Susan Pierson

Yikes - no roof removal - it still has the original slate roof plus it's all very well built and solid.

I'll check with some local folks about blown in since there are many choices. I should be able to rent one from Home Depot and we have another rental company nearby that might have one. This is a very populous area so I should be able to find one.

I might be able to get help but the space is still so tight. My dad must have put or had that insulation installed - no idea how he did it!

I live in an 1880s house in eastern Pennsylvania. Recently, I cleaned out the bat guano and old fiberglass insulation from under the peak of the roof above a small 100 sq ft) room. Access is through a 2 x 2 1/2' removable panel in the ceiling of a small cupboard on the interior side of the room. The ceiling  this room slopes down to the exterior. This space below the roof peak is very tight - I'm not a big person (5' 4", 120 lbs) and cleaning out the guano and pulling up the old yucky insulation from the slope of the ceiling was very awkward, difficult and exhausting - plus I'm I'm 74!. I don't think - don't want to - could do the reverse - place the new rolls of insulation on the horizontal and then down the slope of the ceiling, especially toward the outside end of that space. It will be all I can do to completely finish vacuuming out the little guano that remains.

Any suggestions for a more natural blown in type insulation?

Thanks, I will check it out!

What is the smallest rocket mass heater? I only have room for a small Jotul stove. Any ideas?

Thanks! I couldn't find out anything on-line either about yellow wood as a fodder tree but giving it to animals in small doses is probably a good idea. My niece is homesteading in Tennessee, where this tree is native so I thought it might be a good choice for her. I love the one my dad planted at least 50 years ago here in eastern Pennsylvania. Have lots of seeds if anyone wants some.

Has anyone had experience with the beautiful yellow wood tree? I have one on my property and it's a stunning tree. Specifically, I'd like to know if anyone has coppiced and used it as a fodder tree for cattle, goats or even chickens. I did see that unlike other legumes, it doesn't fix nitrogen.

I picked up a whole lot of walnuts in the fall and they are sitting in buckets in the barn, do you want some? If it stops raining here, I can also check in the yard for some sprouted nuts.

Thanks everyone! I'm pretty sure that the charcoal didn't have any additives and it definitely had crumbled into powder. Not sure I have the bag it came in any more. Will proceed with caution. My niece is homesteading in Tennessee and puts the biochar they make into the chicken feed. She's researched biochar extensively and has been giving me some guidance as well.

I definitely want to add this and future biochar to my compost piles. Am hoping to make a nice big one with the shredded leaves, garden and yard waste and add biochar to that.

Will check out those other threads as well.

I have an old bag of charcoal bought for grilling - all natural, none of those chemical additives at all. It has disintegrated into powder.

My existing compost pile (three bins made from pallets) would benefit from turning and the addition of shredded leaves - I just scavenged at least 30 bags of leaves - mostly silver maple and other non-oak species, and a couple mixed with grass. I realize that my small bag of charcoal probably won't go that far but I'd like to incorporate  the leaves (I also splurged on a SunJoe leaf shredder) so can add shredded leaves to the turned compost. I should be able to continue getting a lot of bags of leaves. I can fit 13 - with some serious pushing - into my Kia Niro! I also have access to bunny poo.

Amy advice? I'm hoping (with a friend) to start making biochar on a small scale as well. But I'm a senior who still works so time and energy are limited.

Any advice?
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