Chi Monger

Jen Anderson wrote:I missed the call!  Bummer!

What can be used instead of sawdust?  I have very little access to saw dust.  I do have access to invasive plants like tamarisk and seasonals like wild mustard.  Can I chop that up and put it in?  Too green?

Also, I live in a very dry climate where temps reach 120 in the summer...will my Willow feeder explode?

The cover material for composting toilets, needs to be dry/brown, never green/fresh.  
Or a nice loose peat/dirt.
Helps to have worms in it (red wrigglers, like used for fishing)(these abate bad germs).
We’ve used forest floor debris, dried leaves, etc.  
For processing dried weeds & trimmings for compost cover, a chipper can quickly chop lots of it to store in a dry place.
The weeds might spread seeds—but If you pick the plants ..before.. they bloom, it limits spreading seeds.
With very hot summers, the weeds & prunings should dry fast.

If dirt can be recirculated from your property, & dry leaves, can mix that as cover material.
Or, can buy big bales of sawdust, pine shavings, straw, coconut coir, pellets, etc. from farm supply stores, which work well, are low cost (should be), & one bail can last 2 people a fairly long time.

The hot summers, tho, can cause compost toilets to dry out quicker, so, fluids filtering thru the solids (depends on your design of compost toilet) can be a good thing.  

Whether it’s called a “bog” or a “willow feeder”, or other name…it’s gotta honor certain rules that help it work best.
Things like air circulation/venting, fast-drain-away of liquids, worms, cover material, etc., are keys.
The rules are fairly simple, & the goal of sewage “going away” can be achieved in many different ways.
But if done wrong, can cause a beached-whale of an ugly mess!

I’ve done a bunch of looking at what makes a viable composting system for black or gray water, for over 40 years—& had experiences with outhouses & cesspits, much longer than that. (I got some stories…)
The thing that spikes fear in regulatory agents, is “coliform bacteria” (that’s another way to say, “this sh!t can harm you!”)
Usually, they mean the anaerobic bacteria that thrive in a closed septic system.
All septic systems are anaerobic the minute the lids are closed over the ports, because that deprives the system of oxygen.  

The very best add-on system I’ve come across in over 40 years of looking, has been the one hooked-up to a Massachusetts farmhouse’s upstairs, old, high-water-use flush toilet, as described in the “Solviva” book:  
       https://openlibrary.org/books/OL8532620M/Solviva
This can be used without digging a hole; & can contain enuf effluent to avoid coliforms contaminating the ground & water tables as it is safely processed by the system, for an average family.
It’s a great fit for sensitive areas with high water tables or fragile environments, & allows folks to use it without even knowing they are flushing to a composting system.
And, she discusses how worms—like red wigglers used as fishing bait, actually abate coliforms, without the compost ever reaching heat-sterilization temps—just keep those worms happy!
Her system routinely handled family & friends, & occasional on-site seminars with up to 40 people, I think….& that was only using half the bin for a year!
It does require some checking & maintenance, to make sure components all keep working right…but far less than most compost toilets—& no “visuals” to gross-out city slickers.
But, the septic system industries & permitting agents pushing costly engineered septic systems, fought her designs, despite plenty of data & science supporting the efficacy.

Regular Septic systems need to be properly designed & maintained.  
In our modern world, with tens of thousands of chemical compounds everywhere, maintaining septic systems well, is harder to do.  Many chemical compounds kill-off the bacteria & worms needed to compost the solids.  Toilet paper, feminine products, etc., have chemicals in them.  So do most commercially made cleaning products—so, adaptions need made.

The minute lids are put over the tank ports, the tank turns anaerobic—those germs grow without oxygen, & if the system leaks, those can go everywhere underground, polluting.  
That’s been the ongoing problem in septic systems.
Yet, the septic industry has only pushed for more & more high-tech engineering—very costly, & much nuisance to live with, cuz the alarms go off randomly & often. & those are several thousand$ more costly than simple gravity septic systems.
A septic tank can be hybridized with constructed wetland planter containers instead of a leach field.

There IS One kind of add-on system for septic systems that can help these be more effective, & stop coliforms from migrating thru the ground.  
These bubble air into the septic tank, & add aerobic cultures.  
The bubbling air encourages growth of good aerobic bacteria, which causes extinction of bad anaerobes.
Aerobes don’t migrate thru the ground.  
Aerobes munch-thru the solid wastes in the septic tank & drain field, which greatly reduces need for pump-outs (our neighbor just had to get an emergency pump-out, late on Christmas Day—imagine the bill for THAT!?😳) or rebuilds of systems.  
A good bubbler system can prevent need for septic system replacements, by simply using those good aerobes to bubble-thru & clean out old, clogged systems.   A bubbler pump can run on solar.
Better the bacteria doing the job, than us, or our wallets… right? 😉

Whatever you call your waste system…one key is separating solids from liquids, if for no other reason that to control the stenches caused mostly by urine.  

There’s a small company in UK, that makes ceramic separators, some are hand-painted, unique—“Shits & Roses”, I think..  
   https://urineseparator.com/
The model with a lip to curve-over the rear bucket, prevents leaks between bucket & liquid drain.
No doubt, there are others making these kinds by now?
We bot a large stainless steel farm bucket from a farm supply store, to put one of these on.  

There are multiple ways to configure a bucket system.
Bucket systems used indoors, really require a vent…..& a drain. The bigger of a storage barrel used, the less carrying of urine containers.  A barrel configured similarly to a gravity septic plumbing, that drains around the yard to water plants, makes that part of the system kinda automatic, nearly indefinitely.  Graywater drain to help dilute the urine, can help.

I’m slowly transforming a small hall closet into a tiny guest powder room.  
Plans include running the liquids out to a buried barrel, & a drain line from that to run that around perimeter to water & fertilize shrubs out front.  
Knowing how minerals in urine become hard plaques in containers & pipes, either the system must get flushed with water to rinse it to prolong use-life, OR, ya gotta design it to allow easy replacement of the containers & pipes.  
  The house gutter will bypass the urine barrel, to shunt rainwater thru the drain line to dilute urine from the barrel, similarly pumped like a gravity septic, so that doses into the line as more enters.  
 The master bath vent is on the other side of the closet wall, so, using Twinwall polycarbonate instead of drywall, will let a bit of window light into the closet, & a vent tube can join that vent thru that wall.  
Or, a vent tube with its own fan, can be run under the floor with the drain pipe, & out the foundation. I could mount a black ABS vent pipe up the gable end wall, & sun would cause that to draw air, without a fan.

One bucket system we used at a remote location, used a couple 5-gal. buckets.  
Did not have a separator lid then,  So, had to figure how to let the liquid drain out fast.
I installed a drain spigot near the base of each, that could quick-connect to a drain pipe to carry liquids to a barrel outside to age it—it becomes a very good nitrogen fertilizer after several months.  
A fine-mesh stainless steel filter was placed over the drain inside the bucket, & caulked in place—could easily use a sink strainer for that.  The more common the parts, the easier & less costly to fix later.
A drain bag for the solids was placed under the rear seat hole.  That plus the fine-screen stainless steel filter, kept the bucket from getting soggy.  
It’s possible to get poly-woven bags to hold the solids—those can drain quickly, & can get carried out to a compost worm bin to finish.
Keys:  vent pipe & fast drainage of liquids.  & worms, if you’re up for that—tho, worms in buckets do tend to try to migrate up bucket sides.  
But worms in a protected compost bin, do great….

A 9-bucket worm compost system was also described by Solviva (that could as well be woven poly bags).
She came to Olympia, WA, to demo building that system at a B&B here.  
There was a room off the back garden, where the active-use bucket was housed, & a container of cover material.
These buckets could have been improved by having drains to a tank for the urine—they had not setup a urinal in there yet, when I saw it.
It seemed numerous visitors avoided trying it, because, users were all generically told to pee elsewhere than in the bucket—but there was no private “elsewhere”, & standing or squatting over the floor drain to pee was not feasible for many, & would have been unsanitary.
There was a big bin in a greenhouse in the garden behind the house:  bin was about 8’x3’x3’…big enuf to fit 8 buckets on its long surface. (8 buckets on the bin, & 1 bucket in-use)
It was filled with loose, highly drainable potting-type mix (could be detritus from forest floor, or coconut coir, etc)…& worms!  
The bucket in-use for this system, held everything, & needed good cover materials…sawdust, pine bedding, forest floor dirt & leaves, etc., which prevented stench & flies.
When one bucket was about 1/2+ filled, it got placed, upside-down, on top of the dirt in the greenhouse bin, & a clean bucket put into use.  Repeat.  
By the time the last bucket was put on the bin, the 1st bucket had been cleaned out—seriously—CLEANED out by the worms in the bin, & was Ready to be used again.  
Bonus:  NOone had to wash crappy buckets!  Just haul them to the bin, & give that treat to the worms in the bin.
             Minimal handling!

One guy in UT, emptied his septic tank, removed its concrete lid, & built a greenhouse window top for the tank.  
In one corner was a tall, screened 6” air-intake pipe; on the opposite corner was a tall 6” screened air-outlet pipe, painted black, set at a different height inside the tank.  
I think he eventually added a solar fan to boost air circulating thru the tank.  The windows used to lid the tank, could open to access clean-out when necessary (every several years??)
His flush toilet still sent effluent to that tank. No “visuals” to upset visitors.
Except, instead of the tank festering liquid nasties, the flushes got dehumidified fairly fast from air flow, while the glass top helped heat that tank.  
That system works very well for one or two people living in his tiny cabin.  
UT gets cold winters & hot summers, but the glass top solar gain, plus the natural composting heat, & the air circulation, helped compost process keep going, greatly reducing the solids’ mass.  
This system requires little maintenance, & allows using a flush toilet.

Seasonal weather changes affect your composting efforts, too.  Be prepared!  
That might look like extra buckets or bags, adding a heat source to the compost area, more cover materials, different cover materials, more venting, etc.
If your manufactured wetland lives where there’s rain, it’ll need protected from rain swamping the wetland.

The most effectively automated compost toilet design, has been being used in Africa…it looks like a toilet indoors.
It gets permanent-installed, thru & under the house wall.
Each time the seat lid is opened or closed, it ratchets a large Acme screw, which carries the solids gradually out the back end of the thing, to a bin in-ground, outside, so it’s accessible for clean-outs.  The deeper the back bin, the less frequent the cleanouts.
The system has a wide diameter vent pipe with a top-fan, to keep air venting the system.
  https://www.esan.co.za/avada_portfolio/composting-toilets/
These now have separators, I think.  
Used to be, had to order a whole shipping container of them, to get the price down.

Brings whole new depths of meanings, to “taking care of your sh!t”!

Jay Angler wrote:
"Mentha pulegium, commonly (European) pennyroyal, or pennyrile, also called mosquito plant[1] and pudding grass,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae, native to Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.[3] Crushed pennyroyal leaves emit a very strong fragrance similar to spearmint. Pennyroyal is a traditional folk remedy, emmenagogue, abortifacient, and culinary herb, but is toxic to the liver and has caused some deaths.[4] European pennyroyal is related to an American species, Hedeoma pulegioides. Though they differ in genera, they share similar chemical properties.[5]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentha_pulegium

I have an area where establishing plants could be very helpful. It sounds as if both/either will do the job, but do you have any idea which one is used to make the oil you mentioned?

Nuts!  I thot I answered this before—must have gotten lost…

Probly either. Tho, I think all the oil we’ve used over the last 40 years or so, has been from the European variety.
I tried planting it along one side of the foundations here, but, will need to put a drip line over there—we both kept forgetting to water it a bit during summer—it struggled mightily—a survivor, one plant still stayed alive, barely, for at least 2 seasons after we gave up trying to babysit that side of the foundation.   They are fairly drought tolerrant, once established, but, must have some moisture during hot summers.  

Kelly Craig wrote:Chuckle.  The U.S. Navy uses glass etch on equipment that incorporates tempered glass.  I worked on a lot of it and used the glass that would have been tossed, had I not rescued it.  The rule was, no deeper than 50/1,000 of an inch.  

One day, we had to do a clean up and had about fifteen of the glass tops for Mark 19 Plotters. Rather than just toss them in the dumpster, we were told to break them up, to save room. As noted, they were all etched. Many of them took several hard hits from ballpein hammers, because they all but refused to break.

At fifty one thousands of an inch, you can drag your finger nail across the glass and feel the line break, but it's not deep enough to trigger the stress factor needed to cause the glass to turn into rubble.

I've done many a tempered glass auto window and slider. None of them disintegrated. Even when, as was done to shock newbies, we slammed them with a hammer. So too it went with rock hits on vehicle windows.

The bucking horse I posted was a rear pickup window. Here are a couple of the tables I did, which were tempered glass, for the obvious safety reasons.

Side note, I was also around tempered glass that shattered into a pile of rubble just in the course of moving it.

Come to think of it, MAYbe, it depends on the kind of tempering done, as well as the thickness of the glass—& maybe if it’s made of different elements??  
Just recalled a day we spent at a dump, finding parts needed.  We found a front windshield from a vehicle, & nearby, a steering column.  One guy grabbed that column, climbed on a pile a few feet higher than that windshield, & commenced to drive the pointy end down at the middle of that glass—repeatedly.  
The column must have weighed at least 40#, & he was putting very strong efforts to heaving it down at the glass…..but not.a.single.scratch.  
We picked it up & frisby’d it into/onto other hard objects, flatwise, edgewise—still not chipped, scratched, cracked or broken.  
Us mere mortals admitted defeat, gave up 🤷‍♀️ & walked away.  
That was in the mid-1970s.  
I think bullet-proof glass was invented over 100 years ago…but, this piece didn’t look thick enuf to be that.  I’d never seen such a break-resistant windshield, before or since!
Compare that, with the recycled slider doors I’d stacked on a work table outside:  a panicked deer jumped out of one of the raised beds, onto the glass , which shattered dramatically…or, today's windshields that crack at the impact of flying bit of gravel…
Of course, window glass is thinner than that old windshield.  

Kevin Olson wrote:

Chi Monger wrote:

ETCHING slider door glass?!? NOOOooooo😱
Slider doors are at minimum, tempered glass. ……🤷‍♀️

Hmmm.  Thinking about it, tempered is pretty touchy (hence my fretting over clamshelling thermal units), but I am certain that the glass in the doors which I etched for the church would have been tempered glass , by code.  They are still intact, a good 20 years later.  Maybe someone has been looking out for them...

On her YouTube channel, Kristen Dirksen has profiled several houses (at least two, but maybe more) over the past few years, built inside greenhouses, either entirely enclosed (one within a dome) or partially (i.e. two of the exterior walls of the house formed part of the exterior of the glazed enclosure).  …..

Greenhouses work by reducing convective losses (no matter the common usage of "greenhouse effect"); if the gap between panes is large enough, convective cells can set up between the panes, which will enhance heat transfer across the gap.  There is a point beyond which increasing the gap will be counter productive, but I don't know what that is for "air".

Attempting to maximize the resistance to heat transfer across the gap between panes bit Andersen a while ago.  They tried using argon gas to fill thermal pane units, because argon has better thermal performance than dry nitrogen or other common gasses one might use (Ken Kern just used air).  It was a good idea but their seals weren't up to the task (at least, the early ones weren't) and the argon would try to equalize the partial pressures between inside the thermal unit (high partial pressure, basically pure argon) and the surrounding atmosphere (low partial pressure, very little argon).  Argon being noble and monatomic, it's tricky to contain (not helium tricky, but tricky, nonetheless), and the argon managed to eventually mostly escape by diffusing through the seals.  This pulled a partial vacuum between the panes, and the surrounding atmospheric pressure would squeeze the panes toward each other.  Sometimes one or the other pane cracked, equalizing the pressure, sometime the panes just "kissed" in the middle, resulting in condensation circles.  I spent several cold days (preferably below -10F and clear) doing field fixes - drill through the seal to allow in ambient air, then set a sealing blind rivet in silicone to cork up the hole.  Doing the job on a cold day helped to ensure minimal moisture would get into the thermal pane when the air was sucked in.

I’d only been informed by some folks over many years, cautioning against etching tempered glass….but hey…new info!
One of my brothers etched a glass dish with face of Carl Malden—it was kind of a joke—it was for his iguana, which had a very Carl Malden grin😁

I had seen the greenhoused houses!  Thot it was a very good idea.  Tho, wouldn't any climate that can reach 90+*F., cook the household…requiring more cooling??  (Unless they also use geothermal…to keep costs down)

Did not know that about argon—thanks—Good to know!  Anderson still sells argon in their windows….when their windows are new, the resistance to heat transfer is pretty epic—a 200w heat lamp on one side of their window, did not heat the interior side of the one shown—compared with the single-pane slider window the same lamp could blister the flesh of one’s fingers.

& that is more reason to go low-tech! (Aside from their extremely high prices)

Idk about diminishing returns on wider airspace’s btwn panes….it seems it must not be too much loss of efficiency, if a house can be put into a greenhouse enclosure & work enuf to warrant the cost??  I know that good seals when windows are closed, help prevent condensate btwn ours;  but the one with a window AC in it, still doesn’t get much condensate.
(Twin wall has some great non-standard uses!)

If diminished efficacy happened btwn panes at a certain dimension, wouldn’t that cause condensation on one of the panes—likely the outer one?

Our “fake-it” remedy on one large, single pane aluminium frame window, was to mount a 2x2 frame covered with polycarbonate panels on the outside of that, & use 3 panels of twin wall, overlapping slightly, on the inside.  
That window used to leak rain fairly badly.   It’s protected from that now; the inside has had only scant condensate since it got its protection.   Only a small amount of condensate forms on the inner surface of the polycarbonate.  
It’ll have to do, til I can find the right contractor to help remodel that window…but for the past several years, can only find ones who do simple remove/replace—& only if I buy their windows, or, only if replace multiple units.
Industries are doing crazy things to prevent folks helping themselves, & making folks buy yet more stuff. But that’s a whole ‘nut her conversation!

Did you mean, you took apart the windows in order to get at their seals??  BRRRR!  That’s an epic job!  Good on you!!  Most folks just trash ‘em, & buy new ones.

I wonder, how might windows fare, if instead of air btwn glass panes, that space was filled with polycarbonate? (Because temps go thru plastic slower than glass). I wonder if the plastic could be close equivalent to air/gas filled, especially if there’s the film included btwn the glass & plastic?   It’d make a mess of recycling the windows, but, they’d be more resistant to breaking, & moisture couldn't get btwn to fog/grow mold…?

Kelly Craig wrote:Yeah, Kevin, my dream home would have a wrap around deck using old sliding glass doors. In the summer, they could all be open in the summer and, in the winter, not so much.

It'd be fun to glass etch them, just because I can.  As I pointed out to wifey, it would look nice, and could all be done for a few hundred dollars (sand and contact paper is all you need). It would cost a fortune to have someone do it, but, as long as the projector bulb doesn't burn out, I gots me some talent and could do mountains, elk and whatever tickles fancies.

If a person wanted to get creative, some of the sliders could be framed to roll out of the way, to open the space even more.

If worse came to worse, I could save the five sliders I'm removing (two down, three to go) and just lay them sideways on the short walls/openings, as if windows (either way, I'd be wise to beef up the 4x6 supports below, just because glass is heavier than people think.

ETCHING slider door glass?!? NOOOooooo😱
Slider doors are at minimum, tempered glass.  
Once glass is tempered, which affects the exterior layers of the glass, anything used to etch, be it a vibratory tool, sand or acid, could cause it to shatter—either while etching, or some time after it’s mounted when wind, or a bird, hits it.  
But at least it’d shatter in small pieces…🤷‍♀️
👉🏼A better alternative might be etched-looking window cling film—lotsa choices from online venues. Less choices from big box hardware store.  
OR—can get creative & make real stained glass suncatcher panels, or fake them using stained glass paints on Plexiglas panels.  Even less costly, is make coathanger wire frames, glue on colored tissue paper, then varnish that on both sides—I made a huge flower like that, for an old boyfriend to hang over his pool table (circa 1960s).  Kids can have fun making those!  The varnish sticks the paper onto the wire & turns the tissue translucent.  Can use India ink & pen, or a fine marker after varnish dries, to give finer details.

We collected a number of slider door glass pieces, from folks replacing them—most were dual-pane sliders with broken seals.
 I removed the rubber seals, making separate panes.  
We had to build-out a roof extension across the back of our place, to protect the old walls.  Could only go out 10’, to avoid co earring the septic tank too much.
Bonus:  that is a microclimate helping passively reduce heating & cooling costs in the house.
(Now I want one across the front of the house!!)
That back area faces is south—but, it failed to give solar gain the right way, when the wall & its fenestrations were exposed.  

We made a short wall facing the yard, with enuf space + buffer space.  
For our needs (durability), I used metal roof panels as the exterior covering.  
Eventually, the lower wall framing can get insulated.
We scavenged the 4x4 posts on foundation blocks.
Those get beefed-up by cladding them with 2x6 PT planks (which help hold the glass in)…our posts for that part, have 7’ wide openings.  The 3rd section is a bit wider, the way things worked out.
There’s a 2x6 PT sill btwn the posts, supported by 2x4 studs…just like regular walls, just short.
There are 2x4 angles to roof from posts, to prevent racking.  
I used off-the-rack metal flashing to cover the sills, & caulked the edges to prevent water getting to the wood.
The slider glass will get mounted horizontally in the openings, sitting on the sill flashing, buffered w/a silicone seal strip; one pane will sit to the outside edge of the posts, in each of 2 large openings….
I think there’s enuf glass, a 2nd pane can mount towards the inside of the posts, to form a wide airspace btwn the 2 panes—a 3”+ airspace btwn single pane glass, insulates much better than average dual-pane windows—zero condensate btwn the glass, or on the interior side—ever. (We’ve done that on 4 big windows—pairs of recycled single-pane slider windows)

It kinda is “non-conforming”…but, I don’t care—this tactic of wide airspace btwn old single-pane windows, has proven very effective at lowering our electric heat bill.   The 1st month we finished the 4 front windows like that, was a cold November—those 4 windows suddenly saved about $100 off our worst cold month utility bill, in the Olympia, WA area.  (The old house windows, & the recycled ones to match, had been nearly falling out of their aluminum frames—cleaned, recaulked, work well).

Maybe folks who recycle materials are weird by some uppity metrics—but, I sure get a huge kick out of outfoxing the overpriced industries & utilities!!  Thankfully, our HOA has been cool with it…it’s old & simple rules (so far), as long as it blends-in fairly well.

Kevin Olson wrote:Recently, Midea and one other brand have come out with mini splits which can be inserted into an appropriately sized single hung window.  They will both heat and cool, and require no (or very minimal) modifications.

We have a small (8,000 or 10,000 BTU, I forget which; it's the medium sized model) Midea window AC unit, which we run a few nights per summer, installed in the smallest of our bedroom windows, with a cloth shower curtain on a spring tension curtain rod across our bedroom doorway.  This arrangement means that the AC unit really only needs to cool our bedroom, give or take a bit of leakage at the curtain.  A good night's sleep can make all the difference in hot, steamy weather.  Ours has a variable speed compressor, and all sorts of modes and settings, some of which are more energy efficient than the basic "cool" mode.  The evaporator is on the interior of the sash, and the condenser is outside.  Both heat exchangers have fans, and are connected via tubing which passes under the slightly raised sash through a small flat connecting housing.  A folding metal bracket supports the overhung weight of the exterior portion.  There are some foam blocks which provide a customizable seal at the sides of the unit.

If the Midea mini splits are anything like the quality of the AC unit we have (and the ancient but still very functional dehumidifier we have, also Midea manufactured, though with some private label marketing badge on the front), the mini splits will be long lived.  I haven't actually seen one in person, but it seems they could really be helpful for someone who absolutely cannot modify their residential accommodations.

In the case of our AC unit, I did screw in two very small screws for the folding support bracket, one at each side of the frame, but these aren't strictly necessary, though it does seem like good insurance against the bracket slipping out of position.  Otherwise, it is a no modifications install.  I believe the mini splits are set up the same, but the heat pump setting does require a higher performance refrigeration circuit than the AC only version, since it's an air source heat pump.  It would also suffer from the same weaknesses as any other air source heat pump; that is, when the outdoor temperature drops, the heat pump will need to work harder, and therefor will be less efficient, to provide the same heating as when the exterior temps are less cold.

Don't take this as a recommendation.  As I said, I don't have direct experience with the mini splits, just with the Midea AC unit and dehumidifier.  Take this as a "might be worth investigating".

These mini splits are also uncheap (roughly 10X the cost of the AC units, as I recall), so that might factor into how desirable a solution this might be.
Well, is my face RED (my neck is always red)!  I just checked, and it isn't Midea who has the window mini split after all!  It's Gradient, and they may not even have a consumer-ready product, yet.

I am leaving this post up as a monument to my everlasting shame, for not having checked before posting, but rather just going on my memory.
Some people's kids!

NOT the 1st nor last, to do that!!
But, keeping the info up, helps—folks can research them.
I actually found a Midea unit like the Gradient, but Neither are for sale yet.  Either costs DEARLY (4 digits)—gradient is most proud.
You weren’t whistlin’ Dixie, how costly these are.
But hey—try looking up “PTAC heat pumps”.  Most are mounted thru-wall, below windows.   The PTAC industry has been around a long time. MIGHT find units less costly.

Kelly Craig wrote:I, too, am from the Pacific Northwet. However, I've, now, crossed the Cascades, back near home (Eastern (Central) Washington) where moisture is much less a problem.
I, also, am thinking of bumping out existing insulation. Now that I'm in the desert, and the hottest part of Washington, those southern and western walls of this hastily built 2x4 framed house are looking, more and more, like they need help.
The plan you have sounds like a pain, and the exact thing I have planned. I am fortunate in that I have an 1,800 square foot wood shop with  at least nine saws, nailers (framing , siding, 16 gauge and so on), etc. and so on.  That collection includes worth-their-weight-in-gold antique nail pullers, AND simple pipes, to which I added rough teeth and which JUST fit over the nails holding the T-111 on (the small pipes install in a large drill and give the antiques purchase opportunity.
I just bought the first of several rolls of 10" insulation to lay out in my shop attic.
Next, the house.
SIDE NOTE: I worked an 80 year old farm house the customers gave me a $200,000.00 budge bring to life. ONE of the things I did was, seal every air gap I could. This was so effective that, even before I got the insulation in or the rock on, I sealed every gap I could find. There was little or no opportunity for air to move between inside and outside. Sound is air movement of air (rarefactions and compressions). Subsequently, you could not hear people talking outside the walls or windows.  Add the insulation and rock and . . . .

Chi Monger wrote:

Kelly Craig wrote:Be cautious about the idea of just running over the top of everything (e.g., plywood and insulation) to crank up insulation.  Think of it like adding insulation to the attic - you add layers that do not have vapor barriers so moisture will not be trapped. You'd end up with a vapor barrier behind the rock / lathe and plaster and a wind stop layer under the siding.

Chi Monger wrote:HEATPUMP MINISPLITS:
I want to install exterior insulation & new siding, over the old.

. . . .We’re in the PNW, & only about 200’ above current sea level.  So, similar, but not as extreme.
Our climate in SW WA State, the dew point can be amazing—the underside of our patio roof metal & plastic, drops random drops of condensate during medium temp/humidity transition-times during spring & summer.

S

I know this is a dinosaur chain….but it keeps being read & added to.  
Good thing, cuz, insulation, radiant heat tech, heatpumps, etc. are so important!

Our goals always were to see how low we could make the electric bill, still be comfy, & still use all the gadgets clever monkeys like to play with.  Each time we’ve achieve some of that, especially using recycled stuff, it’s just added more “tickle-factor” to the joy of it!

If money were no object, LOTS of upgrades would be done, including geothermal.
I’d raise the roof trusses to allow really good insulation blanket clear to the eaves—this old house is a 1970s tract house built with some “looking the other way” by inspectors, & in a decade the bldg industry was using mobile home methods on stick-built (like, 2x8 floor joists spanning 12’ to 14’).  
& I’d rip-out all the floors to retrofit earth-tied no-plastic, deep earthen floors, to benefit health.
For starters.

I may never get to add exterior insulation, at my age & circumstances.
But over the decades, it’s become clear, every bit that helps even some, IS worth trying—public has been discouraged for decades, from trying “hippy” or “ghetto” low-tech solar & wind, by cadres of engineers telling everyone, “those things are not effective enuf to bother with”.  
It turns out…they kinda are helpful enuf!  
Trouble was, that same wasteful, industrialist mindset that built systems, buildings & products based on very cheap energy, subsidized resources, etc., has caused the current climate crisis.  THATs on industrialism fixated mostly on profits & constant untenable growth.  
Cheap energy was a lie—there’s always been far bigger collateral costs—that “bill” is now overdue.  

We’ve always had slim budgets, so did much with recycled stuff, passive measures, low tech.
Some things we have nearly finished doing on this old place, have counted more than we expected:  

1).   Added an 11’ patio roof across the back of the house to protect it from weathering worse.  
The cheap dual-pane windows & single-pane slider were in bad shape; that concern originally pushed the build.
I’d originally been thrilled with that southern exposure, thinking it’d help temper the house—instead, that exposure, at about 45* latitude, with only the nominal 2’ overhangs, made the house untenably hot in summer, wicked cold in winter.
In the several years of having the patio roof across the back, it’s clear that made the house cost countably less on the all-electric bills, has protected the building & foundation, & provides dry transition space we can work in, store stuff, sit & enjoy the view, etc.
Now, I want a similar roof extension across the ..front.. of the house, to protect that north side, & the main entryx-it can easily transform the looks into a Prairie-style.
           Amazingly effective, microclimates!

2.   Storm windows separated by 3” or more airspace.  
We got recycled windows to match 3 big windows on front of house.  
The original windows were nearly falling out of the frames, so, needed cleaned, MoldZyme’d against mold (it’s non-toxic), & sealed with clear silicone caulk,
I framed-out about 3” from the original single-pane aluminum windows (1st cleaned, then recaulked w/clear silicone).  
Then mounted the matching recycled & refurbished windows on the bumped-out frame, & sealed the whole thing very well.  
These improved windows, despite being single-pane, have never had one drop of condensate.
Doing 3 big ones, & faking the 4th temporarily, saved us about $100 off the worst winter heating bill, & comply with Code (operable escape windows)
I think, that was very much worth doing!
Those bump-outs will hide in plain sight, if/when out-sulation + new siding is added.

3.    Added insulation fluff added to attic, & repaired the crawlspace insulation.  
Learned those companies refuse to go beyond R-40…but due to truss roof framing, ANYTHING done in the “attic” is much harder to do, & not much added insulation can fit within a couple feet of the soffit vents…so, not much R-value can be added there.
We did get a perforated reflective “blanket” over that, & in the crawlspace, which seems to help (so far, so good…).  
Trade offs include:
Beware these contractors!  They accidentally knocked the bathroom vent pipes loose, & Avoided properly installing all the soffit vent channels I handed them (cuz they weren’t gonna place Any!!)

4.   Remedy the walls:   2x4 Exterior walls lose the tempering we pay to get; for temporary added protection on walls & windows:
     Reflectix panels camouflaged as various wall hangings.  
     Polycarbonate Twinwall panels overlapped over windows—window-clings easily can deco those for added privacy yet admit light, can slide to the side if need to see out.  Our cats sit & look out thru them.  The panels are sturdy, easily reused elsewhere.  I use spring-rod curtain rods btwn the window sides, to hold the panels in the window, pressed to overlap.
Walls no longer generate a breeze indoors when outside temps fall into the 20s or lower.

5.   Low ceilings.  This has been used to conserve heat, for a very long time.  But it plays-hobb with modifying ceilings on a low budget.  Ceilings are where heat is lost fastest.  This place is semi-open-plan.  That helps single-source air tempering move around better, but it causes AWFUL echoing of sound!
I bot a few glass doors at the ReStore, & mounted those at strategic hallways, with open transoms over each.  We built a wall btwn the original kitchen, & housemates’ kitchen (was family room), also w/a wide transom over it.  I used Lincane-style perked aluminum to allow air circulation thru the transoms, but thwart cat populations from using transoms as pathways.
Also, placed 2 transom fans to help boost air flow.
The doors helped subdivide the house for housemates & cat residents, & helped reduce echoing; but, it compartmentalized single-source air tempering.
It’s a learning curve.  
What we find:  once the rocket stove in the sunken livingroom is lit on a chill 5 am, it takes about 3 hours for that to start equalizing thru both sides of the house.  Similar for window AC.  Once temps equalize, the house now holds the temp fairly well til the next morning.

6.   Entry yard shade cloths on lightweight foldable frames.  Huge improvement to prevent livingroom from broiling.  
The deeper the shade (ours shades 8’ out from wall, over about 16’ of wall), the more effective at passively cooling the house interior.   But even hanging the shades about 2’ out from the wall, vertically, helps a lot.  

7.   Dense leafy vines shading hot walls.  
One bedroom wall got so hot from afternoon sun, it could nearly blister fingers—the kids thot there was a wall socket short catching fire.  I tested an idea, by simply placing a potted tree next to that wall to shade it from that sun—voila’!  So, then planted the vine to shade it in summer.  It defoliates in winter, so, any sun (laughter here..!), could help add a touch of warmth, but summer hot sun can’t touch that.

Lights:
CFLs & LEDs got wired very special, in order to get industries to allow them on the market—long story.  
They DO save LOTS of energy compared with incandescent bulbs, & last MUCH longer (more long story)—all that hinged on what industry would willingly make.  So, NONE of the bulbs sold in over 100 years, is as efficient or long-lived as they could be, by at least a few times less efficient or long-lived.
That wiring to accommodate profits for bulb makers & energy sellers, has a few issues, including glitching of garage door openers, sounds, flickers.
One of the best places to use red/infrared incandescent bulbs is in the bathroom—can get a bit of a red/infrared light treatment that helps improve health, & it’s warming.
Red/infrared LED lights do the same, better—& last much longer—these do also put out some heat, just less. Some experimenters have used LED red/infrared lights to power their saunas;  I saw a picture of an alcove shower, the owner had built-in some red/infrared LED lites in the walls, behind clear tiles, to heat the shower kinda like a sauna, but mostly for the therapeutic effects.

Too full of Thanksgiving casserole…hope all had peaceful holiday!

Rebecca Fussner wrote:I have found that building a shallow planter for containment of mint around the shed keeps most critters out. My last one was about a foot wide and 6 inches deep on top of pavers {to keep the mints in) and planted my mint collection. Don't forget to mulch it.  For the door sill a line of salt with mint oil will keep it rodent free.

Mint’s good to fool them for a bit.  
But, in our decades of experience, & from some literature read long ago,
Pennyroyal contains elements that stop pests from reproducing, which other mints lack, or have too little of.  

I make a quart spray bottle filled with water, add about 1/2 to 1 Oz Pennyroyal oil + 1 to 2 drops liquid dish soap, & mist that on baseboard near floor, backs or undersides of cabinets, or in garage, or pantry areas.  
Pests know they should avoid mint smells—that’s the cue alert to them, but if they figure out it’s “just mint”, they ignore it & maraud anyway.

Pennyroyal groundcover plants, growing around the foundations of a shed or house, can do a pretty good job of repelling them away from the building.   They are fairly drought-tolerant in shade; maybe water every week or two, once established well. Little blue flowers, seasonally, & will come back from roots or seeds, if conditions are right.
The sides of the foundations I can plant them, did fizzle tho….even in our more humid climate, they needed watering more than I remembered to do.   But, eventually, I’ll replant, once there’s a moisture source on that side.

Kathy Greenwood…..”Interestingly (not) a couple of my neighbors have commented about how they're not seeing as many mice as they usually do this time of year. A bag of kibble is a lot cheaper than having to replace a lot of food in the pantry if they get in the house or having to repair damage to walls etc.[/quote wrote:

….& LOTS cheaper than having to replace plastic plumbing (like PEX)!…when the commercial composting biz next door moved, rodents swarmed over & thru the fenceline between the properties.  
Before we knew it, they’d eaten thru some new PEX, a swath about 4” long & half the diameter of the pipes—both hot & cold—as the water sprayed them!  I exactly mean, they ..ate.. the plastics first, then the contents—left not a crumb below the chew holes made in the top sides of big jars.  
Licked-up a few gallons of raw honey.  Beans. Etc.
I’ve stored foods in plastic gallon jugs, Tupperware, 5-gal. buckets, etc., for several decades—but when plastics went to non-toxic, that coincides with when I noticed rodents starting to eat plastics as a meal, & the contents like desert.

We invested in several 1.+ gal. Stainless steel canisters with thick acrylic clamp-down lids, 1/2 gallons stainless canisters, a few large tubs with flat metal lids, & glass canning jars.  For S/S canisters in the garage pantry, I put a couple layers of heavy duty aluminum foil scrunched tightly over the acrylic lids—could add duct tape around that edge, too.
Recycled metal tins work decently, but rust.  
So far, none of the metal or glass have been chewed.