Cody Polivka

Good ideas/points. How hight would the cement pavers have to be off the ground?

Thanks for the input on the cooking myself out of the shed. I was thinking it would be nice to be able to put in an overhang to block summers rays and yet allow sun light during the winter. Very I did not think about having to vent the air lock. Maybe a couple small windows?

Thank you all for the insight...brought some good ideas and concerns up. I had not thought about a noise canceling headset...great outside the box thinking. Also thanks for the encouragement of friends or family that have built shed offices. I do appreciate the insight in adding an air exchange for fresh air. The insight about a chair heater or lamp and extra layers are great ideas. I welcome any additional insight someone may have.

One concern that I have is that I have farm field on the other side of my fence. I own a small property and often have to bate for pests in the fall/winter. Have had evidence of mice and Rats in the field. Anyone have a good idea to prevent chewing into the base of this shed? I was thinking about getting rolls of aluminum and rolling in under the 2x6 studs before putting it on skids. Thoughts? Any better ideas?

Thanks again for all the insight.

I just learned that I will be able to work remotely but my home is too loud for me to be able to effectively work inside the house. I work mostly on the telephone and feel that I can do most of my job within an 8x8 space quite comfortably. I live in northern part of the states and am looking at building a shed on skids that is super insulated. I don't live in the city so I shouldn't have any problems with any zoning requirements about a home office.   Was thinking about attaching a small air lock style room to prevent losing all the stored heat along with a large south facing bay window in the main room. I am lucky enough to have several reclamations centers in the area and the skill set to build such an office. I would like to over build it and super insulate the office and only it with a small space heater while I am using it. I was hoping to use a single 15-amp extension cord (dedicated outlet?) to plug into the sheds to power it. Should only be powering a laptop, router, VOIP, and light. Hoping that body heat and passive sun will be heating the room but thinking I may run a small heater before starting my shift....that or invest in some long underwear/chair heater.

The reason I am throwing all this out for discussion is I have no experience with super-insulating and have not worked from home. I have googled tiny offices for ideas, but I would like insight from people who have built or use a shed as a tiny office. I am looking for advise on things that I maybe overlooking or things you wish you would have considered before taking on such a task or when purchasing a tiny office.  

Just a courtesy- it may be some time before I am able to log back in, so I may not respond right away.
Thank you for your insight!

Thanks Gerry,

I do end up spending quite a bit of time in the basement as the bedrooms and my hobby workshop are down there. I am looking at a rocket mass heater to reduce but not eliminate my need for propane(would love to eventually devise a net zero smaller home but am some time away from that goal and still have plenty of junk to re-home). Luckily the chimney is above the ridge line of the home. The home is fairly tight with an air exchange unit in the next room (could that be a potential competing chimney in my situation? Gerry, glad to hear that basement RMH isn't a deal breaker, but rather something that can be overcome with some thought.
Gerry, Thanks for taking the time to lend me a hand.

Additional question for anyone with a larger home. I live in a 2600 sq ft home with vaulted ceilings(1300 of that upstairs). I anticipate using about 725 gallons of propane this year. How big a RMH do you have? How big a house do you have?  What reduction have you seen in your use other fuel sources since installing your RMH?

Looking for some help with the following.

1. Request

Situation: Requesting help with insuring a rocket mass heater in Wisconsin.

Background: I believe in the efficiencies of a rocket mass heater and would like to build one myself. However, I also recognize that my home represents a significant investment. I hold the title free and clear to my home so getting the bank to approve is not an issue.

Request: I am questioning if anyone has successfully insured their home with a RMH in the state of Wisconsin or elsewhere? If so, could you please give me your agents contact information? I would also be interested to know if there are any home insurance agents on here that could help me in my endeavor?

2. Question

Situation: Basement RMH question/concerns.

Background: It has been a while since I have been on permies and remember there being some discussion about problems with placing a RMH in ones basement. I would like to place the unit in my basement. The Chimney is roughly 25ft from ground level with a short horizontal (10 ft or less) basement run and the floor to ceiling it is roughly 8 ft distance in the basement. I currently have a wood stove installed and an air intake from outdoors a couple feet from the stove(and vertically about 7 ft high).

Request: What concerns/problems would I encounter with a basement RMH setup and what are the solutions?