frustratedearthmother
Sustainability Master
Hate that you're feeling poorly! Ginger tea! (or whatever works for you) Hope both of you are on the mend 
FJ's New Construction Checklist
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flowerbug
Super Self-Sufficient
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at one time not too long ago some people in the neighborhood were burning corn for heat. talk about a waste, but the air kinda smelled like burned popcorn at times...
they've probably switched to propane or wood pellets or even wood burning by now. as for overnight heat there were bigger wood burning units that people had that were sitting off to the side of the house that they could stock up in the evening and they'd provide enough heat through the night.
for us, with our smoke intolerance issues we are happy with the propane tank, the only thing i don't like about it is that we don't have a big enough tank to get us through the whole winter on one refill so we have to call them once in a while to top it off. we can have them come out regularly to top it off but to me that seems like such a waste to have people make a trip out when it isn't really needed. in a mild winter we can go through a tank and a half to two tanks of propane to heat this house. for a bad winter three tanks. we don't use the propane at all on the off season so it just sits there.
this morning was the first day we've had the heat on, it was a bit too cold in here this morning and we needed to test it out anyways to make sure it was working.
for backup heat in case the electricity is out we have the fireplace converted to propane so as long as the propane tank isn't empty we have some heat. it won't prevent the rest of the house from getting cold but we won't freeze. a few storms took the power out that we used the fireplace for both heat and warming up some food and hot drinks. it was like camping, but a bit nicer. the fireplace isn't very efficient though and it sucks a lot of air in from outside when it is being used so it will not work well for an extended period of time. so far that hasn't been an issue, but if it ever happens we'd need to get the pipes emptied of water so they wouldn't break and the toilets empty and drain traps with anti-freeze, etc. not something i'd want to scramble to do, but i think we have a several day buffer of heat in the heavy stone work we have inside and underneath the house.
Our pellet stove will run off a deep cell battery - it is a wiring harness that attaches to the stove. Just open the side panel, pull out the wires and hook up the battery. Of course, you have to have a charged deep cell battery for that to work. We have 3 of them babies - they are for the boat and just sit in the basement all winter on a trickle charger.
We decided to go with a pellet stove over a wood stove because we are getting older and we used to heat our house with wood when we were in Wyoming. Didn't want to set ourselves up for cutting, splitting, stacking, hauling 8 cord of wood per year for the rest of our lives. Now we go to the store, buy 2 tons of pellets, they load them on our trailer. We drive home, use the pallet forks on the tractor to unload the pellets and place in the machine shed. Haul 6 bags on the ATV to the front porch as needed. Last winter, we loaded a pallet of pellets on our front porch for the winter - it worked great! we have 6 bags left,Time to go buy more.
I can dump a 40 lb bag of pellets in the stove every day and be good to go without having to chuck wood into the wood stove every couple of hours. Hated getting up at 1 am to stoke the fire.
at one time not too long ago some people in the neighborhood were burning corn for heat. talk about a waste, but the air kinda smelled like burned popcorn at times...
they've probably switched to propane or wood pellets or even wood burning by now. as for overnight heat there were bigger wood burning units that people had that were sitting off to the side of the house that they could stock up in the evening and they'd provide enough heat through the night.
for us, with our smoke intolerance issues we are happy with the propane tank, the only thing i don't like about it is that we don't have a big enough tank to get us through the whole winter on one refill so we have to call them once in a while to top it off. we can have them come out regularly to top it off but to me that seems like such a waste to have people make a trip out when it isn't really needed. in a mild winter we can go through a tank and a half to two tanks of propane to heat this house. for a bad winter three tanks. we don't use the propane at all on the off season so it just sits there.
this morning was the first day we've had the heat on, it was a bit too cold in here this morning and we needed to test it out anyways to make sure it was working.
for backup heat in case the electricity is out we have the fireplace converted to propane so as long as the propane tank isn't empty we have some heat. it won't prevent the rest of the house from getting cold but we won't freeze. a few storms took the power out that we used the fireplace for both heat and warming up some food and hot drinks. it was like camping, but a bit nicer. the fireplace isn't very efficient though and it sucks a lot of air in from outside when it is being used so it will not work well for an extended period of time. so far that hasn't been an issue, but if it ever happens we'd need to get the pipes emptied of water so they wouldn't break and the toilets empty and drain traps with anti-freeze, etc. not something i'd want to scramble to do, but i think we have a several day buffer of heat in the heavy stone work we have inside and underneath the house.
wyoDreamer
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When we lived out in Wyoming, we had propane for the furnace and for cooking stove. When we burned wood for heat, we had the furnace for back-up when we were at work and not able to stoke the fireplace. The house had a big tank. The neighbors had a slightly bigger, 2 story house that a propane tank that was 1/2 the size of ours. We had the same company for re-fills. Every time they had to come out to fill the neighbors tank, they would top us off also - even when we didn't need it. I got home from work one day and saw that they had topped us of for the second time that month so I checked the level. We were at 97%, they are not supposed to fill a tank over 85% to allow for expansion of the propane without it off-gassing any! I don't know how much propane we lost over the years we lived there because of the company overfilling the tank.
CrealCritter
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I can tell you what you do not need, a Television. Absolutely no need for a TV, it just makes me lazy. What you do need is, plenty for fresh air and sunshine, it's good for the soul.
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FarmerJamie
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I don't disagree with this. After staring at a computer screen all day, I need to do...
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FarmerJamie
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Work is steady and going okay during this COVID fiasco. My wife is saying she is seeing reports the housing market is going to become a buyers market early next year. Trying to get things financially aligned for that.
AllerkrosS3
Sustainable Newbie
The construction of a house involves a complex process, which takes a relatively long time and consumes considerable resources. It is necessary not to be superficial or marginally engaged and let things happen by themselves. In this case, it's almost certain that the project will fail. From the beginning, one needs to know what it's up to and its consequences if it fails. Keep track of changes, things that are done in addition, and things that are given up. Keep the records of expenses and payments made to third parties as strictly as possible. At boutiquehomeplans.com, you can calculate the cost of building your house.
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FarmerJamie
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Still no real movement.
baymule
Sustainability Master
Why does spray foam cause such humidity and hvac issues?
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FarmerJamie
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The wife and I were just discussing this!!!!!! She mentioned the same thing about drawing moisture. I thought with new construction, if you use a barrier, that mitigated the issue.
