Go Green Matter

Today, we are stuck in this wild ride of economic ups and downs that we have to be prepared for what’s next. These financial setbacks create even bigger problems when what only meager incomes could afford to purchase. Investing your hard-earned money into proper and more secured assets can afford even the average family a good future. With a house that will not be easily targeted as the termites’ warzone, we could make sure that our children will have a future where they will be happily enjoying.

When you know how to build a rammed earth house, you will also know how to provide for your family. Rammed earth is a building method used by masons in the ancient times and by people who live in areas that are scarce of lumber sources. With rammed earth, the house will be built with materials that are incombustible, very stable, and impenetrable by termites, hardwearing, thermally massive, strong, affordable and quite simple to make. Walls made of rammed earth contain raw materials such as lime, chalk, earth and gravel. Rammed earth is also known in other countries as pisé or pisé de terre (France), taipa (Portugal) or tapia (Spain).

There are abundant resources wherein one can find a good guide on how to build a rammed earth house. Perhaps one could first check some important details before starting to build your own earth dwelling. First, check your soil. You have to have the right kind of earth, which has to be about 50-70% sandy. It must not also contain too much clay or it will shrink and crack. Then, in order to create a homogenous mixture of earth, sieve it through slanted screen of about 1-inch mish of hardware cloth to separate chunks of earth and stones and other materials from your soil. Protect your soil from precipitation by covering it with tarpaulin as even 10% moisture will create a puddle on your soil and it will not compress well. Test your homogenous soil mixture by creating a ball of earth and dropping it. The ball should hold its shape well and scatter and break when you drop it. Finally, when you have all the necessary soil mixture of the right proportions of sand, gravel and clay (sometimes you can add a stabilizer), you and your builders can begin the process of compressing the damp mixture into externally supported frames that would form the earth into sections of your wall.

Creating a foundation of reinforced concrete is one of the modern variations that we could add to our earth homes. Sometimes these footings have added insulation made of a layer of Styrofoam. A good rammed earth house can be a very good investment for you. These dwellings are fireproof and it breathes, thus there is no need for air conditioning or heating devices. It has a very good thermal mass that it can heat up slowly during the day and releases that heat during the night. Also, it provides a good soundproof wall.

Natural energy is very abundant in nature. With homemade wood stoves or fireplaces, obtaining energy from nature has become an essential device that provides heating in every home. Tapping natural resources can be a lot beneficial for families who wanted to save much from their electrical bills, and whose family wouldn’t want to save more from their bills?

In installing homemade wood stoves, it is necessary to maintain optimum safety. Safety not only in the installation process of the stove but also safety in terms of fire staying inside the wood stove. Another important point to remember with regards to the efficiency of the wood stove. Properly installed wood stoves have to be very efficient in providing heating to the whole house.

There are different techniques on how to install a wood stove but you have to at least the following basics, such as having the chimney, stovepipe, plus floors and walls. First, the chimney is an essential component of every wood stove. This can be either a lined masonry or a class A insulated metal. If your house has already an existing fireplace chimney, you may use this if it is partially or fully lines with the appropriate linings. If you have a pre-fabricated fireplace, this may not be usable for most wood stoves.

Second, the stovepipe connects the chimney to the wood stove. Stovepipes have to be ideally 18” from the wall or ceiling. Stove pipes’ heights can be reduced with the use of special double-wall close clearance interior pipe or even pipe heat shields.

Finally, floorings must be non-combustible extending from under the entire stove, about 12 inches from the sides and 18 inches in front of loading doors. Clearances from the wall can be reduced with the use of a heat shield on the stove or a firewall that is properly installed for protection.

If you have all these basic materials on hand in how to install a wood stove, you have to next follow these few safety guidelines. First, you need to have someone over to help you install your wood stove. An expert must be present to assist you in installing your homemade stove. If anything should ever happen, the insurance company must be consulted as it might not be able to cover damages created by an improperly installed wood stove.

Also, some important things to remember are the following guidelines:

• Do not make use of a flammable liquid in starting your fire.

• Make sure you have a smoke detector installed in your home and have it tested regularly.

• Regular clean your chimney for any possible build-up of creosote as it can be a source of chimney fire.

• Before going to sleep, make sure you do not create a roaring fire.

Another point to remember is to put a metal or glass cover on your wood stove as it does not only increase its efficiency, it will also prevent sparks from igniting within the surrounding area.

Like most folks these days I am trying to go a darker shade of green, not only to make my stay on this planet a little brighter but also to instill good values in my three children. One of the most difficult areas of my life to go green is my car. I love old, big, gas guzzlers and I cringe when I see those little smart cars cruising through the neighborhood. But the pressure is building and my wife and kids won’t let-up, calling me earth-killer and pollution-Paul and other not so nice names….

I finally decided to take a stand and point out to them how positive my contributions to a greener earth are because I only use used auto parts and when I get rid of any of my old junk cars I always do it by using a local authorized treatment facility. I typically drop them off directly to the junk car yard and have them evacuate the fluids, take out the mercury switches and do there eco-friendly thing. So if you see me don’t call me names because I really do care about the environment but I just show it in different ways.