Wade Whiddon

Im wondering your thoughts on a building method most suitable for this climate.

2.5 acres of non forested, flat, sagebrush covered land near Taos, NM. 7,200' elevation. About 13" precipitation a year. Lots of sun. Winter lows in the single digits and summer highs in the mid 90s. Timber is available in limited quantities about 20 miles away. Ponderosa possible, but hard to access. Mostly pinon pine and juniper. Water catchment will be main water source due to high well drilling cost and 300+ foot minimum depth. Ideally no climate control indoors.

Earthships are one option here, but require many unnatural materials to build. Curious about tube earthbag construction, even if it were for some walls and not the entire house. Intrigued by the earthship design incorporating greenhouse barrier area to south side of home. Adobe soil with high clay content is available at local gravel yard, but soil on property has limited clay content.

Do any of you have thoughts on what could be a more sustainable building type for this area? All ideas are welcome. Thank you.

A vapor barrier is something I have thought of also. I like the idea of just leveling the soil underneath. Soil, vapor barrier, foam, ply, sand, brick, sealant. Seems like a lot though.

Since I have not lived in the house a full year yet, I do not know the solar load that the floor has. I will do the math and find the angles this fall and extend the eaves if necessary. I need to do major roof overhaul as well.

I really like that wood floor by Mr. Chickadee.

With the right amount of sunshine in winter, do earthen floors need to be insulated at all from the earth below? I am hoping to moderate the temperature by having the floor be a lot of mass. It would be nice to just repair and reseal the existing floor.

Just bought a passive solar, strawbale home near Taos, NM and I am told the floor was poured mud. It has had water damage and must be repaired. I am looking into floor options. Lots of windows spilling light onto the floor from the south.

I am interested in sealed brick flooring inside and have been thinking about how to insulate underneath the brick if advised. If I chip out the existing floor to give a few extra inches, I would like to put down 2" rigid foam, then 1/2 ply before sand and bricks. If going this route, I am not sure if what I would need between the earth and the foam board.

I am open to opinions on this method and other options. Thanks for any help.

Living here in Joshua Tree, CA (Mojave desert), there are not many real trees to be found. But we have a few the joshua "trees". Does anyone know how well these tree branches/stumps would work for one's hugelkultur wood?

It is quite soft and may break down faster than other, harder woods. Has anyone done this before?

Awesome information people. Thanks!

Maybe it would be good to research a bit about the few different kinds and be able to determine which is which before one buys some.

Hey all!

Not sure if this topic has come up elsewhere. I tried searching with no results.

Does anyone know is using antique, real silverware for everyday use is bad for your health?

Is stainless steel the best option still? The old utensils are just so rustic and have way more character.

Thanks!!

Hello everyone! First post here on Permies. This may be a little unorganized, but I will try.

I am searching for information from anyone has built their own nitinol engine for home use? Generator? Or anyone who has more info on nitinol engines in general.

I have been reading into the small amounts of info on nitinol heat engines online, and have come across a few different pages of interest. It seems to me that Permies has very limited topics on this subject.

I am in the beginning stages of building a similar nitinol engine to the first wheel style one Ridgeway Banks describes in the video of nitinol here https://permies.com/t/24035/energy/Nitinol-engine-amazing-stuff .

A few questions I have are-

With this engine, would having more Nitinol wire loops or thicker gauge wire give the engine more torque or faster revolutions? Both? The engine in his video is said to be running at 70 rpm for over 23,000,000 revolutions. If the engine could put off more torque with thicker/more wires, it then could be geared to a separate axle. Say 1 to 10 ratio. Now with more torque, you can run at 700 rpm. I have also read that the nitinol can degrade much faster if you ask too much of it, as with many things. With more/thicker wires, the nitinol wire should be able to stand up to more resistance.

I have not looked into generator options yet, but take an old VW bus generator for example. It does not need as high of revolutions to charge a battery as say, a normal alternator, so 700 rpm might be enough to charge.

I have learned that even though this style engine from Banks is very aesthetic, it may not be the most efficient approach for a potential electricity generating engine. This engine caught my eye and I hope to make a basic design to see it working and go bigger, stronger from there. The possibilities could be endless with this incredible alloy.

Imagine having a few of these constantly charging a series of DIY nickle iron batteries. As long as you keep a steady supply of warm water flowing into your system, you could potentially have a generator system that may only need a yearly swap of nitinol wires. Thats my idea at least! haha

I found a few useful pages about detailed nitinol research and haven't even come close to reading all of it, but others may find if useful also.

Here is a thesis done on nitinol engines dated back to 2001 http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-02102001-172947/unrestricted/ETD.pdf

This is the cumulative research of nitinol from the 70s http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a108973.pdf

This website sells nitinol https://www.kelloggsresearchlabs.com/catalog/84

Anyone who has info or interested in a potential nitinol engine for home use, please look into this topic.

Thank you!! Be happy