can pass on my improvements here. I hope to recover what I have spent on the project and move out around July.
Please PM or reply to this thread with any questions. Any serious inquiries can PM for my phone number and tour as my gapper.
My build is documented here: woodstead.org/build.html
Evan drew up this sketchup design for what we are thinking about building. It is not done yet, but thought I'd share
Hi Devin, we had a workshop in the fall helping build Janet's house, maybe we didn't get the word out enough. If you have free time before our workshop now, we are taking on worktraders and already starting the build prep.
We just reduced the workshop price to $390. We had been planning to bring on one more timber framing expert but did not pull it off. Since we don't need to pay them, we have the ability to make the workshop a lot more affordable
Log-Earthen Cabin Workshop: May 13-26 for $390!! Price reduced! $390 for two weeks
Hop onto our job site, powered by solar power and hand tools. We are building an earth bermed, roundwood structure, with light straw insulation. Most of our materials come from a quarter mile radius. The cost of construction is ~$2 per square foot. Learn our techniques and get hands on experience this May!
Learning topics covered: -Post and Beam Framing
-Foundation
-Earth berming
-Green roofs
-Passive solar design
-Drainage
-Excavation
-Insulation
-Earthen plasters
-Light clay/straw
-Cob
-2 story construction
-Fastenerless joints
-Slip and chip
Week 1: Post Frame Construction Learn to fell a tree and strip off the bark. Prepare post holes and place a level post. Trim posts level on top and fit a beam to it. Join post and beam with metal fasteners.
Week 2: Slip Straw Infill and Earthen Plasters Slip straw is a time tested insulation method. At nearly R2 per inch it is effective too. A regional expert is being brought in to teach this segment with Kai.
Guest Instructors Erica Wisner: Erica will be teaching two segments during week #2 of the course. The topics will be earthen plasters and slip straw.
Paul Wheaton: Paul is creator of the Wofati design. Paul will be giving a guest lecture in his own wofati on the lab.
More regional experts may be brought in for day lectures.
What's Included Campsite and kitchen will be provided. Organic meals may be available for purchase.
The campsite will be on the lab and equipped with a composting toilet, drinking water, and solar shower. Open camp fires should be allowed at this time of year. ATT and Verizon get cell service.
If flying into Missoula, a shuttle can be coordinated.
Last year we ran a workshop to help build Janet the Ant's house!
Worktrade: Participants who arrive 4 weeks before the workshop begins can attend for free!
Reduced cost for arriving 1 or 2 weeks early.
Work traders will be prepping materials:
peel logs, gather straw, gather clay, and getting the structure demonstration ready
$85 cost to cover organizational aspects
Maximum of 4 work trade participants.
Cost: $390 cost! (price reduced)
$750 regular price
Paypal payment and more information:
jim@woodstead.org
The two weeks prior to the PDC, Wheaton Labs residents and guest instructors will be hosting a Log-Earthed building Workshop!
Anybody looking to come early for the PDC can find more learning back-to-back. The topics covered will be log-framing, earth berming, thermal inertia, earthen plasters, slip straw insulation, low cost building methods.
Erica Wisner will be guest instructing plasters and slip straw.
Paul Wheaton will be guest instructing Wofati design.
$590 for a two week course, May 13-26 (early bird special pricing)
Announcing Erica Wisner as a guest instructor! Erica will be teaching plastering and slip-straw segments during the earthen week. Erica has a long history of working with and teaching about science, cob, rocket mass heaters, and more.
Hey Dean, I have just talked to Paul about this. He will now be giving a 2 hour lecture on the wofati design during the workshop! This lecture will take place in the latest wofati 0.8 known as Cooper Cabin.
This is a new addition to our guest instructors; more soon to be announced.
Log-Earthen Cabin Workshop: May 13-26 for $390!! Price reduced! $390 for two weeks
Hop onto our job site, powered by solar power and hand tools. We are building an earth bermed, roundwood structure, with light straw insulation. Most of our materials come from a quarter mile radius. The cost of construction is ~$2 per square foot. Learn our techniques and get hands on experience this May!
Learning topics covered: -Post and Beam Framing
-Foundation
-Earth berming
-Green roofs
-Passive solar design
-Drainage
-Excavation
-Insulation
-Earthen plasters
-Light clay/straw
-Cob
-2 story construction
-Fastenerless joints
-Slip and chip
Week 1: Post Frame Construction Learn to fell a tree and strip off the bark. Prepare post holes and place a level post. Trim posts level on top and fit a beam to it. Join post and beam with metal fasteners.
Week 2: Slip Straw Infill and Earthen Plasters Slip straw is a time tested insulation method. At nearly R2 per inch it is effective too. A regional expert is being brought in to teach this segment with Kai.
Guest Instructors Erica Wisner: Erica will be teaching two segments during week #2 of the course. The topics will be earthen plasters and slip straw.
Paul Wheaton: Paul is creator of the Wofati design. Paul will be giving a guest lecture in his own wofati on the lab.
More regional experts may be brought in for day lectures.
What's Included Campsite and kitchen will be provided. Organic meals may be available for purchase.
The campsite will be on the lab and equipped with a composting toilet, drinking water, and solar shower. Open camp fires should be allowed at this time of year. ATT and Verizon get cell service.
If flying into Missoula, a shuttle can be coordinated.
Last year we ran a workshop to help build Janet the Ant's house!
Worktrade: Participants who arrive 4 weeks before the workshop begins can attend for free!
Reduced cost for arriving 1 or 2 weeks early.
Work traders will be prepping materials:
peel logs, gather straw, gather clay, and getting the structure demonstration ready
$85 cost to cover organizational aspects
Maximum of 4 work trade participants.
Cost: $390 cost! (price reduced)
$750 regular price
Paypal payment and more information:
jim@woodstead.org
Since being mentioned, I would like to clarify and say I am incredibly enjoying living in my current cabin and in Ant Village as it is. My cabin fits all my current needs. Of course after building it I have brainstormed many upgrades and a larger version. The idea of a new village does sparks my interest. But thinking on it, I have requirements for my long term homestead which probably dont align with the proposed village. Specifically, I intend for a deed or lease, and more autonomy on materials etc.
Hi Kerry, I use a sealed AGM battery. It is 12volt 35Ah (420Wh), the kind used in mobility scooters. It still is meeting all my low power needs. But every once in awhile I think about how nice it would be to have a freezer.
Some of the plants seem to be doing well. I have harvested radish and turnips. My potato plants look big. Bean pods are forming.
But, tomatoes seem like a total fail. The corn took forever to shoot up. I dont see any watermelon.
Im not sure I like the hugelculture. Maybe I did it wrong. But it seems like plants are doing really well in the foot paths where the water all runs off to.
We did turn it by hand. It is pretty easy to turn by hand except once you get into the wet clay. Then the suction makes it pretty hard. Also hitting a rock can slow it down and even stop it.
The hardest part is pulling it out of the hole once it is >15feet deep. You either need another person to help or to dismantle it every 10foot section. One could build it with thinner guage steel than we used.
I will demo how to build one 2 weeks from now at Wheaton Labs in Montana. There are still spots in our well drilling workshop available!
The well pictured is 28 ft total depth. The water rests at about 20-21feet. The pump has only been on 2 days now. We are still developing the well. Over time it should clean up and produce more water. Veins will develop underground where the water continually flows.
Since in this well the water is flowing in a layer that is mostly clay, it only refreshes at about half a gallon per hour. Meaning we can get 12 gallons a day. But based on what I read that should significantly improve over the first month. There is also the chance it drys up in the driest time of the year. We are working on more wells for redundancy.
The water was very murky the first 5 gallons. Now it is clear enough you can see through it but has a tint. We will run a water quality test on it within then next few weeks after it develops.
Two other wells with water that we are still working on, will update once we make a decision. One has a submersible pump but is incomplete.
I have researched deep well hand pumps but decided to avoid the commercially available ones due to cost. Luckily we have found shallow water. In the future we will experiment with building our own pumps.
The numbers I am listing are to our standing water level. The pump I pictured is of a well with a total depth just over 28feet. But the water stands at 20-21feet. We are at 3000foot elevation limiting a pitcher pump even a bit more.
The theoretical maximum of a pitcher pumps is 32feet. This is due to the pressure differential between a vacuum and atmospheric pressure only generating 13.9 psi
Will have to look into your frost free pumps. Do you have a brand to search for?
To winterize this pump we will put a bleed hole in the pipe below frost line. Additionally I have a plan to modify a pitcher pump by putting the plunger in a section of 3in pipe below grade. Then will extend the drive rod and add a check valve below the 3in pipe. Planning to demo this at the workshop.
It has been awhile since I have updated. I have been very busy fixing up my house, planting seeds, and digging wells! Beans and potatoes look like they are growing really well. I planted about 30 lbs of potatoes, need to dig a root cellar before fall. I have harvested 3 radishes already. Soon the service berries will be ready for picking.
I installed a wood floor in most of my house. The portion around the wood stove has a linseed earthen floor. It turned out pretty well but took a couple weeks to dry. Luckily I could avoid walking in that part.
After several months of use, 75 watts of solar power is more than enough. I only ran out of power once because I forgot to turn off the power for a day while I was away. The real test will be December and January.
I got to travel with Jessie to Mike Oehlers houses last month. Was really inspiring to see earth integrated buildings that stood the test of time.
We received a bunch of packages in the past week! They were sent to ants and gappers.
Thanks Thomas R!
Biodegradable chainsaw oil
Several flexible draw knifes
~10 stainless steel spatulas with wood handles (and walnut oil to treat them)
A video camera
Books (Ive been wanting to check out the one on debt!)
humidity meters
And Su Ba sent us a package of
-Honey and Jam
-Jeans and other clothes
-Chocolate covered nuts
-Steak knifes
We use a 6inch auger bit. It ends up drilling a hole about 7inches in diameter. We are trying to find water in spots that are only 20-25 feet deep. That way a shallow pitcher pump can be used. We have two wells with water at about 21 feet deep. Our deepest well is about 40 feet in total depth.
On travelling in:
Southwest airlines is pretty cheap into Spokane. Maybe a few people can plan to arrive and rent a car together? Or the greyhound from Spokane airport to Missoula may happen to have good timing? We could start an email list with those who have paid and are looking to travel together. Also, there are bike paths most of the way from Spokane to Missoula, could be a fun bike trip! My first visit to Wheaton Labs last year I biked down form the Amtrak station in Whitefish.
Into Missoula, there are cheap flights on Frontier airlines from Denver. Maybe You can transfer in Denver?
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