joan from zone 6

Kane wrote:

That and I'd need a gym membership to be able to shower each day...

correct - and being able to take a dump has it's attraction also -

somehow i can't see it augmenting his architect credentials -

but, being an architect, a "building" an astute homesteader could put together for $75 cost him a thousand -

jmy wrote:
 

As I state in another thread , I don't see how you can do it on less than 2.5 acres/adult

i recall once reading a rather convincing report that a family of four can subsist relatively well on the year-round product of a hydroponic set-up in a double walk-in closet -

i guess it goes to show that opinion can span a wide horizon -

i wonder how they pulled the vacuum needed ?

i haven't noticed if the water movement requirement is continuous or cyclical - if cyclical, and considering the diagram in the 1 may post - the flow pattern could be created by manually elevating and lowering the sump tank at the right side of the diagram - some design modifications would be needed but nothing very complicated and the need for a  pump is avoided -

another alternative would be to use a mechanical pump - a manual pitcher type hand pump - to periodically transfer water from the lowest sump tank to an elevated storage tank to drain by restricted gravity flow into the fish tank -

Lothar243 wrote:

It's is basically just using mushrooms "roots" to hold together cellulose, so you wouldn't have the problem of it settling, and you could use it in walls more easily. And as a bonus, it's a class 1 vapor retardant and class 1 fire retardant.

both links are very interesting - left some questions, though - did not hear anything relating to r-value - also noted one finished product was declared to be water-resistant at one point in the presentation and to be compostable at another point -  something wrong with that picture ?  wouldn't that be akin to being both fire-resistant and fire disposable ?

Jami McBride wrote:
Do you use lime in your mix?

How would you address the water repelling issue?

Thanks

well, if you're also concerned with assuring high thermal mass within the structure, you could install insulation and siding on the outside of the walls to deflect moisture in the traditional way -

it would seem the process itself cannot be faulted - whether it would be practical enough to be a viable space heat source might be a different matter - the process could not be conveniently turned on/off so it would then need to be a continuous thing with some method of storing heat that could be turned on/off -

another negative is that, if it should prove too impractical to depend on, it is not possible to then eat the digester - as in the case of the mastadon -

perhaps the old concept once common in eastern europe might fit the bill here - and that was to construct a structure with living space on a second floor for peeeples and room on the first floor for livestock - the livestock generated heat warmed the second floor mainly by convection - this works, of course, only when the peeeples are not overly affected by aroma -

Jami McBride wrote:
For blowing into walls, as Joan suggests, there is an article on Mother Earth News about making your own paper insulation - it requires some special equipment so it may not be doable for everyone..... Same process is also outlined on eHow.com

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/1977-11-01/How-To-Make-and-Install-Your-Own-Installation-for-Five-Cents-or-Less-a-Squa.aspx

the cellulose insulation covered in the link you provided does sound promising - however, it is not the foam i had heard of earlier - that foam, while expanding only a limited amount, did firmly adhere to all surfaces contacted once the curing process finished - dang, i'm gonna have to find some memory enhancing mushrooms or something -

several years ago i recall seeing an article on an insulating "pump in place" foam that was made from common organic material that could be d.i.y. formulated and pumped into cavities using a shop vac - and for the life of me i cannot remember enough of the details in order to do any sort of search -

i know there are many out there who's memory is better than mine - i hope you've also run across this idea -