The House
Design & Implementation
The beginnings
Our first steep was working mostly into the house, preparing the place to be able to sleep inside asap.
The van was used as our home during the rehabilitation of the place where we have slept until the house was ready incorporate a bed inside. The first room we have used was Annex 2, which was formerly the animal stable, there we have installed the kitchen and made some coffee to wake-up and quickly we have transform the space in what it was our first kitchen room.
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Downstairs roomAfter having the kitchen minimally able to use we have set to work on the bottom of the house, with the intention of creating a space to sleep and install a permanent kitchen in a cleaner space than a dusty old stable.
Separate the trash to recycle or reuse was a big job, specially were was piles of runes or broke glass. We put all the wood, metals, glass.., objects together, and we collected lots of old treasures ( tools, plates.. ), that was spread every where.
You can see some of the objects found into the house on the opportunities secion of the survey. |
This was a very intense time period as we had a little bit more of time to make the house as possible childproof, while the smaller of the family Ohli was in vacations with his grandparents.
Once the house was more or less clean of dangerous objects, we have made a little inauguration party to celebrate the start of our new home.
I the same night after the party we were so excited to start getting to work, that we set to plaster and paint. The same night the down side of the house was ready to put the bed and start to sleep inside.
I the same night after the party we were so excited to start getting to work, that we set to plaster and paint. The same night the down side of the house was ready to put the bed and start to sleep inside.
After a year the downstairs site of the house has been implemented with many variations, as soon as we could we set up in the kitchen definitely, and after the beams were safe we restored the second floor and moved the bedroom upstairs leaving the bottom as kitchen, dining and living room.
Upstairs room
The restoration upstairs was a big job because the floor was unstable I totally uniform. The floor structure had to be as light as possible but strong enough to last for years, so we started building a metal rods grid to distribute better the weight and we have introduced the ends of these five centimeters intro the wall, so they were more gripped to the structure of the house.
Once the grid was finished we marked different parts of the floor with ropes at the same level to have a guide to make a flat surface, then we used all kinds of recycled materials that were hollow as bottles, cans and different garbage, dry wood and pine cones, broken pipes, etc... to filling the mass which would be the floor. The final step was to add to the entire surface a mixture of sand from the land whith 10% cement mortar, leaving a uniform and firm floor. |
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To not be on direct contact with the cold floor we have put recycled parquet and carpets leading finally a room to move our bedroom. My partner Nim who is a master carpenter made with recycled woods most of the mobility as the bed, shelves, cabinets and racks, desk, and railing.
Annex rooms
Annex 2
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Besides being our first kitchen, after a time annex 2 it was for a while our first bedroom until the main rooms of the house were safe.
We had to fix some leaks and damage on the roof, but it was the best room at this time to be protected from the meteorological conditions. Once we moved into the main part of the house this room was free to accommodate visitors and volunteers. |
Annex 1
Because of the poor condition of the roof Annex 1 has been one of the places that we have used less, the first phase was very laborious cleaning all the rune and broken glass accumulated by the last inhabitants.
Having been a stable previously the floor was covered by a thick layer of sheep and goat manure that was removed and used to make our compost. For now it is used as a storage till the roof is restored and can be used as an extension room of the house. |
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Structures
Leaks
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It has been modified the original design of the roof, we have replaced the broken canes that hold the roof tiles by pruned branches from the olive trees that we have pruned, a disposal resource from our land that has been integrated into the system.
We have sought the most straight branches leveling a uniform roof structure where water can flow into the gutter.
Once the level of the tiles was right we have made the interior finishes with white plaster. |
Also we went up to the roof to fix the broken tiles and clean of the residual organic matter accumulated by the wind, mostly pine needles that block the water flow and cause leaks. Finally to avoid falling more leaves on top we have pruned the maximum of pine branches that cross over the house. Soon is planed to cut the large branch, but to do this we must be very careful not to fall any branch on top of the roof to don't damage the tails or the structure. This will be a big job and we need a long ladder and a chainsaw, so for now we have to wait and at least once a year clime up to the roof to keep it clean. |
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At the annex rooms we've got a gutter on the inside to remove water and channel it into a store tanks.
Beams
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If I don't feel safe inside my house it will never be my home.
Because we didn't had enough experience to know how were the beans conditions, we had expend many month sleeping into the annex 2 room. I have expended a lot of time in internet researching about how to change a bean, but I could not find much information, the best way was to talk with the locals. |
One bean was easy to fix and I just needed to strengthen it so I did this job by myself, but to change the main one of the living room we have preferred to pay a professional to do the work, and learn properly how to do it for the next time.
Systems
Here are few examples on how we:
Catch and store energy
Use and value renewable resources and services
Safety
Another challenge for safety are the thieves, after four month living in here we have got robed. We had to strengthen the main door and put more metal bars on the windows, hopefully this will make for thieves a more difficult job.
Some of the windows were well protected but others we have had to add solid steel bars to hinder the entry of thieves, let's see if we can store the energy we have put in this house safe. |
Water System
Like many other thinks, our system for catching and storing the rain water have took a longtime to be built, we have tried to do a gutter recycling pieces from an old plastic roof but was not enough strong to deal with the way of the water and the strong winds, so after a long work implemented we have decided to start from the beginning and buy the gutter from the shop and put it ourselves.
We connected this to a three water tanks of one thousand liters each that we have bought second hand. In spring and autumn rains will supply the house with enough water to pass through all the year. |
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The video on the right side is from the first prototype we have made, it was made in a rush the same day that has rained by using the resources that were appearing in the storeroom.
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Energy systems
Heat and keep Temp
It took a while to decide on which was the best heating system for our home, at the moment we have opted to buy a cast-iron stove (200 euros 2nd hand) as it could heat the house quickly and could regulate the consumption of firewood (resource that we do not have a lack). So we can use the sticks around the house, helping on fire prevention and at the same time because is a renewable resource (wood that we have lots), we can use daily to cook on top of the heater and give us extra light inside the room.
Light and Electricity
To increase the amount of indoors light we made the windows using big ones that we have found skipping on the bins. We cut the frame and the glass to feet in our windows hole.
As soon as our economy allow us we will implement our PV (photo voltaic) system. So far we have cells and materials to build them, but we have not done it yet until we can invest in the rest of the equipment as the converter, battery and charge controller.
The photo voltaic system is designed by my partner Nim and you can learn all about it by clicking (here). |
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Waste mgmt
All the organic matter go to the compost, waiting to have chickens to give to them the food scraps.
We try to RRRR and integrate to our system all the glass, plastic, ceramic, building remains...)
We always tried hard to Produce no waste.
We try to RRRR and integrate to our system all the glass, plastic, ceramic, building remains...)
We always tried hard to Produce no waste.
Toilet
I have based on a very simple design for the structure, that I have seen many times in California and around the West Coast.
I also have been inspired from some internet videos, and humenure handbook has help to determined our choice of the type of composting system. Our neighbor has offered us various wood boards, which we could make a solid platform. The walls are made with old doors originally from the main |
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room of the house, the roof and other timbers are recycled like the toilet seat and the bucket, and the nails have been found and picked from different parts of the house and land.
Is a bucket composting toilet system that you can find and learn how it works in the humanure handbook, and as it's says we think that is the best way to do a proper compost.
Having many pine trees we have use the needles to cover our humanure as a carbon element. And we empty the buckets in a separate compost bins were after a year, we will have a nice fertilizer to use in our future fruit trees as a olive.
The cost has been less than two euros and two people can build it in a couple of days. So far it works very well although to see the results I will have to wait a year to see.
Some of the principles that can be clearly seen in this design have been:
If you want to know at detail about the building of the composting toilet, take a look at Nim's diploma (my partner) doing chick in muddyfingers.weebly.com
Is a bucket composting toilet system that you can find and learn how it works in the humanure handbook, and as it's says we think that is the best way to do a proper compost.
Having many pine trees we have use the needles to cover our humanure as a carbon element. And we empty the buckets in a separate compost bins were after a year, we will have a nice fertilizer to use in our future fruit trees as a olive.
The cost has been less than two euros and two people can build it in a couple of days. So far it works very well although to see the results I will have to wait a year to see.
Some of the principles that can be clearly seen in this design have been:
- Catch and store energy
- Obtain a yield
- Apply self-regulation and accept feedback
- Use and value renewable resources and services
- Produce no waste
- Integrate rather than segregate
- Use small and slow solutions
- Use edges and value the marginal
- Uses and value diversity
- Creatively use and respond to change
If you want to know at detail about the building of the composting toilet, take a look at Nim's diploma (my partner) doing chick in muddyfingers.weebly.com
Water waste
To use the sink grey water we have made a wet area that feeds several trees near the house, it's not a final solution and in the future we want to make a small aquaculture system that benefits from this "waste".
We also used this grey water to make all our compost, and feed other trees around.
Some of the principles that can be clearly seen in this design have been:
We also used this grey water to make all our compost, and feed other trees around.
Some of the principles that can be clearly seen in this design have been:
- Catch and store energy
- Obtain a yield
- Apply self-regulation and accept feedback
- Use and value renewable resources and services
- Produce no waste
- Integrate rather than segregate
- Use small and slow solutions
- Use edges and value the marginal
- Uses and value diversity
- Creatively use and respond to change
Pest mgmt
To fight the mice pest inside the house we have rescued a kitten from a neighbor that he was going to kill. We have given to him the name as the house have so we call him Mr Silo.
To self regulate and have a small solution we chose to have only one male to avoid having more offspring and control the overpopulation of cats in the site, as they are big predators of other animals that may be beneficial to the ecosystem. |
Finances
The money invested in the house is a bit incalculable, because we have been expending the few money as it has come, there are lots of things that have been not filed and is difficult to know exactly, but I can do an average of some of the big expenses that we have had in our first year and a half, and the daily expenses that we have.
Occasionally
Regularly
Occasionally
- A van with repairs and taxes 2000 € approx
- Gas generator 400 €
- Safety (look door, metal bars, etc) 400 €
- Beam replaced 300 €
- Fire heater 200 €
- Building and kitchen tools 100 €
- Water system (gutter and tanks) 60 €
- Solar lamps 15 € x 3
Regularly
- Petrol 40 € a week
- Food 200 € per month
- Others 100 € per month